Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2009 June 20
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June 20
[edit]Head pain
[edit]Two weeks ago I was moving a pile of limbs when a large branch hit me in the face. My wounds have almost completely healed but on the left top side of my head its very painful to press on, it doesnt hurt at all when its not being pressed, but when its not the skin feels extremly tight and this is very uncomfortable. The place that hurts is on the side I was hit, but the spot wasnt hit at all, there is no brusing or anything. If you know what this could be let me know. Thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.197.214.117 (talk) 04:33, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- You should seek the advice of a doctor; the Reference Desk can't offer you any sort of medical advice. 8I.24.07.715 (talk) 04:42, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- As a general observation, bruising is caused by blood vessels under the skin being broken, releasing a small amount of blood into surrounding tissues. Where there is only a thin layer of tissue over bone, the blood may spread over some distance laterally, causing a bruise some distance from the site of the original injury. However, any injury to the head should be checked by a qualified medical practitioner.- KoolerStill (talk) 07:44, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- Indeed - if a head injury is causing you concern, you should get it checked out by a professional. Chances are it is nothing, but if it is something you really want to get it sorted because something being wrong with your head is serious. --Tango (talk) 14:31, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- Concur. Seek medical attention ASAP. Exxolon (talk) 02:03, 21 June 2009 (UTC)
- Indeed - if a head injury is causing you concern, you should get it checked out by a professional. Chances are it is nothing, but if it is something you really want to get it sorted because something being wrong with your head is serious. --Tango (talk) 14:31, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- The fact that you are asking random strangers on the internet for medical advice is a clear sign of severe brain damage (that was a joke for those not quite following). Seek advice from a professional. DJ Clayworth (talk) 14:38, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
- The only advice anyone should pay attention to in this section is GO TO A DOCTOR. Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots 14:57, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
- As a general observation, bruising is caused by blood vessels under the skin being broken, releasing a small amount of blood into surrounding tissues. Where there is only a thin layer of tissue over bone, the blood may spread over some distance laterally, causing a bruise some distance from the site of the original injury. However, any injury to the head should be checked by a qualified medical practitioner.- KoolerStill (talk) 07:44, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
My car ONLY overheats when I use the A/C and stops overheating as soon as I turn it off.
[edit]My 1994 Lexus Es300 sometimes overheats when I am in traffic and using my AC. I realize this is alot of stress for the car, but it never used to overheat like this. It will go all the way up to the hottest, but will cool down as soon as i turn the AC off or turn the heater on. Examples of when it overheats are when in traffic on the freeway, or waiting in a long line at a drive-thru.. I just got a new radiator too, so what could be the problem? Any help would be great! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.7.5.23 (talk) 05:35, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- The fan needs to be checked, because it should be running faster when the car is not moving fast, to make up for the airflow otherwise caused by the vehicle's movement. Airflow has to be maintained over the radiator and the air conditioning condenser. Electric fans usually work with temperature sensors. The sensor would be the first thing to have checked. Also, new radiator or not, regular overheating will result in loss of coolant,which would make the radiator run hotter. Check the hoses to the overflow bottle. The idea is that overflow collects there when the coolant heats up, and is sucked back when it cools. If there are tiny leaks, cooling off just sucks air into the radiator,instead of returning the coolant. So the bottle may look full, while the radiator itself if quite low. So check the actual radiator itself, not the overflow bottle, to make sure it contains enough coolant.- KoolerStill (talk) 08:08, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- Wild guess here: could there be a problem with the radiator fan (e.g. may it didn't get hooked back up when the radiator was replaced)? That'd fit with the engine overheating when it's not getting a enough airflow from the car's motion to deal with the additional heat from the A/C. -- Speaker to Lampposts (talk) 08:02, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- This is a 15 year old car that has had some kind of radiator damage. We don't know its mileage or service history. The cooling system should receive attention including flushing of corrosion in the engine block, a new thermostat and check coolant level. The AC may benefit from servicing, they usually do. Something called Redline Wetter Water is sold that claims to make cooling systems more efficient. Caveat emptor. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 23:56, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- Those "wetter water" products work really well if you flush your radiator and refill it without antifreeze. Pure water cools the engine much better than antifreeze does - but you need to add something to avoid corrosion and to lower the surface tension of the water. Wetter water products generally do both things. But don't forget to put the antifreeze back in the winter!
- This question comes up a lot at my car club (Mini Owners of Texas) - albeit with much older cars. However, the advice on our club Wiki may be of some help. Here is a list of things to try and to check:
- It's possible that your thermostat is stuck - put a thermometer into the radiator and run the car up from cold. You should be able to see the water in the radiator is not flowing until the thermostat kicks in - and suddenly you'll be able to see the water flow. Note the temperature on the thermometer shortly after that happens - it should match the temperature that the thermostat is designed to kick in at. If it doesn't - replace the thermostat.
- Use a 'low temperature' thermostat that opens at lower temperatures. You can buy these in any car parts store.
- In many types of car, removing the thermostat so that the radiator is cooling the water all the time is a good 'quick fix' for overheating. You car takes longer getting up to a proper operating temperature - which is bad for gas consumption - but otherwise it works. In a few (very few) kinds of car, the shape of the thermostat helps guide the flow of water around the engine block and ensures that the water does not go only down the 'path of least resistance' but flows through all the holes in the block. In such vehicles, simply removing the thermostat can make overheating problems much worse - and can even damage the block. If you want to take out the thermostat, you have to replace it with a special 'blanking tube' (sometimes called a blanking sleeve) that makes sure the water flows the right way.
- Remove the temperature gauge sender unit and test it using cups of water ranging from cold to the engine's maximum safe operating temperature. Clean or replace as necessary. This should also give you a good idea of what your temp gauge will show for various temperatures in the engine - and especially, let you know where "normal" is on the gauge.
- Remove the radiator and flush it several times with commercial radiator cleaner - keep flushing until the water comes out clear. You can also flush the block itself - there is usually a little drain hole that's opened by a screw on the back of the block especially for this purpose...again, keep flushing until it's clear.
- Switch to using a 'tropical fan' - this has fewer blades, inclined at a steeper angle. They are noisier than the regular fan - but produce much better airflow. Make sure your fan is mounted the right way around - it's easy to get them on backwards.
- Consider switching from antifreeze to plain water mixed with commercial "water wetter" (which you can get in any car parts store). Antifreeze doesn't transfer heat as efficiently as plain water - but 'water wetter' is needed to prevent corrosion from plain water and also to lower surface tension and prevent bubbles of steam from forming where the water contacts the block. Here in Texas it doesn't often freeze long enough or hard enough to demand antifreeze...especially if your car is garaged.
- Running with bad timing or incorrect carburettor settings can cause the engine to run hot - make sure all of that stuff is set up correctly.
- Another somewhat non-traditional method to aid in cooling, especially when the above has not helped (and problems have been fixed or eliminated) is to add an extra heater core into the water path - or even add an oil cooler into the cooling system.
- Overheating is almost always the result of multiple problems - so you may have to attack several or even all of the above to get your car to stay cool. However, if the engine runs TOO cool (notably if it doesn't heat up fast enough after a cold start), your gas consumption may suffer.
Name of a game
[edit]Hi,
I am looking for the english name of a game, where you don't have the right to answer "yes" or "no" to the questions asked to you. In french it is called fr:ni oui ni non Thanks for your help. Skiff (talk) 06:26, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- I don't think I have ever heard of this game. Is the game really that you just ask a lot of questions of a person and they have to struggle to answer them without using the words "yes" and "no"? Does the person have to be truthful? Tempshill (talk) 06:45, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- On Take Your Pick it was called the "Yes-No Interlude". (It was surprisingly entertaining!)--Shantavira|feed me 06:58, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- Yes, the people have to be truthful. To avoid saying yes or no, you can say I think so, I believe... For example: to answer to the question "Do you like chocolate?", you can say "Since I was a baby".
- Shantavira, that's exactly what I was looking for. This game seems not to be known in english speaking countries, that is why there is no interwiki at the moment. Thanks for the answers. Skiff (talk) 08:02, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- Would you like to play a game of questions? --Trovatore (talk) 09:13, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- Isn't that the same game as Rosencrantz?AlexTiefling (talk) 12:12, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- Is Rosencrantz a game? --Trovatore (talk) 19:44, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- Can a person be a game? Algebraist 19:48, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- Repetition, 15-love. Where did you drop in from? --Trovatore (talk) 19:51, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- Can a person be a game? Algebraist 19:48, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- Is Rosencrantz a game? --Trovatore (talk) 19:44, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- Isn't that the same game as Rosencrantz?AlexTiefling (talk) 12:12, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- Would you like to play a game of questions? --Trovatore (talk) 09:13, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
There's the Yes No Game (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Paul-Lamond-Games-The-Game/dp/B0002PRIY4). Seems from a look about online such a policy is used as a teaching method for teaching English. Unrelated but i've just lost The Game (mind game). And yes, that game is pretty darn odd but it's quite weird how it sticks with you - I can't have thought about it now for a good year or two and now i'm back to square one!! ny156uk (talk) 09:42, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- Some versions also forbid 'black' and 'white' in answers; this version is, as far as I know, simply called the Yes-No-Black-White Game. There is a scene in the (originally French) Asterix book Asterix the Gladiator in which the heroes persuade the gladiators at the Roman arena to sit down on the sand and play this game instead of fighting. AlexTiefling (talk) 12:11, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- That sounds like a good game. Larry King once said the worst interview he ever had was with Robert Mitchum, who only gave "Yes" and "No" answers. He should have played that game with Mitchum. Lawyers tend to ask yes-no questions because it simplifies their "game". In contrast, offshore consultants are inclined to give yes-no answers (typically 'yes') because of wanting to comply. So part of that "real-life game" is to ask questions that require fact-filled sentences to answer. So the game sounds like a good teaching tool. Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots 14:26, 21 June 2009 (UTC)
- Someone told me a story that when there was once a TV show with this premise, the host asking thecfirst contestant whether her name was correct. She said "yes". - Jarry1250 (t, c, rfa) 19:37, 21 June 2009 (UTC)
- We used to play this in Australia, but I don't remember having a name for the game (surely there was one, but I don't remember ever using it. It might have just been "the game where you can't say yes or no." There was also a variation where you could say 'yes', but not 'no'. Steewi (talk) 01:59, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
In my bit of England, as a kid, we'd call it "Yes, No, Black and White". The word "black" and "white" were also prohibited, as you might have guessed. No idea why, as generally speaking, people were only caught out by the "yes" and "no" aspects, lol. --Dweller (talk) 13:13, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
- Does not sound like an very challenging game. Just replace yes with affirmative, and no with negative. 65.121.141.34 (talk) 16:52, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
- Repeating an answer is also disallowed, so you could only say "affirmative" once. Oldelpaso (talk) 14:08, 23 June 2009 (UTC)
- It's surprisingly tricky - despite your brain screaming at you to keep your answers on the right track, a question will always take you off guard, especially banal everyday ones thrown in, e.g. "you ok?". Or a provoked emotional response would often do the trick, e.g. pretending that you'd "heard" the person say "yes", they'd often roar "No I didn't" etc. Try it yourself. --Dweller (talk) 14:24, 23 June 2009 (UTC)
- Repeating an answer is also disallowed, so you could only say "affirmative" once. Oldelpaso (talk) 14:08, 23 June 2009 (UTC)
- Does not sound like an very challenging game. Just replace yes with affirmative, and no with negative. 65.121.141.34 (talk) 16:52, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
- In Miami, radio DJ Michael Yo (on Y100) plays "The World Famous Yes/No Game" every day at 5pm. He explains the rules before each game to the contestants that they cannot use variations of "yes" or "no" such as yep, yeah, uh-huh, nope, nuh-uh, etc. I rarely heard anyone last more than 30 seconds; Michael Yo spoke very quickly if they seemed to be doing well and would sometimes ask questions which didn't necessarily have to be answered yes/no then slip in a follow-up question to which yes or no would inevitably be given as an answer. Coreycubed (talk) 15:34, 23 June 2009 (UTC)
Road Classification System in UK
[edit]I'm not a driver, but I do know about A-roads, B-roads, and M-ways, however yesterday during a trip down South, in the area of Milton Keynes there were a number of roads with a name and some sort of designation, which always began with a V. I doubt this is the Post Code. I know London post codes are generally added to street names, as well in some other inner-city areas, but this was out in the countryside, and I can't think of anywhere in that area that would be big enough to have its own post code, and at the same time begins with a 'V'. --KageTora - (영호 (影虎)) (talk) 12:22, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- Was it really the open countryside, or was it somewhere in the idiosyncratic system of modern roads immediately around Milton Keynes and Bletchley? These have their own rationale, although if I ever understood it, I have now forgotten it. AlexTiefling (talk) 12:28, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- Here we are - complete with an explanation of the V system. AlexTiefling (talk) 12:36, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- Ah, that makes sense, now! I wondered why they were called 'streets' when there were no buildings along them at all. I only saw the V-roads and never noticed any H-roads, presumably because I was looking left out of the coach, and we would therefore have been travelling along the H-roads. Thanks! --KageTora - (영호 (影虎)) (talk) 12:53, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
Jāņi
[edit]As the Latvian celebration of Jāņi approaches i was wondering what the fires on poles are called (pictured in link)[1] and how are they lit? Many thanks 88.109.32.43 (talk) 13:38, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- Jāņi fires I believe! Dmcq (talk) 17:53, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
- There's a little about them here [2] Dmcq (talk) 18:01, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
Black triangle in western australia on google maps.
[edit]What could this be? 92.251.132.64 (talk) 17:29, 20 June 2009 (UTC) BTW you have to zoom in a bit to see it.92.251.132.64 (talk) 17:47, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- Very strange; it's a shame the resolution is so poor. Google Earth says that there are wind farms nearby, and those lines look like they could be open-pit mining, but that doesn't help (me) figure out what that perfect triangle might be. Matt Deres (talk) 17:38, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- Looks like a mast (?radio) of some kind, with the corners of the triangle being the anchor points for the supporting cables, there is certainly a thin 'something' right in the centre of the triangle casting a shadow. I compared the length of the shadow to that for a tree along the road to the west, about 50m compared to 10m for the tree. Making a very big assumption that the tree is about 30m high, that gives a rough 150m for the mast. I also came across this link on the same subject [3]. Mikenorton (talk) 19:01, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- That makes perfect sense. The area is almost guaranteed to be fenced, which is the explanation for the dark color of the triangle -- there's something growing on the ground, which being inside the fence is not disturbed by traffic, animal grazing, or the like.
- Heck of a picture, that. --DaHorsesMouth (talk) 19:53, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- It's also near the top of a hill (judging from the contours on google maps' terrain view), which is a sensible place for a tv/radio mast. And it's not quite equilateral - the left corner is downhill a bit, and so has to be a bit further out. If it's still in use, the department of the Government of Australia which takes care of communications and radio should have a database somewhere that lists it. Carmangled (talk) 21:36, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- Follow up: the relevant authority is the Australian Communications and Media Authority. They have a download of their transmitter list from this page on their website, which lists transmitters' locations in DMS format. By my reckoning the triangle is at 30°30′41″S 115°22′55″E / 30.51139°S 115.38194°E; I can't find anything in their database that corresponds with the location of the triangle. But checking some other transmitter sites they report does support the claim that the triangle is a transmitter - consider this one in Hughenden, Queensland, which looks very similar. Carmangled (talk) 23:12, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- I am loving that when I asked Google for directions to drive to that location by car, it suggested kayaking across the Pacific to Hawaii, driving across Oahu, kayaking to Japan, driving a lot of roads in Japanese, then kayaking across the Pacific to Northern Territory before driving to that destination. Who then was a gentleman? (talk) 22:08, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- Sheesh! Talk about the long way round. Did it happen to mention trekking across New Guinea on the way down from Japan, or do you just row around? Driving from the NT to that place would be a feat in itself. -- JackofOz (talk) 03:58, 21 June 2009 (UTC)
- No mention of New Guinea, just a direct kayak trip from Japan to NT. Who then was a gentleman? (talk) 17:53, 21 June 2009 (UTC)
- Sheesh! Talk about the long way round. Did it happen to mention trekking across New Guinea on the way down from Japan, or do you just row around? Driving from the NT to that place would be a feat in itself. -- JackofOz (talk) 03:58, 21 June 2009 (UTC)
- Isn't that the Emu Downs Wind Farm, Western Australia? Photos here. Probably a wind turbine. Pfly (talk) 08:41, 21 June 2009 (UTC)
- It's near the wind farm, and could be a wind monitoring mast (they applied for planning permission for two of those to record the wind strength before construction began) but the triangle itself is unlikely to be around a turbine, the photos you linked to show no enclosures around any of the turbines in the wind farm and the turbines are not guyed structures, so that wouldn't explain the overall shape or the light coloured marks. Mikenorton (talk) 09:54, 21 June 2009 (UTC)
- Ah yes it appears it is an antenna with guide wires and an enclosing fence. Thanks!--92.251.168.166 (talk) 10:42, 21 June 2009 (UTC)
Types of Lawyers
[edit]I would like to ask: What are the types of lawyers and attorneys. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sk8tr boi 011 (talk • contribs) 23:13, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- It depends on where in the world you are. In the UK, there's a distinction between solicitors and barristers. This distinction does not exist in the same way in the US. And an attorney is just a legal representative - literally, someone you turn to. Someone who does this professionally is generally a lawyer, and is called an attorney at law, but anyone can be named as an attorney-in-fact. See also: notary public, commissioner for oaths, litigator, and sundry other terms. AlexTiefling (talk) 23:37, 20 June 2009 (UTC)
- While most U.S. states generally don't qualify legal special(i)ties, or allow attorneys to advertise such specializations as government-authorized, in practice there are also a number of specific fields in which a lawyer might concentrate, such as international law, commercial law, corporate law, tax law, civil litigation, personal injury, insurance law, criminal law, trial practice or patent law. Appellate practice, although not as stratified as in Commonwealth countries that distinguish between solicitors and barristers, can also be another specialty. Admission to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States requires the consent of that court, since admission to a state bar is insufficient by itself; while almost any practiced U.S. lawyer with several years in good standing can obtain such permission, many of them make a special occasion, together with the administering Justice, out of the ceremony of being sworn in to such practice. It should also be noted that being admitted to practise at the bar of one state (with its own written and case law) will not automatically admit a lawyer to practise in another state; California's requirements, for example, are notoriously difficult for out-of-state lawyers to meet. It should also be noted that the Tax Court of the United States admits advocacy by two classes of non-lawyers: Certified Public Accountants and Enrolled Agents who are experts in taxation without law or accountancy licenses. —— Shakescene (talk) 07:05, 21 June 2009 (UTC)
- @AlexTiefling: actually, that only holds in England and Wales. In Scotland the system is different, and they have 'advocates' rather than 'barristers'. I don't know about Northern Ireland. --ColinFine (talk) 13:20, 21 June 2009 (UTC)
- While most U.S. states generally don't qualify legal special(i)ties, or allow attorneys to advertise such specializations as government-authorized, in practice there are also a number of specific fields in which a lawyer might concentrate, such as international law, commercial law, corporate law, tax law, civil litigation, personal injury, insurance law, criminal law, trial practice or patent law. Appellate practice, although not as stratified as in Commonwealth countries that distinguish between solicitors and barristers, can also be another specialty. Admission to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States requires the consent of that court, since admission to a state bar is insufficient by itself; while almost any practiced U.S. lawyer with several years in good standing can obtain such permission, many of them make a special occasion, together with the administering Justice, out of the ceremony of being sworn in to such practice. It should also be noted that being admitted to practise at the bar of one state (with its own written and case law) will not automatically admit a lawyer to practise in another state; California's requirements, for example, are notoriously difficult for out-of-state lawyers to meet. It should also be noted that the Tax Court of the United States admits advocacy by two classes of non-lawyers: Certified Public Accountants and Enrolled Agents who are experts in taxation without law or accountancy licenses. —— Shakescene (talk) 07:05, 21 June 2009 (UTC)
- In the U.S. there are also specific bars for some kinds of practice. While admission to a state court bar will often allow most lawyers to practice most kinds of law, some specialties, notably patent law, require a special bar admission. Shadowjams (talk) 02:12, 25 June 2009 (UTC)