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April 19

Can cough syrup be considered as food?

Strictly technically speaking, can cough syrup (the kind sweetened with sugar) be considered as a food item since it contains sugar and hence, carbohydrates? Acceptable (talk) 00:49, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

I suppose, if you really wanted to. Some also contain alcohol, another source of calories. However, it would be well into the junk food category, due to the lack of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. StuRat (talk) 00:53, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Strictly technically speaking: no. Items that contain FDA-regulated medications are classified according to the most restricted agent they contain. Many (perhaps even most) medication formulations contain sugar (carbohydrate) of some kind (e.g. binders), yet they are not considered food items. -- Scray (talk) 01:18, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

But those are FDA classification rules, which don't necessarily agree with the normal definition of a food, and certainly don't apply in other nations. StuRat (talk) 01:29, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Exactly - the FDA has no jurisdiction outside the USA. From a nutritional point of view, it could be seen as 'food', in that it contains calories, as StuRat says. Hardly a balanced diet though. Then again, I once knew someone who consumed nothing but Cadbury creme eggs and Pils lager for the best part of a week - the human metabolism is surprisingly adaptable... AndyTheGrump (talk) 01:33, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

But who said anything about consuming nothing but cough syrup? -- Jack of Oz [your turn] 09:31, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

From a casual point of view, anything with caloric content can be considered food. FDA and similar organizations in other countries provide stricter, more technical definitions that vary regionally. -- Scray (talk) 02:37, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Heck, even some items with minimal caloric content are considered food. Celery comes to mind. Googlemeister (talk) 15:41, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

The real question is what context you would want to consider it as anything. In some contexts it can be considered "food." In some it cannot. In some it can be considered "something that will leave a big stain on the rug." In others that is not a useful distinction. There are many properties of cough syrup. --Mr.98 (talk) 02:57, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

To the dictionary! Merriam Webster's first definition of food is "material consisting essentially of protein, carbohydrate, and fat used in the body of an organism to sustain growth, repair, and vital processes and to furnish energy; also : such food together with supplementary substances (as minerals, vitamins, and condiments)"[1] This definition is based on composition and physiology. Most of this does not apply to cough syrup.

Some definitions are based on why you consume something, which could make cough syrup food if you ate it as food. The first entry from the Random House Dictionary at Dictionary.com defines food as "any nourishing substance that is eaten, drunk, or otherwise taken into the body to sustain life, provide energy, promote growth, etc."[2] Therefore if you take cough syrup for energy, then you are using it for food. (However the bit about "sustain life" is a bit vague - if you shoved a gun up your backside to later use it to defend yourself, that would be taking something into your body to sustain your life.) --Colapeninsula (talk) 10:54, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

The question is ill-defined. Just because something contains caloric substances doesn't make that thing a "food". My cupboard contains sugar, but I don't consider my cupboard as a food item (despite the high amounts of fibre it would contain...). Matt Deres (talk) 13:29, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

You just haven't been hungry enough... ;-) But seriously, what we define as "food" can vary quite a bit depending on how desperate we are. I don't define rats as food, but plop me in a post-apocalyptic scenario and I might change my mind. --Mr.98 (talk) 15:42, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Stewed rat ? :-) StuRat (talk) 19:33, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Not sure where the OP is coming from with this question, but I do know that you can buy medicine/vitamins with U.S. Government issued Foodstamps. Of course, you can also buy paper products and household cleaning supplies, and those are obviously not considered food. Quinn ^CLOUDY 19:06, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Cough syrup probably counts as food about as much as soda does. Neither one provides much nutrition, but they do provide calories. StuRat (talk) 19:35, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Cab fare between SFO and UC Berkley

I need to know the cab fare between SFO and UC Berkley, in both directions, with any customary tip included. The trip from SFO to UC Berkley will be on a Sunday afternoon. The return trip will be on weekday morning (before the rush hour?). What's the morning rush hour in the area during the week? Thanks in advance. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.185.178.48 (talk) 05:11, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

I hope you've considered using BART, which has a station in the airport and one a few blocks from UCB. —Tamfang (talk) 05:28, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

This page suggests a fare of around $75 one-way (Berkley is between Oakland and Richmond). The BART fare is $8.65 one-way and, in heavy traffic, it's at least 15 mins quicker as well. Astronaut (talk) 11:34, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

When I was in the East Bay, we used BayPorter Express when we needed to shuttle between Berkeley and SFO and didn't want to take the BART (for whatever reason). It's $30-40 or so; a lot cheaper than a taxi for essentially the same service. --Mr.98 (talk) 12:46, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Having lived in the Bay Area (and studied at Berkeley), I second the recommendation of BART, even if cost is not a concern. The highways between Berkeley and SFO are the most congested in Northern California and can be subject to delays at almost any hour. Morning rush-hour traffic begins to get heavy between 6:30 and 7:00 in the morning. Sunday afternoons can also have serious traffic congestion, as people head home from weekend shopping trips or weekend homes. So, a taxi could be subject to unpredictable delays, whereas BART is usually pretty much on schedule. Marco polo (talk) 15:39, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

When I lived in Berkeley and Oakland two decades ago, before BART had a station near the airport, I'd take a SamTrans (San Mateo Transit) bus to the former Transbay Terminal (now being replaced) in downtown [extreme northeastern] San Francisco, and then BART or an AC Transit bus to my destination in the East Bay. But were you (for some reason) to do the equivalent today, I doubt very much that you'd save anything in fares, while it would take noticeably longer. On the other hand, you might see more of the Bay Area, and you could, if you chose, see a tiny piece of San Francisco between the two legs of your journey. (Unfortunately, downtown San Francisco, as opposed to her residential neighborhoods, is rather dead before dark on Sundays; Berkeley would be more interesting.) —— Shakescene (talk) 04:59, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

You also have to drag your luggage (lug your draggage?) a long block between Transbay and BART. —Tamfang (talk) 01:05, 24 April 2011 (UTC)

When the F-Berkeley and A-Oakland buses stopped at the Transbay Terminal on Mission Street (rather than on Market Street under which BART runs), that wasn't a problem; but I have no idea what's standing in for the Terminal now that the old one is being (or has been) demolished, nor where that temporary site sits, nor what kind of trans-Bay service AC Transit still offers. And I'm sure that the SamTrans bus stops at a few BART stations along the way. ¶ This may now all be as abstract and remote as when I came to the Bay Area during BART's construction in the mid-1960's and people recalled the old Key System trolleys — and before that, the ferries which used to carry those trolleys across an unbridged Bay. —— Shakescene (talk) 02:21, 24 April 2011 (UTC)

Spring Break

When I was in high school I remember having Spring break end on Easter Sunday. Now, my kids have their Spring break a week earlier, plus they get a bonus day off (Good Friday). Is there any consensus among school districts as to which week the students get off? Hemoroid Agastordoff (talk) 06:49, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Because Easter this year is almost as late as it can be, education authorities in many countries have moved the spring break earlier. The situation is further complicated in the UK by the royal wedding holiday on April 29th. In general, in the UK, the Easter break always includes some days in the week following Easter, but there is no consensus between neighbouring authorities about the dates of school breaks, though occasionally neighbouring authorities will agree on common dates, and the general pattern, though fixed by tradition, is not mandatory, so some schools fix their own dates. Do school districts in the USA have varying dates, and do they insist that these apply to all schools in the district? Dbfirs 07:07, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

In Canada, the spring break typically gets placed at approximately the same time every year, though each school province (and to some extent each board of education) has some independence. It really has nothing to do with anything as Rube Goldberg-esque as when Easter happens to be observed. Matt Deres (talk) 13:34, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

In the U.S. there is a wide variance in Sping Break practices. For colleges and universities, spring break is generally in the first few weeks of March, as it usually falls at the exact midpoint of the spring semester; students typically take midterm exams during the week prior. For public school systems, the practice varies widely from state to state. In the New England states, there are typically two spring-semester breaks, a "February Break" and an "April Break", the April break in New England typically falls much later than typical public school Spring Breaks in other areas; also as New England schools tend to start later and run later in the year (typically Early September - Late June as opposed to August-May for most other parts of the country). Other states or areas may closely follow the college practice, by having Spring Break in march. In some areas, particularly the South, Public school spring break usually coincides with Holy Week (the week before easter) and in the years before strict school/religion seperation the two were synonymous; "Easter Break" was the week immediately before or after Easter in exactly the same way that "Christmas Break" was the week around Christmas and New Years. As courts began to more strictly enforce seperation of religion from schools, the high school spring holiday became more divorced from Easter; and as such tends to fall in the same week in april regardless of when easter occurs. In years when it does not easily coincide with Easter, some school systems will still have a day off for Good Friday, sometimes disguised as an "Optional Teacher Workday" or something like that. --Jayron32 17:27, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Like Jayron, my schools also had two breaks, in February and April. In Alberta, we have reading week in February, and most (though not all) schools get the entire week off. The Monday (which coincides with Presidents' Day in the US) is "Family Day," a stat holiday that I believe was invented for the sole purpose of another long weekend between New Year's and Easter. Thursday and Friday are Teachers' Convention, so the kids get those days off. Therefore, most schools also gave the kids the Tuesday and Wednesday off, because there's no point in a 2-day school week.

I don't know about public schools' Easter breaks, but I was in the Catholic school system, where we always got Good Friday off and then the week following Easter. NEVER the week before, even when Easter was late in the year. This probably has something to do with the fact that we had Holy Thursday mass at school, and therefore had to be at school that week... Cherry Red Toenails (talk) 18:10, 25 April 2011 (UTC)

Also note that in many areas, the breaks are staggered in order to allow masses of students from different schools a fighting chance at getting out of town. If every college in the Boston area, for example, had the same schedule, the airport would simply shut down from the excess traffic. Note also that graduations are staggered for the same reason. Any of the major schools can fill up all the hotel rooms on its own just with parents of graduates. By the way, "Good Frday" is a legal holiday in some places. Collect (talk) 17:41, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

I'm not sure about what level of education the OP refers to, but here in Britain there is much effort to ensure neighbouring areas have the same holidays at secondary level (11–16, up to 18 to a great extent as well); this is about getting childcare or holiday from work to care for your children. This isn't the case really though with university level. Grandiose (me, talk, contribs) 18:04, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Everyone having the same holidays makes getting childcare and time off work more difficult, not easier. I think the reason for trying to make holidays the same is so that siblings in different schools are off at the same time so the whole family can go on holiday together. --Tango (talk) 18:16, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

In addition to what was said above about New England schools, the breaks in the various school districts of the same state will often not coincide with neighboring districts. So, it's possible for two friends who go to different schools in the same state to not have the same week off. Dismas|^(talk) 21:36, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

As a teacher in Australia, currently on holidays, I've been reading this discussion with interest. I'm in the second week of a two and a bit week break that concludes with Easter, ANZAC Day next Monday, then one more day. But, being in the southern hemisphere, there's no way we are going to call this a Spring Break. It's Autumn here. (And it's not Fall either!) HiLo48 (talk) 00:19, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

Spring break here in Canada falls earlier now than it did before World War II, if my mother remembered correctly. She said that her spring break fell in April, which allowed kids to help out during planting. (One wonders whether this was the original intent, at least on the Prairies.) By the time I was in school in the 70s it fell in mid-March, which is of course far too early for anything but shovelling snow. It's still in mid-March here in Manitoba. --NellieBly (talk) 18:17, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

In my day it was connected with what the Catholics call Holy Week, and the fact that Easter is a springtime holiday would have played into using that week for planting. Now they often have it at about mid-semester, which takes it away from anything religious, and is also pretty much useless unless you have plans to go to Florida. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:26, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

Help ID island

I'm trying to identify an unnamed island on an old map from about 60 years ago. It's a very small island in the Southern Ocean southeast of the South Sandwich Islands and just outside the Weddell Sea. The approximate coordinates are 63°44′S 11°56′W. I tried GeoHack, but the links either require javascript (which I don't have) or they break my crappy 19.2K dialup connection before they finish loading. Could somebody with a high-speed connection take a look at the coordinates and tell me what's there please? Thanks. - Hydroxonium (T•C•V) 12:20, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

I tried it but nothing was there, the maps did not get that detailed. Are you sure your coords are correct? You may have to use a pay mapping site to see what is there. Heiro 12:36, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

This is probably the atlas you want, but I can't find anything there either. See also our List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands.--Shantavira|^{feed me}

Thanks for the feedback. I'm not positive of the coordinates as I estimated them using a ruler. It's southeast of 60°00′S 15°00′W, which are the logitude and latitude lines marked on the map I have. So I could be off by a few degrees but it shouldn't be very much. Thanks. - Hydroxonium (T•C•V) 13:27, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Can't see anything there. About how far from 60 S, 15 W? And how sure are you of the South-East direction from that point? Astronaut (talk) 14:02, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

...but Bouvet Island is northwest of 60 S, 15 E if that's any help. Astronaut (talk) 14:08, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

There's nothing there. Many older maps do include sightings of icebergs marked as phantom islands, but the co-ordinates you mention were well-known to be deep sea - it was pretty much on the route of James Clark Ross' 1843 expedition, and the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition. This map indicates that the Scottish expedition took a sounding at approximately that location - could that be what the map is showing? Warofdreams talk 15:11, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

I think you might be right. The map is about 60 years old and the "island" is unmarked (it's just a little circle). The "island" is about half way between 60°S and the Antarctic Circle (66°33'S), which would be 63°S. And it's about half way between Montagu Island (26°23'W) and Bouvet Island (3°24′E), which would be about 12°W. That would be 63°00′S 12°00′W, which is very close to the 68°34′S 12°49′W sounding in your link. So you are probably right. Thanks for the help everybody. - Hydroxonium (T•C•V) 15:23, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

It's not the sounding mentioned in the text, which is about 5° south of the point in which you are interested, but rather the one marked on the map at around 62°00′S 12°00′W. Warofdreams talk 15:51, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

It could be a "copyright trap", see Fictitious_entry#Maps. Mapmakers would sometimes include deliberately fake information, usually of an insignificant nature, to catch people copying their maps. Such a small, insignificant island in the middle of nowhere may have been something similar. --Jayron32 17:19, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Yep, the traps are fun to find. I recently found one about "Tupelo Honey" in a topo-map of Northern MS. (Needless to say, there's not really a community named Honey near Tupelo, MS.) But anyway, in this case, based on the age of the map, I think you are most likely looking at a phantom island, or a printing flaw. I've got a pay service with one of the better mapping programs, and I don't see anything there, unless your coords are way off. Quinn ^CLOUDY 18:55, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

I think we're all neglecting the obvious conclusion: this must be Fantasy Island --Ludwigs2 19:26, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

I've always wondered about that name. What kind of twisted weirdo has fantasies about Tattoo ? :-) StuRat (talk) 23:07, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

I'd imagine that his girlfriend did, in a completely wholesome way. Best if you strike that line out of politeness. I'll add that a colleague of mine used to teach an undergrad course on human sexuality, and would bring in guest speakers who had some really outré sexual proclivities. A few of us would take them out for a late lunch after class, which had two results for me: (i) I no longer lose my appetite no matter what anyone says, and (ii) I'm now happy to accept someone's sexuality as normal so long as the object of their amorous desires is both human and alive. --Ludwigs2 07:41, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

There are degrees of weirdness. But you definitely should avoid shaking hands with the ones who do it with dead sheep. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:01, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

^{I'm into sadism, necrophilia and bestiality. Am I flogging a dead horse?}

^{. . .}

^{I'll get me coat. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.197.66.111 (talk) 23:28, 21 April 2011 (UTC)}

That last comment wasn't up to snuff. StuRat (talk) 00:23, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Missed US income tax deadline

So, I know it's sort of unbelievable but I spaced the tax filing deadline. I had my statement all prepared on Sunday. Was going to check a few things on Monday before filing and simply forgot. I'm ready to file now. Anyone know what missing the deadline by one day is going to cost me (I mean how the penalty is calculated)?--108.46.109.70 (talk) 18:17, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

What happens if you file your income tax one day late? anonymous6494 18:38, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

according to this page you get a 5% per month penalty on US federal taxes owed, so if you file now it will hurt, but not as bad as if you delay and delay. Penalties on state tax will obviously vary by state, but I've never known a state tax board to be nicer than the IRS (If you can avoid it, never get audited by your state). --Ludwigs2 19:22, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Keep in mind that "owed" means the net amount you owe. I.e. if you're due money back, ordinarily there's no penalty for being a day late. Which is not to say there are no consequences — there are things you can do on a timely return that you can't do on a late one, and sometimes they're things that can save you money in the long run. Also some people are under special restrictions to file on time (say, because they've requested an installment plan in the past). No warranty on any of this; this is just my personal, non-expert understanding. --Trovatore (talk) 00:18, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

I added a more useful (sub)title, which assumes that this question concerns the USA. StuRat (talk) 19:26, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

I'm curious about the verb "spaced" in the OP's question. Everything tells me it means "missed", but I've never seen "spaced" used that way before. -- Jack of Oz [your turn] 19:51, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

It is presumably related to the term "spaced-out". --Tango (talk) 20:00, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

The more common usage would be "spaced on [the deadline]" or "spaced about [the deadline]". 128.118.84.113 (talk) 20:29, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Correct. It's an American slang term. Spaced (out), as Tango said, is what they meant. Dismas|^(talk) 21:28, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Anyone have a clear etymology here? I generally take it to mean that you're Major Tom and your mind is floating through space rather than being here on Earth. Or, it could be related to space cadet, which presumably comes from Heinlein's seminal young-adult novel of the same name, but I would tend to expect that term to have shown up later (no major figure in Space Cadet being particularly noted for mental disorientation, though the antagonists are weak of character). --Trovatore (talk) 02:34, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

No source but I always took it to be the Major Tom/drug reference. Dismas|^(talk) 02:38, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

Someone whose "head is in the clouds" has lost touch with reality, presumably being "spacey" or "spaced out" implies an even greater disconnect. --Jayron32 02:45, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

Etymonline traces spaced out to 1965, and "space" as verb to 1968, and spacy to 1971, and speculates that the connection between drugs and spaciness to be tied obliquely to Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, an American television program popular among the 1960's teenagers when they were 1950's preteens. --Jayron32 02:49, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

Interesting — I never knew there was a Space Cadet other than Heinlein's. Per the article, the Tom Corbett one was "inspired" by Heinlein's version. Wonder how RAH felt about that. You can't copyright a title, per se, AFAIUI, but you can't generally appropriate someone else's fictional universe either. --Trovatore (talk) 02:55, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

The origin is probably from "spaced out", but the way I've used it is the common way it is used as slang. Not "spaced on" and definitely not "spaced about" (god that sounds bizarre), but just "spaced": "I spaced the deadline"; "I spaced where I left my keys"; Person 1 "Did you remember to bring my sandwich?" Person 2 "Sorry, I spaced it." I live in New York, and have always lived in New York. It is pretty common slang, at least upstate, i.e, north of New York City. In fact, I didn't even realize it was regional until seeing the reaction here which surprised me that in that I would have thought everyone would not be surprised by my use of the term. By the way, somewhat unrelated but Spaced happens to be one of my favorite shows ever.--108.46.109.70 (talk) 06:11, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

P.S. I think it's more common than you guys are making it out to be. Maybe it's not so regional.--108.46.109.70 (talk) 06:25, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure this is a loan word from California surfer lingo ("Gnarly, dude; I spaced!"), and is a reference to blankly staring off into space like a nimnul (which is a loan word from Orkian). In case anyone really cares... --Ludwigs2 07:17, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

Yes, it is slang, and fairly widespread. What may vary by region is whether it takes a direct object. In defense of "spaced on", how about "I can't believe we spaced on the date!" -- Homer Simpson, e.g. here [3] To my ear, "spaced the date" would sound strange here. One way of looking at it is that "spaced out" does not take a direct object, so 'spaced' doesn't either. SemanticMantis (talk) 17:34, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

The OP says "The origin is probably from "spaced out", but the way I've used it is the common way it is used as slang." However, it's the same thing. To be "spaced out", or to have "spaced", in the shortened form, means to have forgotten to do something that should have been obvious to do, or to have gotten something wrong that seemed easy, or to have been absent-minded or not alert. "I spaced out on that" or "I spaced on that". Same thing. Very common term in my g-g-generation. :) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:57, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

Most enlightening, thanks all. Very common it may be, Bugs, but only in your national neck of the world wide woods, apparently. I've never heard it down here. -- Jack of Oz [your turn] 19:55, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

Common in the US, yes. So they don't use the term "spaced out" in Australia? Or is it just "spaced" that they don't use this way? Although I like the evolution of that term to connect it with the space bar on the keyboard, which seems fitting. Meanwhile, with all this spacing-out here, I hope the OP has talked to the tax agencies by now. Every day counts. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:00, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

Oh, 'spaced out' is well-known (and well-practised, I might add; half* of my clients seem permanently* to be in that state). 'Spaced' is used here to mean 'located in space', e.g. The trees are spaced two metres apart. (* Hyperbole, but not all that much in some cases.) -- Jack of Oz [your turn] 21:37, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

Sure, that makes total sense, and is also used here. It's totally a matter of context. And it does appear that "spaced out on" has evolved into "spaced on" and then into just plain "spaced". The joys of English. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 07:25, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

For what it's worth, I grew up and lived in Mississippi for most of my life, and knew exactly what the OP was saying. "Spaced" = "Spaced out" = forgot/got distracted. Very common down here. Quinn ^CLOUDY 02:54, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Remove names from roster of names associated with "694th Radar Squadron"

I would like to remove my name which is listed multiple times due to my attempts to update the roster located at the following link:

http://www.radomes.org/cgi-bin/museum/acwshowroster.cgi?site=Pickstown+AFS,+SD

It will only allow me to "update" names, rather than to "delete" them.

By deleting my names it will permit me to CORRECTLY submit an entry.

Robert M. Sherman

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Bsherm129 (talk • contribs) 19:43, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Robert, I have removed your telephone number and email address because making them public on the RD may lead to them being misused. Any response will be posted here. My apologies if i have overstepped the mark. Richard Avery (talk) 19:47, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

If you can't delete the extra copies, perhaps you can blank them out, or put in dashes, or all Z's, or something like that, to make it obvious it's not a name. You may need to contact the web site administrator to request an actual deletion. StuRat (talk) 19:48, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Help finding a poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

I read a book about 15 years ago where the author quoted a poem or saying by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. The poem had to do with " There is no....... a determined soul". That is how the poem began and ended. What was the entire poem? I believe it was only three lines. I believe the title of the book was Self-Directed Work TEams, but i'm not sure. I appreciate any help you might shed on this subject. regards, Mike Cacio mcacio@tycoint.com —Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.203.160.100 (talk) 20:45, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

The three lines you remember are a quotation from Ella Wheeler Wilcox's poem "Will". --Antiquary (talk) 21:27, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Further clarification needed. Annoyingly, it seems from this bibliography that Wilcox wrote two poems called "Will". One dates from 1901 and begins "You will be what you will to be"; the other one (your one) dates from 1917. --Antiquary (talk) 21:37, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

April 20

wikipedia

wikipedia is controlled by a NPO. Now i want to know is it legally possible for an individual or a corporation or another NPO to purchase/take control of wikipedia? --Ghoulbuster (talk) 13:28, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

Wikipedia certainly has assets which could be purchased, such as the databases, the servers, the name itself, etc. However, given that those assets are wholly controlled by the Wikimedia Foundation, there's no means to forcably "take control" of those assets; the WMF would have to willing sell those assets to another party. When you say "take control", that implies a takeover, which only works when the ownership of the assets are distinct from the management of the assets; for example when the prosepctive buyer takes control of a voting majority of shares of a publicly traded company, and uses that controling interest to force a merger against the wishes of the company's board. In the case of Wikipedia, there is no mechanism to do that. Of course, the WMF has the means and authority to willingly divest itself of Wikipedia (it may be a complex process, but technically feasible), but that wouldn't involve anyone "taking control" of it, just it willingly transfering control to a purchaser. --Jayron32 13:54, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

I used wrong language, I mean willingly selling Wikipedia to another party. --Ghoulbuster (talk) 14:01, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

I'm not sure about the legalities of selling a Non-profit to a corporation. But this website could certainly be sold.

The licensing of the encyclopedia's content is tricky. I'm not sure how much of the content's copyright would become property of the new owners, but it doesn't matter. Because of the way it's licensed, everyone would still be free to copy everything on Wikipedia except the logo.

So if tomorrow Wikipedia was sold to EvilCorp, Inc, you could download the database, draw a new logo, and put up your own copy.

I think it's safe to say that whatever happens to the foundation, there will always be a free copy of Wikipedia available for as long as people are interested and as long as it's possible to distribute things for free on the Internet. APL (talk) 14:32, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

Some of the points made in Wikipedia:Village pump (policy)/Archive 83#Selling Wikipedia?? may be relevant. Deor (talk) 19:09, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

An involuntary sale could occur if there were a large judgement against the project, beyond the funds that it could raise, such as the judgement which put the Saturday Evening Post out of business in 1969, for a time, as a result of losing a defamation suit for $3 million. The project seems to be run on a shoestring, compared to its prominence on the Web. Granted, any slander or libel in an edit is generally considered to imperil the offending editor rather than the project, but if somehow defamation were left in place willfully by the project after a request to remove it, mightn't Wikipedia then be liable for a judgement which would result in the sale of all assets? Imagine if some libel of a business or person were left in Wikipedia after a request to remove it; an AFD left it in place, and a request to the office to delete it was not honored for some reason. The libelled party sues and gets a multimillion dollar judgement, beyond what donors or any insurance could cover. Could a court order the resources sold to pay the judgement? Then Evilcorp might buy up the servers and the name, and any other intellectual property or "goodwill" belonging to the project. It would seem that the content licensing for existing articles would not change, but Evilcorp could then add advertisements and do lots of things that social networking websites now do. They could even pay admins and content contributors. They could prevent anonymous or throwaway account vandalism, and could eliminate articles which are mere vanispamcruftisements or trivial directory listings. The average quality of an article might actually improve, so far as a reader seeking information is concerned. For that matter, they could write articles to say good things about advertisers, like most newspapers and magazines do. Any content that was created for hire could be copyrighted and could replace the old free articles over time(the references are not copyrighted, only the text, right?) This would not stop someone from creating a free clone of old Wikipedia, with editing open to all, and it would be left to viewers which they preferred. Edison (talk) 19:34, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Who is J.B. Morris ?

I need information about J.B Morris (Chemist) thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 178.63.158.171 (talk) 17:20, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

You mean this one? Or another one? --NellieBly (talk) 17:47, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

=/ another one i think the one im looking for is dead i think ... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 178.63.158.171 (talk) 18:22, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

Do you know the sort of area J.B. Morris might live/have lived in, and the rough dates he was born (and died if applicable). With that information you could start building up a picture from local council data or census information if the person lived a long time ago, and phone books and local directories if they are live now. Prokhorovka (talk) 18:23, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

(ec) Do you know if he was American, British, Canadian, etc., and do you have any details about his life (does he have a scholarship named after him, was he a full professor at a university, did he discover anything notable)? The problem is that "J.B. Morris" is an astonishingly common name, even for chemists. PS: at the end of your comments, type four tildes like this ~~~~ so we know who we're talking to. Our Sinebot, which added the tildes for you above, isn't always that quick. --NellieBly (talk) 18:26, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

I think he graduated from Harvard (or Howard(?)) university. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 178.63.158.171 (talk) 18:33, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

Do you know (even roughly) which year? Especially if you are a relative of his they may well be prepared to share some of the records they will likely have on him, such as what he graduated in and possibly contact details afterwards. Prokhorovka (talk) 18:36, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

Actually our teacher told me to research about some of his papers but I haven't found anything so far.In fact the search results is more for our teacher's name! --178.63.158.171 (talk) 18:40, 20 April 2011 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 178.63.158.171 (talk) 18:39, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

According to this there was a JB Morris Foundry Company in Cincinnati Ohio at one point. Maybe a lead? --Jayron32 20:13, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

Why not ask your teacher for a link to either information about him or his works, and then go from there? Prokhorovka (talk) 07:28, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Merging?

Hi,

I am not sure I am writing at the right place, if no, please forward my message. I am translating an article into french and I am in front of Demolition belt. It seems to be the same thing as No man's land but it is not merge, so my question is: Is demolition belt = No man's land? Thanks for your help. Skiff (talk) 20:12, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

No. The two terms can, in some instances, apply to the same terrain, but they are not synonymous. For example, a no man's land may not be a demolition belt. It simply needs to be disputed territory that is occupied by neither opposing force. Likewise, an armed force might choose to make the edge of the territory that they control a demolition belt, even though it is not a no man's land. Marco polo (talk) 20:34, 20 April 2011 (UTC)

Agree with above. Sometimes similar, but not mutually exclusive. Quinn ^CLOUDY 02:38, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Ok, I have understood. Thank you. Skiff (talk) 20:09, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

April 21

Beetle breaks up?

What was the date the last Type 1 was sold in the U.S.? I understand it was 1977, but haven't been able to find a date. TREKphiler ^{any time you're ready, Uhura} 00:35, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

This news article says the last shipment of Beetles was in Aufust of 1977. Fribbler (talk) 10:12, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Thx, that narrows it down, but I'm hoping there's an exact date published somewhere. Any idea how many VW dealers there were? That'd give some hint how fast the 2000 Type 1s left would sell. TREKphiler ^{any time you're ready, Uhura} 11:01, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Note that production continued in Mexico. Whether these cars were exported to the USA, I don't know. Alansplodge (talk) 17:23, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Me again. This article suggests they weren't. Alansplodge (talk) 17:25, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Buying videos (tv shows, movies, etc.) online

Hello. I'm looking to purchase videos in digital format for playback on a computer. The videos won't be anything ancient or hard to find. An example of what I'm looking to nuy is Futurama. I am aware of iTunes, but I thought comparing a few merchants would be the best route. The requirements are simple:

1. Needs to be purchasable in Canada. Everything I tried so far is US only.
2. Videos are downloaded (like music), not just streamed, so I can watch them while off the grid.

Any help would be appreciated. Cheers. --The Dark Side (talk) 06:04, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Have you looked at Futurama#Media that lists DVDs that include all 4 seasons of Futurama? There is also some Futurama material viewable on YouTube]. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 10:27, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Netflix also has Futurama in streaming form.

Zune seems to have it in download form.

I don't know if either of these places is available to Canadians. APL (talk) 13:47, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Both are available to Canadians, but both (or atleast the ones available here) don't carry Futurama. --The Dark Side (talk) 16:45, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

Zip.ca seems to offer Futurama. Marco polo (talk) 18:06, 21 April 2011 (UTC)

April 22

Subaru Foresters are manufactured completely in Japan, then shipped to the U.S. How long does the shipping take (in days) from Japan to the US? Kingturtle = (talk) 01:49, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Cargo ships require about 10 days to make the crossing ([4], [5]). Add in a few days at each end if you want to include transport to and from the port, and loading/unloading of the ship. Times will be longer if you're looking for delivery to the east coast. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 02:30, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Cars intended for delivery to the northeastern United States are typically shipped to the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal. (This is considerably cheaper than shipping to California and then cross-country by truck, or even by rail.) According to this site, shipping time to that port from Yokohama in Japan is 30 days. As Ten of All Trades, says, you need to allow at least a few days at both ends for transfer to or from the port by truck or rail. Marco polo (talk) 15:42, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Note that Foresters are manufactured in Ōta, Japan, which is 120 miles (194 km) from the Fukushima nuclear plant, well beyond the perimeter where dangerous radiation has been detected. The route from Ōta to its likely port of shipment, Yokohama, would not bring vehicles any closer to the nuclear plant. Marco polo (talk) 15:56, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Kamel Reds

So, i was looking to buy this hard to find brand of cigs, one of our gas stations in Cottonwood, AZ has them for $5.99 but they rarely have them in stock. so i was looking for a site to buy by the carton. i weeded through the mirror sites, and all the real looking sites dont have them. any ideas? 71.223.212.6 (talk) 10:09, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

• According to Camel (cigarette) this brand has been discontinued though "Some still found in the US, typically further up North, but is also found in the South, such as Tennessee and Texas." - you might have problems sourcing these. I might suggest you contact the manufacturer R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company at http://rjrt.com/contactus.aspx but they don't seem to encourage consumers to contact them - if you can get through maybe they could give you a list of distributors in Arizona who then might be able to tell you who stocks the brand. As an aside I hope you do understand and accept the risks involved in smoking. Exxolon (talk) 11:23, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

How do I connect my camera?

Hi, I am hopeless with technology, but maybe you can help. I have a Fujifilm Finepix F410, of Japanese manufacture, and I am trying to get the photos from it onto my laptop. I tried using the USB cable from my old camera, but the small end (like the one on the right here) doesn't fit. Is my camera using a different version of USB or something? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.70.226.85 (talk) 11:27, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Yes there are different USB connectors. But rather than buy a new cable I suggest you buy a card reader and plug that into your computer. That way you can just take the card from your camera and plug it into the card reader, which acts like an extra disk drive and you can move photos around at will. This will also save your camera battery.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 11:34, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Yes, different manufacturers have different implementations of miniature USB connectors. The same applies to phones. Sometimes they are interchangeable and sometimes not. You should have been provided with the appropriate USB cable when you bought the camera, but an alternative which usually works (provided the pictures are not saved in a propriety "raw" format) is to remove the memory card from your camera and plug it into your computer or a card reader, then just drag and drop onto your computer folder. I haven't seen the Finepix F410 so perhaps someone else can confirm what picture format it uses by default and whether other manufacturers' USB leads can be used. Dbfirs 11:42, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

There are several standard miniature USB connectors, miniUSB (with A and B variants) and microUSB (with A and B variants). For most devices the B cables will be what's used so miniUSB-B (for older devices) and microUSB-B (for most newer devices) predominate by far. Some manufacturers may use their own prioprietary USB connectors (although from my experience most such proprietary connectors are more then miniature USB) but phone manufacturers have agree to settle on microUSB for charging and data connections since I think 2007 [6], and it's now mandated in the EU although bundling a converted is allowed [7]. I'm not sure but the photo above looks like a microUSB cable, a camera that old was before the existance of microUSB so there's no way it would have that. Nil Einne (talk) 13:14, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

According to the manual, the camera uses the xD-Picture Card, so you will need a card reader that supports this standard. Exxolon (talk) 11:46, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Concurring with others here. In my experience, getting a multiple-card reader with a USB cable (the typical arrangement) gives you a lot more flexibility. For one thing, you don't have to install any special software, you can just copy or move the files using your standard windows explorer, as the PC will treat the card like any other portable disk drive. For another, if a friend takes some photos and has a camera with a different type of card than yours, you probably wouldn't have the copying software, but you can probably still copy the files to your PC using your card reader and windows explorer. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:12, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Thanks to all off you for the help; your generosity never ceases to amaze me :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.70.226.85 (talk) 02:56, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Anzac Day

has any prime minister ever been out of the country on anzac day ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 120.156.114.68 (talk) 12:13, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Your IP address is Australian, so I assume you are asking about the Australian Prime Minister (rather than the New Zealand PM, which would also have made sense). It's not something that is particularly easy to find out. You would need to go through each Anzac day in turn working out where the PM at the time was. --Tango (talk) 13:31, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

It has become common for Australians to go to Anzac Cove for a dawn service there. For the our article "In 1990 ... Government officials from Australia ... travelled to Turkey for a special Dawn Service at Gallipoli.". The article doesn't mention whether the PM went, but that year would seem a likely candidate for the PM not being in Australia. Mitch Ames (talk) 13:47, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

It appears that Bob Hawke was there in 1990. [8][9] Mitch Ames (talk) 13:53, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

... so now Anzac Day#Turkey does mention Hawke. Mitch Ames (talk) 13:59, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

The list certainly does NOT include Paul Keating - [10]. -- Jack of Oz [your turn] 21:39, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

But John Howard was there on Anzac Day 2005. [11] -- Jack of Oz [your turn] 21:39, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Julia Gillard will be out of Australia on Anzac Day this year. (In Korea, not at Anzac Cove.) [12][13] - in both cases the information is right at the bottom of the article. Mitch Ames (talk) 00:58, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Coca Cola & Mentos

I'm sure this has been asked many times and I probably missed the Mythbusters episode, but what's the fact of the matter of what would happen if a person downed, say, a 20 Oz bottle of Coke and then after the soda was all the way down, quickly swallowed a Mentos? 20.137.18.50 (talk) 14:59, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

It's specifically Diet Coke, not Coca Cola. --Mr.98 (talk) 15:43, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

From the About.com link at the bottom of the link you provided, it sounds like the same reaction would occur more or less with regular Coke, as carbonation is the key, but that Diet Coke causes less sticky results. Thanks for that link, though. I can't help but suspect that anyone who drank a bunch of any carbonated soda and then popped a whole regular (i.e., unwaxed) Mentos would start projectile vomiting. 20.137.18.50 (talk) 16:00, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

See http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/mentos.asp. Exxolon (talk) 16:18, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Our article indicates that it is more than carbonation, that the aspartame (only in Diet Coke) is part of the reaction. The About.com article is really the worst of the references in that article. The others point to the fact that aspartame lowers the surface tension of the water, which is why Diet Coke is much more dramatic in its reaction than regular Coke. --Mr.98 (talk) 20:51, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

The Eepy Birds, who ought to be experts, have said that Diet Coke and regular Coke are the same except for the stickiness. So, if there is a difference, then I would assume it is a small one. Dragons flight (talk) 04:33, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Nothing particularly interesting would happen. The dissolved CO2 in a fizzy drink comes out of solution quite a lot when you drink it anyway - that's why you burp. Also, I don't think a 20oz bottle is big enough. The experiment is usually done with a larger bottle (but with the same sized opening, so more bubbles try to get through the same space, meaning the foam travels faster). If you tried to down a 2 litre (or whatever the imperial equivalent is) bottle in one go, you would make yourself ill with or without a mento! --Tango (talk) 16:27, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

From a perusal on youtube, it looks like a cupful of soda and a Mentos are enough to make someone gurgle up, which isn't nothing, but also isn't very interesting. 20.137.18.50 (talk) 18:44, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

As a side note, the imperial equivalent of a 2 litre bottle of soda is a 2-liter bottle of soda. --Carnildo (talk) 22:46, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

They did this one on Mythbusters and came to the same conclusion as Tango. Here's the video[14] --JGGardiner (talk) 00:16, 24 April 2011 (UTC)

Anent not much: Years ago a friend drank 5 10 oz. bottles of Coke inside of about 12 minutes -- then had two cups of coffee. He claimed he slept fine after that. Collect (talk) 23:07, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

What he didn't tell you was that it was 3 days later when he "slept fine". :) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:25, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Or that his "sleep" was more likely a diabetic coma. -- Jack of Oz [your turn] 01:49, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Yah. The scenario reminds me of a McGuire Sisters' hit song, with its lyric, "Sugar in the mornin' / Sugar in the evenin' / Sugar at suppertime..." ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 08:40, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Question

First non-Indian person to receive the Bharat Ratna

please tell me,the name of the first non-Indian person who received Bhartha Rathna Mathematics2011 (talk) 15:48, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Do you mean the Bharat Ratna? The list says Nelson Mandela was the "second non-citizen" to recieve it, and if they are referring to Mother Theresa as being the first "non-citizen" (it doesn't say), then it is strange, since she apparently got Indian citizenship in 1948. --Saddhiyama (talk) 16:14, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Ah, I just had to read the article text. The first of non-Indian citizenship to recieve it was Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan in 1987. Nelson Mandela recieved the award in 1990. --Saddhiyama (talk) 16:19, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

I added a comprehensible title. -- Jack of Oz [your turn] 21:32, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

St Andrews Fine China

St Andrews Fine China Scotland is printed on the base of a miniature cup , saucer and plate. I would welcome information on provenance. 92.29.58.186 (talk) 15:50, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Well, no doubt they were made by St Andrews Fine China of Scotland, which a Google search informs me was some sort of subsidiary of Royal Doulton. I am unable to find any information on their history; it doesn't seem to have been a major manufacturer. Looie496 (talk) 16:36, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Writing on unruled paper

Hi. Sometimes I need to write on plain, unruled paper (paper without the lines). However, I often find that my writing curves hopelessly downward or is not parallel to the side of the paper, becomes smaller or bigger from left to right, etc, even if I'm only writing two or three words; I can't write in a straight line without the lines actually being there. Drawing in the lines is impractical because it is time consuming (a serious consideration when, for example, taking a test) and may be aesthetically displeasing (for example, when hand-calligraphing cards). What can I do to prevent this? Thanks. 72.128.95.0 (talk) 22:56, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Get a nice piece of cardboard with its edge parallel to the imaginary line you are writing on, and keep your hand in the same position relative to that edge as your hand moves from side to side. If you are an artist, you can get one of the prisms used to give a virtual image on the paper, and place a ruled sheet in line with it - that way you will see "virtual lines" on the paper. Collect (talk) 23:02, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Get a piece of that cardboard the same size as the paper, and draw very dark, think black lines on it in the spacing you like, then just sit your writing paper on top. Most paper will show the black lines through it. HiLo48 (talk) 23:07, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Agreed, this approach works well. If thin lines don't show through, you can also make them thick. StuRat (talk) 00:17, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Thirded. I sometimes have to handwrite letters, and simply use a second sheet of paper, black-lined as described, under the writing sheet. It takes about 5 minutes to prepare one, and you then have it available indefinitely for repeated use.

In test situations this might be impractical, but often in a test you will have other printed material (such as the question paper) to hand. If you place this under the writing paper, printed text or lines on it will probably also show through well enough to serve as a guide. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.197.66.111 (talk) 02:18, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

I find it extraordinary that we have apparently progressed to a time when a fully literate person is unaware of lineguides. When we wrote things up for 'best' at school, rather than roughly on lined pages, we would take our lineguides (which were clearly just photocopies of one the teacher had made, on A4 paper) out of the drawer, take our paperclips from our personal drawers, and clip them behind blank page or blank paper we wanted to write on. The only danger was, given our young age, that sometimes we shifted the paper relative to the guide. Most people who wrote letters, and had a book of letter-writing paper, would make a lineguide from one of the pages and keep it in the back of the book. I was very surprised when I got to secondary school and we were expected to write neat work on lined paper. Now, best work is word-processed most of the time. 212.183.128.103 (talk) 14:12, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Depending on how much you have to write, what you're writing on or with, and the time available, it may be feasible to draw the lines lightly in pencil first, write the words in ink, wait a while for the ink to be thoroughly dry, then carefully erase the pencil lines. It works for me (in some contexts). Mitch Ames (talk) 00:54, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Depending on how much you write like this...if you can determine the extent of the "curve," simply turn the paper you're writing on at such an angle to compensate. Quinn ^{✩ STARRY NIGHT} 02:27, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

This technique I believe was often used by people hand-writing letters, which were often on thin enough paper that the dark ruled lines would show through and allow them to write neatly. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 05:21, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

When I worked as a secretary in engineering firms, I used to come across handwritten notes where the bottom of each letter was squared off, and each line was perfectly straight even where there were no feint lines on the paper. This was known as "ruler writing" because engineers were trained to sit a ruler on the page and write above the ruler, in order to keep things straight and legible. I believe this is a dying art nowadays. --TammyMoet (talk) 07:40, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

I've seen what you're talking about - long ago. Not only is it a dying art, handwriting itself is a dying art. Why hand-write any more than necessary, when just about everybody and his mother has a PC and a printer? Or a typewriter? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 08:35, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Gee Bugsy, you sure know how to make a woman feel.... old! --TammyMoet (talk) 09:38, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

What makes me feel old is to reflect on the number of major league baseball stadiums that have been constructed and demolished within my lifespan. :( ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 10:06, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

I haven't bought any quality writing paper for a long time, but the leading UK brand called "Basildon Bond" used to include a heavily lined page with each pad. You simply inserted this under each new page. Alansplodge (talk) 17:47, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

April 23

Finding a specific song

I would like to find a copy of an old song which I remember being sung when I was only a child. The name of the song is "Standing By The River." Is there any way that you can help me to find this song? Thank you very much, and may God richly bless your organization. Calvin Smith. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.52.40.207 (talk) 03:35, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Could you be more specific about where you heard this song? What country, first off. Also, did you hear this at a concert, in church, where? And what is "old". We don't know how old you are to know when you were a child. A Google search for "lyrics standing by the river" yields at least two different songs with that title and that's just on the first page of the results. One version was apparently sung by The Stanley Brothers who were active from 1946 - 1966. That would meet my definition of "old". Dismas|^(talk) 04:27, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

When I looked at youtube, this item[15] featuring the Speer Family gospel singers was the first thing that came up. Probably from the early 1950s, and preserved thanks to the magic of kinescope. Old-fashioned, and well-done. Speaking of "old", keep in mind that Disco is now considered nostalgia. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 04:59, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Sadly, Grunge is considered "classic rock" now. Disco is drifting into "oldies" territory, which means that the OP's song is approaching whatever category "Cavemen banging on rocks" fits in... Damn, when did I get so old. --Jayron32 05:08, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Just today, technically. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 05:18, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

I wondered about grunge/classic rock the other day when I heard Nirvana on a classic rock station. The station is out of London though, so I just chalked it up to an American/British difference to keep from feeling old.  :-) Dismas|^(talk) 05:40, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

No, you're old. Welcome to the club. Grunge is about 20 years old now. For comparison, when Grunge was new, Led Zeppelin was music from 20 years prior. When I was listening to Grunge, Led Zeppelin was squarely in the "Classic rock" bucket. --Jayron32 05:44, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

And in the 60s, the "nostalgic" music was Big Band. When we get to the point where Rap is considered "nostalgia", we might want to get our pulse checked. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:00, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Check your pulse. Music with a 30+ year history has been "classic" for a long time. --Jayron32 06:10, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

"Old school", yes. Did you know that the rap recording called "The Super Bowl Shuffle" had its 25th anniversary this past season? But when I find rap in the same section with Lawrence Welk, then I'll know it's time to check out. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:19, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

See Also: Fight For Your Right Revisited. 67.162.90.113 (talk) 22:25, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Long boots

Can someone explain what these boots are for or why the guys are standing with one foot in between the boots of the man next to him? What's going on here, basically. Thanks, Dismas|^(talk) 04:22, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Have you seen the other potatoes on that site? Quite an odd collection of spuds. I can't help but think the potato might be a fake. Real or fake, it's kinda strange. It's like if elves wore potatoes, or something. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 05:06, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Yeah, they look fake. It looks like someone got bored and was screwing around with Photoshop. --Jayron32 05:09, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Looks like it could be for real, though I'm still not ruling out "fake". I googled [boots with long toes], and this item came up,[16] which alleges to be the story behind this picture and includes other photos as well. I googled the reference [patatas vaqueras exóticas] ("exotic cowboy") and there are many photos of pointy-toed boots, though the only ones with the outrageous points in google images are from that site I mentioned. It appears that the ones that look like curvy skis were created just to take this fashion fad to an extreme or to satirize it. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 05:15, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

I did look at the other images on that site. That's what makes me think that the pics are real and not photoshopped. The other pics don't seem to be manipulated. Dismas|^(talk) 05:42, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

An extreme version of botas vaqueras exótica, a Mexican style that has gone global. Check out the Finnish group Leningrad Cowboys.[17] There is a surreal video on that page where they are performing "Sweet Home Alabama" (with the Red Army Chorus) where they are wearing similar footwear. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 14:59, 23 April 2011 (UTC),

Is it my imagination or have the Leningrad Cowboys' boots (and quiffs) got longer in the last 15 years? Astronaut (talk) 07:24, 24 April 2011 (UTC)

Wow. If they are real it should be possible to lean forward pretty much horizontal on those.190.149.154.38 (talk) 15:13, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Apropos of which, see Little Tich and his "Big Boots Dance." {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.197.66.111 (talk) 16:15, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Here he is in action ;-) Alansplodge (talk) 17:35, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Insightful essays about Wikipedia

I'm looking to gain insight into Wikipedia, its internal dynamics and future, hopefully through reading the best analyses that have been written. I am hoping you can link me to some you have come across.

I'm primarily interested in quality rather than focus, but I'm not looking for humour, how-tos (however excellent), advice columns (e.g.1, 2, 3), or widely-cited proto-policies like WP:DENY. Manifestos that are somewhat broad are welcome though.

Some essays I have found useful in this vein include:

• User:Moreschi/The Plague
• User:TenOfAllTrades/Policy reform treadmill
• User:Thatcher/Quis custodiet ipsos custodes
• User:Scott MacDonald/When to shoot an admiral
• WP:BARBARIAN

What I'm looking for need not necessarily be in-house. That said, I'm less interested in news sources, as they seem to cover the same tired ground over and over (accuracy, BLP, vandalism, crowdsourcing etc.); I'd rather the perspective of the editor/theorist than the reader/journalist. Here are some good insights I've found elsewhere: User:Skomorokh/Farsight.

Anyone got favourites they would be willing to share? Thanks in advance, Skomorokh 16:46, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

A lot of the discussion about 'Wikipedia', e.g., strategic planning and future directions, actually takes place as part of the broader Wikimedia movement. You may be interested in looking at the wikimediastrategy document which includes official research, strategies, proposals, etc. --jjron (talk) 17:09, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

"Come left/right XXX degrees"

In movies, the captain of a (war)ship often give instructions of the form "come left/right XXX degrees." Exactly what does that mean? Does it mean to steer the ship to a new course of absolute bearing XXX degrees? Or does it mean to steer the ship left/right XXX degrees relative to the previous course? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.2.210.7 (talk) 17:07, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

In navigation the terms are usually Bearing (navigation) and Heading. Bearings are relative to an external standard, almost usually magnetic north; whereas heading is relative to the direction of travel. So the captain may say "Take out bearing to 90 degrees" might mean "Make the ship go due east". "Take the heading 90 degrees port" would mean to turn the ship 1/4 of a circle to the port (left side). Various navies will tend to have different standards as to exactly how to notate these movements, but the general principles apply; there's usually two different ways to declare ship movements: relative to an external standard, or relative to the ships own direction of travel. --Jayron32 17:37, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

April 24

Staines

I am a 3 yr old yorkie. I love my master so much that that i keep humping his leg and coming on his trousers. So i wat to know how my master can get the stuff off his trousers.Woof--BenYorkie (talk) 11:28, 24 April 2011 (UTC)