Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2008 May 6

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May 6

The voice of President George W.Bush

What is the earliest known recording of the voice of President George W. Bush? Edison (talk) 02:22, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

His inauguration day, I'd think, since before that he wasn't President? --jpgordon^∇∆∇∆ 02:44, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

This clip include footage of him as Governor of Texas. This one has footage from 1994. Bovlb (talk) 03:55, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

I think I saw a clip in The Choice 2004 by Frontline back in 2004 with Dubya talking to reporters after his father lost his 1970 Senate race in Texas. Other times would be Dubya's failed run for Congress in 1978. --Blue387 (talk) 04:35, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

The 1970 clip was also very recently used in American Experience's The Presidents: George H. W. Bush.--Pharos (talk) 04:47, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

This video of George Bush giving the camera the finger may interest you as well as long as we're on the subject of Bush and cameras. Dismas|^(talk) 15:33, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Given that he came from an extremely rich family, it wouldn't surprise me if there is e.g. a private video recording from the 80s or earlier which has never been seen by the general public. Or perhaps just an audio recording e.g. a love song he song for Laura Nil Einne (talk) 16:02, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

foreign business operation in the Philippines

Moved from WP Philippines:

I have a foreign friend who despewrately wants to own and operate a business in the Philippines. How does he get started? what are the requirements? Please help me and I also need a lawyer, probably a CPA lawyer. Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 61.28.174.82 (talk) 03:07, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Actually I have no idea how foriegners can establish businesses in the Philippines.--Lenticel ^(talk) 03:27, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

I suggest, inquire from a Philippine consulate/embassy in your area. - DaughterofSun (talk) 03:30, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

I spent some time in the Philippines, and I was told that foreigners weren't allowed to own land. I dont' know if that's true and I don't know if that's relevant. So...yeah. Useight (talk) 06:27, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

State Defense Forces

I was reading the article about State Defense Forces and was wondering about a few things. Most defense forces are unarmed but if they were federalized, would they be armed? If so, are they armed by the federal government? Could a state arm their own defense forces by themselves? (I'm strangely imagining a governor or something buying HK416's for their own forces.) How about vehicles like armored vehicles, trucks and Humvees? --Blue387 (talk) 04:40, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

As the article discusses some are already armed and they cannot be federalized. So yes state government could buy them weapons. However states already have armed forces, their National Guard units. Rmhermen (talk) 21:24, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Next Generation Dumber or Smarter

Is the youth today getting smarter or dumber?

Thank You

Always

Cardinal Raven

Cardinal Raven (talk) 04:56, 6 May 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

Idiocracy might interest you. --antilived^{T | C | G} 05:29, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Flynn effect is of more interest.--droptone (talk) 11:27, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

I heard a show on the CBC a few days ago that cited studies saying IQ had gone up substantially in the last few decades. The opinion of the researcher in question was that people had got smarter in the things that IQ tested; specifically abstract reasoning. Fifty or a hundred years ago abstract reasoning wasn't as necessary so we didn't practice it. Now it's pretty essential. DJ Clayworth (talk) 17:13, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

But how can that be? How can the next generation of youth today be smarter? I have seen many children(of this day and age) whom don't pick up books, who don't want to go to school or learn, all they want to do is socialize, they don't study, they get poor grades, they have poor grammar when they should have some decent grammar especially in their teenage life, some of them write like they are texting on a cell phone; and the lack of words being used. How can our youth be smarter?

Always

Cardinal Raven

71.142.208.226 (talk) 21:25, 6 May 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

Well, of course not all youth do what you have described. Generally speaking, youth in developed countries who are lucky enough to enjoy the listed luxuries might participate in them to some extent. That is not to say, however, it will make them less intelligent. Just because a teenager is using slangs and internet acronyms to chat over the internet or on a cell phone, does not necessarily mean that they will write like that on an academic paper. As well, there is a large population of youth who are not doing the tasks you described, and have access to a much larger database of information, such as Wikipedia, that was previously unavailable to past generations. As well, in developing countries, computer usage and internet access is now spreading as well. Once connected, an onslaught of new information will be available to them. Acceptable (talk) 22:22, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

<hyperbole> Either you are mixing with the wrong crowd or you live in a suburb where education is considered to be some elitist wank due to the lack of role models. Go to Princeton or Cambridge and most toddlers in their prams write on a PhD thesis. Consider also, that it is a prime characteristic of the next generation to be revolting. <hyperbole>

--Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 22:48, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Currently I live in Liverpool in Britain. But I am a floater. I hear many students, I see many people, I hear many people. Its strange this world is. The many people you see and yet the most I see is someone who has probably never picked up a book once in their life only when it is necessary. I see teenagers using the internet colloquialism and cellphone colloquialism more often now a days. I had recently been in Starbucks and I saw a boy writing his book report as if he were on the internet. Not only that, but I notice two girls in the corner copying each others work. Some kids wasn't just trying to get it done circling random answers. All though naturally all the skills I have listed aren't what makes someone more or less intelligent I see know motivation to learn. When I was their age I wanted to learn. Learning was my power. Knowledge was my power. No one had to motivate me the knowledge and the knowing and the discovering. Many of the kids in my class were exceptional great as well. They had great grades as I did. Why did the youth of today lose this? Is this really and act of rebelling? Not wanting to learn and to open. And to discover. Why don't the youth of today want to discover and learn? And why do they appear less intelligent then what test say? (Btw, to the post up there I am not a stalker. I am just more aware of what is around me. A little to much sometimes.)

Thank You

Always

Cardinal Raven

Cardinal Raven (talk) 01:37, 7 May 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

Perhaps you're judging "smartness" by the wrong criteria?hotclaws 02:01, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

I might be judging smartness on the wrong criteria. I know my flaws. I live in the mindset of high class. I am very hard to please and I suffer from classic textbook syndrome. I pass out more information textbook style then any one else. My standards are set to high. I believe that people all should understand what I am saying. I know I tend to be wrong and I know I should lower the standards that I expect people to be at. Cause people aren't perfect and I am not perfect. I just want to know: Why doesn't anyone want to learn anymore? Learning is fun.

Always

Cardinal Raven

Cardinal Raven (talk) 02:27, 7 May 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

I keep thinking it is not the intelligence--the raw ability--of "the next generation" (young adults and adolescents) that is missing, but the motivation to use that intelligence. Willful ignorance, I guess you could say. Of course motivation and wisdom may be another aspect of intelligence in some people's consideration; one that is probably not measured very well in IQ tests. --Prestidigitator (talk) 04:43, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Being one of those who would likely fall into the grouping of "the youth of today" as a 20 year old junior in college (3rd year of "university" for those unfamiliar with the term) I think I am highly qualified to attempt to answer your question. This may or may not be is a rant but I figure I rarely get a chance to defend my generation to someone who honestly wants to understand it so I feel obligated to do so to the utmost of my ability.

I'll try to go over your statements one at a time.

You said: "I have seen many children(of this day and age) whom don't pick up books, who don't want to go to school or learn, all they want to do is socialize..." - One of the key things I'm seeing here is the assumption that learning necessarily must come in the form of books. Generations prior to my own don't understand or appreciate learning outside the confines of the book or textbook. A few points from this.

First of all, the information that is in a textbooks is in a form which hasn't changed in a large degree in the past 30 or 40 years while everything around it has changed dramatically. Textbooks aren't interesting to us and they rarely provide information in the kind of forms that we are most adapt at absorbing. My generation will be more likely to have very high social skills requirements for job positions then previous generations and that is largely due to our generation having significant social skills because of the enormous communication possibilities that have opened up in the last 20 or so years. The internet of course has changed the way we absorb information and in my opinion has done so in a much better way.

Secondly, schools and the teaching methods of our educators are also sufficiently different from the common social world we find ourselves the remaining hours of the day. As you described later in this section, you "pass out more information textbook style then any one else", and this style while often considered tried and true is not fitting with the world we live in anymore. From my experience with teachers who are looking into more original teaching methods, it's not that my generation doesn't want to learn, it's that they don't want to learn the way their parents or even grandparents did.

Lastly, textbooks are static, the world we live in is anything but (see Wikipedia). In my personal opinion, textbooks are historical objects, like stone tablets and any chance I have to physically get away from paper copies of books (at least), I take it.

You said: "... they don't study, they get poor grades, they have poor grammar when they should have some decent grammar especially in their teenage life, some of them write like they are texting on a cell phone; and the lack of words being used."

Some of us have poor grades of course, but standards are also much higher. The world is far more difficult to exist in in some cases compared to earlier generations due to economic situations. Gone are the days when the average student could expect to go to college for four years on their parents bill. Gone are the days when it was rare that students had full-time jobs along with school. Many of my peers work 30-40 hours a week on to of their school load. Though I personally don't which could explain why I have time to write this...

Grammar is poor in many cases, I'd agree to that, but in my opinion in a world of technology and highly mathematical and scientific work force, they aren't stressed enough because they aren't needed in the workforce as much. This may explain your biggest issue with the IQ tests, which test analytical skills, something my peers are very good at, and little to no emphasis is on grammar, which we often are poor in. Though I'd also urge you to realize that we often use less then proper grammar for speed and efficiency. I use IM or "textspeak" when speaking online with friends or sometimes with professors in e-mail and consider the usuage of better grammar only when I need to look formal, or when I think it's the only real way to get my point across (like right now, or in papers).

You said: "...The many people you see and yet the most I see is someone who has probably never picked up a book once in their life only when it is necessary"

Again, I stress that books are not the be all and end all of information anymore. The internet has information available in not only a wided assortment of topics but also in a far greater depth for all of those topics. Also, morre often you have access to peer-review of the ideas that are being presented. No longer do we read a book and accept it's points at face value, if we think it's wrong we can look up what hundreds of other experts have said on the subject through google. In the past it would perhaps take hours of searching through libraries for more information.

You said: "I see teenagers using the internet colloquialism and cellphone colloquialism more often now a days. I had recently been in Starbucks and I saw a boy writing his book report as if he were on the internet. Not only that, but I notice two girls in the corner copying each others work. Some kids wasn't just trying to get it done circling random answers."

I assume the boy was using textspeak, in which case it's a shame if his teacher doesn't correct him, but if the teacher doesn't I find it hard to blame him for using an efficient mechanism for sharing information. Children copy, though it's naive to think this generation is especially full of cheating students. I'm sure that person who guessed will be punished for it and will either reform or fail out, again, not particularly novel to my generation.

You said: "... All though naturally all the skills I have listed aren't what makes someone more or less intelligent I see know motivation to learn."

Not to be a smartass sir, but it's quite ironic that you'd make such a grammatical error as using "know" instead of "no" after the rest of your points ;).

You said: "...When I was their age I wanted to learn. Learning was my power. Knowledge was my power. No one had to motivate me the knowledge and the knowing and the discovering. Many of the kids in my class were exceptional great as well. They had great grades as I did. Why did the youth of today lose this? Is this really and act of rebelling? Not wanting to learn and to open. And to discover. Why don't the youth of today want to discover and learn? And why do they appear less intelligent then what test say"

Of course some of us don't want to learn, but many of us do. They just don't care to learn using outdated methods. I'm one of dozens of my peers who often wander through wikipedia reading topics as we find them and absorbing whatever information piques our interest. Not just wikipedia but dozens of new media news sources (digg, slashdot, ect.) which arguably have taught me at least as much if not more than any professor I've ever had. A compliment to these internet sources, a failure of the education system, or a poor mindset? You can decide that.

Rebellion for the sake of rebelling is imo (in my opinion) an idea that the older generation likes to place on the younger generations throughout time to discredit the reasons for their actions. Why do I play grand theft auto or other video games instead of reading some "classic" literature? Why do I watch Scrubs instead of a news sation, why do I read the news on the internet and wikipedia? Personally I believe I get far more out of my choices then the others. GTAIV or games like it challenge me, constantly, they are rarely the same any time through and stretch my problem solving skills in new and dynamic ways while having climactic stories in some cases that could rival the greatest movies or literature. Books are interesting, but hardly ever challenge me, they do not force me to use analytical skills and there is no variation, nothing changes, it's static. I watch tv shows like scrubs because I enjoy them but I also recognize the fact that tv shows today are far more dynamic and complicated then anything you may have grown up watching. There are several storylines that interlock and require actual mental understanding and reasoning by the watcher to fully appreciate what is going on. The internet news and "new media" is the same, it puts me into the dynamic and challenges me to try to spread information. It's not me just absorbing information but also being able to challenge those who teach it to me. These skills imo are what make us more superior at IQ tests (which measure this kind of intelligence) while we appear less intelligent.

On this I'd encourage you to check out the book "everything bad is good for you", I own it, a fantastic read and could explain some things to you. [1]

You said: "... I believe that people all should understand what I am saying. I know I tend to be wrong and I know I should lower the standards that I expect people to be at. Cause people aren't perfect and I am not perfect. I just want to know: Why doesn't anyone want to learn anymore? Learning is fun."

I think these students you don't understand feel the same way. We don't understand why you can't see the value in the social networking, in the analytical problem solving, in the nature rather than the content of our entertainment. I think there are some people who don't want to learn, but I think the fact that you ask why no one wants to learn anymore shows that you don't really understand the way we work. There are a lot of ways to learn, and we've found our own ways, they seem to work for these IQ tests, these IQ tests claim to measure analytical problem solving, something that appears to be one of, if not the most important skill in the coming years (along with social skills, which we often excel at). So I don't really see a problem, we're just different generations. You ask why none of us want to read books and get the knowledge and power they hold, and I ask why you want to spend your time simply reading static text, where's the challenge? Chris M. (talk) 08:26, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Dear student you make valid points, but I wasn't generally just talking about textbook. I was talking about reading as in reading a book. Like fictional book like Lord of the Rings. I see children won't even read those kind of books anymore. Fictional books can also help you learn and help you gain powerful knowledge. I read arts of fiction because I believe in the books. Also this quote is something that inspires me a bit more: "Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures."- Jessamyn West. I don't see why no one to experience a different reality of fiction. I can see sometimes why students don't want to learn. One of my classes had me read How to Kill a Mockingbird. I absolutely hate hate hated that book. It was boring. But I read it. I never ever stopped reading it or threw a fit of rebellion not to read it.

Yes I know that I spelled no as in no wrong. I tend to do that when I'm trying to make valid points. My thoughts are so racy and impatient I forget things. I get things mixed up. I am not as good at making points then writing a story.

Writing is another characteristic and I don't see them ever want to write or answer a question. Well now a days that is done on a computer, but still when there is a writing assignment no one wants to do it. I think there was a question on the reference desk of why they have those essay questions. Anyway my point is that many children don't want to think after they have read a story either. No one wants to know why. They just want to read the book and have easy questions.

But then again a lot of my knowledge comes from documentaries, textbooks, Internet, and other sources such as a magazine. I learn visually and not audibly. I don't learn from hands on. I learn from graphs, charts, textbook information, and anything on the paper. I have a hard time with audibly and hands on I cannot remember the information.

I think that may be another problem. Maybe some students are audible learners and others are visual. I remember having a bit of a hard time this year in my class. Cause all we did was watch videos and I could never exactly remember what the video said. I answered the questions with a bit of help of my roommate on some parts I forgot. When I am watching a video I have to write down the answer right after they said it. The teacher never understood that and kept on telling me to watch the screen and answer the questions later after the video or I was going to miss parts. I'm going miss parts either way, I cannot remember information audibly I just cannot.

So I think that their should specific classes for each different type of learner. I know that sounds a bit stupid, but maybe that is what they need.

Always

Cardinal Raven

71.142.208.226 (talk) 15:01, 7 May 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

I agree with the separate classes, but perhaps the misunderstanding here is in that you think that kids not wanting to read books means they don't have a desire to experience anything like a fiction world where they can learn those truths that realities distort. But the massive success of other forms of media (video games, tv shows, movies) shows that as a generation we very much want to get involved in these fictional universes, it's just again that we don't as often find plain text paper books that best means to reach that. Chris M. (talk) 20:13, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Yo Cardinal, you might want to heed your own counsel. Take it to an appropriate place, which the Reference Desk is not. --LarryMac | Talk 20:28, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

A dangerous world

If I am driving and fall asleep or turn the steer a couple of inches too much or slip in the bathtube that could cost my life. However, we are not scared to death from all these danger in our daily life. Do we have some mechanism that makes us ignore these things? 217.168.0.115 (talk) 10:26, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Risks that are 1. collective (everyone faces them) and 2. appear to be controllable (you are the one who feels in control in the tub and the car) are usually easy to ignore. Compare this to how one feels when the risks are felt to be individual or non-controllable (say, take-off and landing in an airplane).

People who can't ignore such things, in any case, find it pretty much impossible to get by in the world and are labeled with one or more psychological epithets. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 12:22, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

basically, the part of our brain which calculates risks is a lousy performer, even in short term risks. you'd think evolution would have done better.Gzuckier (talk) 16:48, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Evolution did the best it could. How would it be possible for people who can't have a bath or drive a car without getting a seizure to get more of their genes into the gene pool? -- Zain Ebrahim (talk) 18:09, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

If our ancestors didn't walk under a tree for fear of a falling branch killing them, or didn't drink from a river out of fear of drowning, then we wouldn't be here today. Our instinct is to avoid more likely causes of death, or at least - it is supposed to be. 206.252.74.48 (talk) 18:48, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

I think that if people worried about those things they would suffer from paranoia. What we don't realize in this world is that everything we are surrounded by can kill us. The chair in the middle of the room to the car we drive. Eventually we die by something or by natural causes. Whatever the cause we can ignore it because we wouldn't be able to live depression. We might even carry out our own lives suicide. Life, Death, and Birth is the way our world works. Its like the natural recycle life process. We can die at birth as well. Sooner or later someone faces death. I see that I live my life to the fullest and not to worry about the shower the head killing me. If I live I live. If I die I die. I accept it and continue on either in this world or the next.

Always

Cardinal Raven

Cardinal Raven (talk) 02:02, 7 May 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

How can some people write a whole paragraphs without telling absolutely anything? 217.168.3.246 (talk) 13:01, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

I was thinking the same thing. Just an excuse for his pretentious signoff I think...203.41.139.85 (talk) 22:46, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

The method our minds use to assess relative risk is not very good, but it's the best method that was available prior to statistics. The more times we've seen something done safely, the safer we think it is. The more times we've seen something result in a death or injury, the more dangerous we think it is. This leads us to think that events we've seen over-reported in the media (like child abductions) are a serious danger, while events which are under-reported (like lung cancer deaths due to smoking) seem like rare events we can safely ignore. We also have some instinctive fears, like falling, which makes many of us nervous whenever it appears that we are high up, such as when standing on a platform with a clear floor, while the same platform with a solid floor would make us feel safer. StuRat (talk) 16:32, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

I will clarify what I have said. If we acknowledge everything that could kill us we would be paranoid. If we became paranoid we would not be able to live we rather commit suicide or become depressed because we could not live our lives. Cardinal Raven (talk) 06:58, 9 May 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

limptes

If hyperthetivcally the tide never went out, would limptes survive or do they need exposure to air and dryness from time to time?Makey melly (talk) 12:21, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Are you speaking of limpets?

Atlant (talk) 13:16, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Yes. Makey melly (talk) 13:43, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

As the limpet article explains, they live only in the intertidal zone because they live on algae, so they need the tides.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 15:39, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Queen Ants

Last year I collected two fertilized queen ants from my garden during the flying ant season and put each of them into a separate container. My understanding was that they would lay eggs and start an ant colony. However, one of the queens didn't lay any eggs, and the other laid a few but then ate them. I was instructed not to feed or give water until after the first worker ants had hatched because the queens would simply refuse to eat and it would go mouldy in the container. But since the queens hadn't any worker ants, and were looking weaker and weaker with each passing day, I decided to feed them a little honey, which they very much enjoyed. I have since moved the two queens into the same container and they get on well, and have even begun to dig and create a colony by themselves. I feed them regularly and they seem happy, but why didn't they lay eggs and start an ant colony? More importantly, how can I get them to lay some eggs? I am sure they were fertilized because they didn't have their wings anymore when I caught them, like the book said. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.194.74.154 (talk) 13:46, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

You could try asking here where they'll try and answer "any ant-related questions". Please do let us know what you find. Good luck! Think outside the box 14:24, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Is it possible that the ant queens were in fact never fertilized? Edison (talk) 19:44, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Edison ask a great question. Are you sure the queen ants were fertilized? You shouldn't trust everything a book says. Especially, since the ants began to start trying to create an ant colony after you fed them. I think what you need to do is get them some workers. I don't think a queen ant will start a colony without a few workers. The workers are the ones who bring the food to the queen and the workers are the one who protect the eggs, if I am not mistaken. Also it might have to do with the fact that there are two queens, I had always thought that there was only one queen for each colony. Cardinal Raven (talk) 01:52, 7 May 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

It would help if you told us which species of ant you have. Many do have more than one queen, although since you mentioned that you separated them to begin with, I am going to assume your species usually has only one. Our article Queen ant says "she may consume some of her eggs" so this would seem normal. But why she hasn't laid any more is a mystery, especially if she has sufficient strength to begin excavating a colony. Could she has laid her eggs underground where you cannot see them? It takes about 60 days for the eggs to hatch. According to this "the queen will create this new nest completely on her own, though it has been known for ... queens to come together and cooperate in the raising of the first brood. If more than one ... queen raise [a] brood together, they will soon fight to the death once the first workers have hatched, until only one queen remains victorious." Think outside the box 10:38, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Women as witness

What does Islam say about women as witness?How can we justify this question in the light of Quran and Hadith? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.102.16.67 (talk) 14:18, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

I do not have a direct answer to your question, but do want to point out that there is no one voice for Islamic jurisprudence, called Fiqh. So do you want to know what the perspectives are from as many different schools as possible?--droptone (talk) 19:17, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

In traditional islamic jurisprudence, two female witnesses count as one male witness. 89.146.66.86 (talk) 22:03, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

famous african americans

an african american who helped in the planning of the united state's capital city?....I found wikipedia had an article on washington dc and under the palnning subcategory there werent any african americans.So If anybody knows the answer.Hola.ASAP —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.219.249.15 (talk) 14:47, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Yes, there is. -- Coneslayer (talk) 15:42, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Did you try searching? I did [2] and the second result seems like it may be of use. Nil Einne (talk) 15:54, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

You might want to look at the article on Benjamin Banneker. He is mentioned in the planning section of our article on Washington, D.C.. Marco polo (talk) 19:59, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Hmm it seems to have become the first link now. For the benefit of future readers, I'm referring to [3] which mentions the name Macro refers to above Nil Einne (talk) 17:15, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

the best for reverse phone look up

which is the best site to use in canada to reverse a phone number in order to get the callers details.I want a canadian site because we are using canadian customers only.oooh i'm a transcriber doing canadain voicemail transcriptions and i want to save as much time as possible when researching on callers details.We are currently using whitepages.ca but its not as effective as intelius.But on intelius you have to pay.i want a free site.And Secondly if one can reccommend a site where -if a customer mentions a name of a road or building and i have never heard of it-i want to be spelling it out phonetically and then paste it onto the site that gives me a close to answer.NOTE only canadian info.PS>>>THANKS for the tips on canadian english.Truly wikipedia has massive helpful information —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.219.249.15 (talk) 16:00, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Perhaps Canada 411? That's what I use. Adam Bishop (talk) 01:35, 7 May 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.210.170.49 (talk)

diesel automobile power brakes

given that diesel engines don't have vacuum for the power brake booster, how do diesel cars manage this? i know trucks use air brakes, but do cars have a similar system, or do they somehow adapt the regular vacuum powered booster with a pump or something? thanks. Gzuckier (talk) 16:47, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

I think they usually have a belt-driven vacuum pump. -- Coneslayer (talk) 17:17, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

At least some modern Bosch anti-lock braking systems don't use vacuum but instead have an engine-driven hydraulic pump (that usually also powers the power steering). A hydraulic accumulator stores hydraulic energy so you still have a few power-boosted actuations of the brakes should the engine fail. This arrangement is certainly true of high-line Audis.

Atlant (talk) 00:39, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

How does it called?

[4], I'm mean, this steel entry to Wadi Araba Crossing. Breckinridge (talk) 17:18, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

checkpoint? Rmhermen (talk) 21:08, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

This is not what I meant. I asked about the steel\iron entry to the site. This specially been in train station. Breckinridge (talk) 11:08, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

And unless you can provide more clarification, the answer is still checkpoint. A checkpoint is a point at which people seeking to move from place A (e.g. the street) to place B (e.g. the railway station, if I understand your previous comment) can be stopped and their credentials checked. Back to you. --Tagishsimon (talk) 11:36, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

You can show me a photo of this? Breckinridge (talk) 15:09, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Unless you mean the actual physical gate, which is called a gate or a turnpike, although that second usage is probably obsolete. The civilian checkpoint and border checkpoint articles both have images, although not great ones., "Border crossing" is another term that might apply to the entire area. Rmhermen (talk) 15:26, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

O.k, I'll try one more time. I didn't neant to Border checkpoint, I mean to the iron barrier that serve as an entry\exit to some places, specially in train station. Breckinridge (talk) 16:15, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Well, it's called a turnstile if for pedestrians, but I don't know about one for vehicles.--Eriastrum (talk) 21:25, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Do you mean the steel Canopy? Fribbler (talk) 08:39, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

I can't see your original picture, but something like this is just called a barrier, or a raise arm barrier. SaundersW (talk) 09:07, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

Finding scientific studies to participate in

What is the best method to find scientific/medical studies to volunteer for (and get paid)?--SeizureDog (talk) 19:14, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ looks like a good starting point for clinical trials. I don't know about getting paid. Bovlb (talk) 19:35, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

It would also help if we knew which part of the world you are in. Gwinva (talk) 23:56, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

You should probably be aware (if you aren't already) that the most lucrative medical/scientific studies are, not coincidentally, the ones that require the most work, commitment, or are potentially the most dangerous. There have been a number of articles in the last few months (in the New York Times Magazine and the New Yorker, I think) about how poorly regulated some of these studies are. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 00:29, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Turn number algorithm question

Today, when I was at the Helsinki Central railway station, I thought of something I've already thought of many times. I was trying to buy an InterRail pass, to be able to travel from Helsinki to Seeboden. When I got there, I took a turn number for foreign railways. According to the numbers, I was the second to be served. While waiting for my turn, I watched, of people come after me, no less than five people travelling to Russia, and eighteen people travelling within Finland, being served before me. So my question is, when there is a queue system with multiple inputs, generally, how is it decided which input is handled when? Is it a round-robin schedule, or are they prioritised by popularity, do they handle longer queues first and shorter ones later, or is it all just random? JIP | Talk 19:47, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Based on my (limited) observations: in many cases multi-server queues split the queued jobs according to the resources required to handle a specific individual job. In your case it may have been that only one of the different servers (ie. counters / operators) had the expertise / the required hardware / software to handle a ticket request from Finland to Central Europe. Tickets to Finland / Russia may have been available at all counters (because they are the vast majority of jobs handled), but an InterRail pass needs access to the specific ferry services and international rail services for subsequent connections.

It would be uneconomical if all, say, five counters were equipped with human resources / HW / SW for InterRail when only 20% of jobs need this function.

Viel Spaß in Österreich. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 21:48, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

There are actually twenty counters at the Helsinki Central railway station, with three of them dedicated solely for international travel. But I understand your meaning, and find it very helpful. I have travelled by train within Finland more times than I can count, and to Russia once. This was my first time purchasing an InterRail pass. It took me about one or two minutes to fill in the form, and almost five minutes inquiring about connections from Helsinki to Spittal an der Drau. In less than that time, an intra-Finland passenger would have booked a trip from Helsinki to Rovaniemi and back again, and left time to casually chat around. I have now found out that I can go from Stockholm to Spittal completely by train. Danke schön, und ich habe seit Monaten gewartet, endlich diese Reise zu beginnen. JIP | Talk 20:06, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Human Hamster Balls

Does anyone know where I might find a website offering these huamn hamster balls, at reasonable prices, for delivery in the UK. Its one of these or a OCZ Neural Impulse Actuator, so my time outside kind of depends upon this. I would need one that is fairly hard wearing, and easy to clean. The English Countryside usually tends to be covered in soe sort of equine/bovine detreitus.

Thanks guys. 89.242.244.144 (talk) 21:13, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Hamster balls for sale? Is this a method of manipulating rodentine procreative capacity?

And, what happens to the rest of the hamster? Do they perform in the defunct choir of the Vatican Castrati?

Mind you, the entire planet is covered in some sort of human detritus, so maybe you may want to donate your spare balls, unless you have become attached to them cute furry critters. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 22:15, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Try out maybe? They Price there Human Hamster Balls at 2,495 USD --Nick910 (talk) 22:18, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

You can also read Sphereing, which details the sport of Zorbing. You can try it out at ZorbsouthUK, or follow the links to a closer UK venue. This site shows that the original Zorb is not available for private purchase, but imitations are available at hypercore. You're looking at about £800 for the cheapest model. Gwinva (talk) 00:12, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Or you can just steal borrow one [5]. Paragon12321 (talk) 01:57, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

This might do it for you and might come slightly cheaper, not to mention easier to clean. 71.236.23.111 (talk) 09:41, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

Hey thanks guys for all your advice, and at paragon, whom I lol'd at because that is exactly the place that meade me want a human hamster ball in the first place. To be honest though I did a bit of research myself and these things do cost da bomb. So I think I will get the NIA and save the rest of my money for a car. Thanks anyway guys. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.242.244.144 (talk) 17:02, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

Where Magneto (band) got their band name

Where did the name of the band Magneto get their name from? Ericthebrainiac (talk) 22:11, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Magneto (electrical), I imagine. --Tagishsimon (talk) 22:27, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Maybe Magneto (comics), the X-men's enemy.--Yamanbaiia^{(free hugs!)} 22:32, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Possibly when their Geocities site unbreaks, it will reveal the answer. Algebraist 22:35, 6 May 2008 (UTC)