Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2009 October 22

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October 22

Indigestible Dextrins

Does anybody know what indigestible dextrins are exactly (I think it is some sort of food additive)? And is so, could you provide examples? Also, is it unhealthy or have bad side effects? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.141.255.42 (talk) 03:05, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

Dextrin's are, as described by our article, "low-molecular-weight carbohydrates produced by the hydrolysis of starch." An indigestible dextrin would be one that cannot be digested. Our article contains a description of several food-based uses of dextrins. --Jayron32 03:33, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

Opening joke

I have been told to find a joke for my boss who will subsequently give a power point presentation. His idea is that since he has been preceded by many speakers, it would be better if he opens his speech with a joke so as to lighten the atmosphere as well as break the monotony !I have searched the Net. I could'nt find an appropriate one!His speech would be the annual report of my organization!Can anyone help me? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.93.243.233 (talk) 03:23, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

Here's one of my favorite clean jokes of all time:

Jesus and Tiger Woods are playing golf. Moses, of course, is caddying for Jesus, and the party comes up to a tricky hole with a water hazard. Tiger pulls out his driver, crushes the ball over the water, and lands just short of the green. Moses says to Jesus "I'd lay up, hit maybe a 3 iron, and take it over the lake on the next shot." "Forget that" Jesus replies "Hand me my driver. If Tiger Woods can drive that lake, so can I. I'm Jesus, after all". The Lord takes a swing. Ploop. In the Lake. Jesus looks disgusted. "Moses, get that ball". Moses walks to the water, parts it, walks in, gets the ball, and drops it back in front of Jesus. By now, a crowd is gathering. Moses pulls out the 3-iron, and Jesus says "Put that thing away. I told you, If Tiger Woods hits driver over that lake, I will hit a driver over that lake." Swing, ploop. "I ain't getting that thing this time" says Moses "You get it yourself." So Jesus walks over through the crowd of onlookers, walks on the water, and bends over to pick up the ball. One of the spectators leans in to Moses and says "Who does that guy think he is, Jesus Christ?!?" "Nah" Moses replied "He thinks he's Tiger Woods."

--Jayron32 03:45, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

That joke would not go over well, due to sensibilities of a religious nature that result in ruffled feathers. Bus stop (talk) 13:20, 23 October 2009 (UTC)

The punch line I heard on that one was, "He knows He's Jesus Christ. He thinks He's Tiger Woods!" ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 13:09, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

It might be "clean" in the sense of not being based on sex or toilet humour, but there is a risk of offending some Christians with blasphemy. Mitch Ames (talk) 06:06, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

Not to mention Jews with Moses caddying for Jesus. DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 22:59, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

Since you found the wealth of jokes (or would-be jokes) available on the Internet to be unsuitable to your boss's purpose, perhaps you could tell us a little more about the setting, audience, import and style of the organization's annual report. I don't want you to expose yourself, your boss or your group, but there are differences between a gaming industry convention, a police conference and an alliance of religious hospice volunteers. Will most of the audience be from one country or one culture, or are you seeking something that would appeal to a wide range of listeners? —— Shakescene (talk) 06:01, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

Dilbert for May 8, 2008, might be a good one to put on the powerpoint and let everyone read. Dilbert is giving a presentation. He says, "I didn't have any accurate numbers, so I just made up this one... Studies have shown that accurate numbers aren't any more useful than the ones you make up." An unseen audience member (apparently the PHB) asks, "How many studies showed that?" Dilbert: "Eighty-seven". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:12, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

An old cross-cultural one from Asia that might not have reached your audience: “In America, it is common to open a speech with a joke, but in Japan, one begins by apologizing. So, in the interest of cultural diversity and inclusiveness, I’ll just apologize for not having a joke to tell.” DOR (HK) (talk) 06:34, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

Why do bagpipe players traditionally march while playing? They're trying to get away from the terrible noise.

Why are violin players like police? Everybody's relieved when the case is closed.

What's the difference between a saxophone and a chain saw? Vibrato.

What's the scariest thing jungle drums can warn is coming? A bass solo.

What do you call somebody who hangs around with musicians but can't play an instrument? A drummer.

i'm in a musical mood i guessGzuckier (talk) 07:22, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

The violin one would especially be good since he's coming up after a bunch of other speakers. He can add, "Thankfully, the case will soon be closed."172.166.225.140 (talk) 12:12, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

He could probably avoid the old one about feeling like a mummy, "pressed for time". And this one might be a problem, but it's musical: The Far Side split into an upper and lower panel: "Welcome to Heaven... here's your harp" and "Welcome to Hell... here's your accordion"! ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 13:07, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

In these circumstances, I think it is usually best to tell a joke that somehow fits in with what the talk is about. If you are talking about a room full of experts in a particular field, tell a joke that only experts will get - it can be an excellent way of bonding. (eg. if they are mathematicians, you could go with "What's round, purple and commutes? An abelian grape!" [admittedly, most mathematicians have already heard that one, but that doesn't really matter].) --Tango (talk) 12:34, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

My suggestion would be to have a little subject-appropriate comic or striking image on each slide. Slides can usually be read in just a moment, so that would give listeners something to enjoy while the speaker drones on. --Sean 14:32, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

This is the perfect occasion to slip in my favourite joke of all time. Heard it on the radio once.

Son, about sevenish, is watching the evening cartoon with his father. After the cartoon come the daily evening news, then sports, then weather. Father and son are watching everything together. After the weather forecast an announcer on TV says 'Tonight's film will only be suitable for adults.' Son turns to father, asking: 'Dad, why will this movie be only for adults?' Father replies: 'You'll see in a moment.'

Additional information: on polish state TV we used to have a chindren's evening cartoon at 19.00, then evening news at 19.30 followed by sports and weather, and an evening movie at about 20.00. I believe it's like this even now on certain days, I am not sure though. --Ouro (blah blah) 20:22, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

Hi there is NO worse openig than a joke that doesn't work. Audience embarrassed. Speaker's mind blown. Only if a natural hurourist AND experienced shoud it be tried. Punch in with a striking visual that links directly to the topic.Froggie34 (talk) 10:47, 23 October 2009 (UTC)

Tell your boss the best way he can lighten the mood is by telling the audience his speech will not be accompanied by PowerPoint. <rant> My heart dies a little every time I see the accursed slides. And when somebody stands there and reads the bloody things to me, I just want to scream. Or stand up and shout "You know what, I learned to read in primary school and I'm quite good at it now." </rant> --Dweller (talk) 14:16, 23 October 2009 (UTC)

• In honour of this thread, I've created a simple stub at PowerPoint hell. Please do feel free to enhance it. --Dweller (talk) 14:27, 23 October 2009 (UTC)

I agree with the people above, the best joke for the occasion is going to be relevant to the audience at hand. Unless he makes one about presentations in general or something, it's hard to see how some randoms on the internet can tell you a good one. Sticking a random joke in there is probably going to seem weird. I don't suppose you could give us more information about what his speech is going to be about? For an example of a speech that (effortlessly) blends humour relevant to the topic of the presentation, I'd recommend watching this TED talk. TastyCakes (talk) 14:44, 23 October 2009 (UTC)

Most people are not comedians, for a reason. Don't try this at home (or a presentation). Imagine Reason (talk) 17:49, 24 October 2009 (UTC)

Q. 'What did the Astronaut say when he la...nded on the moon?' A. "The Moon is Excellent!"

Question: Why did the eskimo throw coins at the seal? Answer: He thought it was a beggar!

Question.: What do you call a dog wearing a policeman's hat? Answer: PC Dog-hat

Q. Why did Superman wear his pants outside his trousers? A. Because he was a dirty pervert!!!

Q) Why did the alien eat the policeman's hat? A) He thought it was a meal!

Q)How many moths does it take to change a lightbulb? A) Moths can't do that.

Hands of gorse, heart of steel (talk) 19:26, 25 October 2009 (UTC)

Buying a metallic thermos flask?

i want to buy a thermos flask which does not have an external cover like this http://atzler.info/uploads/pics/tauchsieder.jpg , but would love to own a metallic thing like this- http://theinkround.com/assets/images/db_images/db_Thermos_Flask_216x2162.jpg, largely because of its sleek looks and reduced diameter and probably it is more robust. I intend to carry it in the public transport inside a rucksack everyday. From what I remember from school studies, thermoflask is designed to reduce exchange of heat with the environment and as a result warm liquid stays warm longer or cold liquid stays cold than when left outside. I dont understand why they make metallic flasks these days, since metal would conduct heat away or inside the flask more easily. Are metallic flasks are insular and as leakproof as normal flasks? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.220.46.25 (talk) 09:01, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

The metal outer body of the flask encloses 2 concentric silvered glass bottles, which have a vacuum between them. It's this vacuum flask assembly that keeps the contents insulated from the outside world. You might see the page on thermos flask for further information. --Phil Holmes (talk) 10:18, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

John Lewis sells metal thermos flasks [1]£7.20 - £10.80. I've had one for 18 months with no problems. Richard Avery (talk) 17:40, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

Most houseware and hardware stores sell stainless steel thermoses. They leak heat a little more than glass ones do, but they still work pretty well. They don't break, but they can dent if you drop them. I would expect if one dents deeply enough that the inner and outer shell come in contact with each other, they lose their insulating property. But I haven't seen this happen myself. 69.228.171.150 (talk) 23:10, 23 October 2009 (UTC)

Best buy hiring

How long does it take after you complete the application for you to be accepted or denied a job? And is being a cashier/ customer service rep fun?Accdude92 (talk) (sign) 13:13, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

With many such businesses, it depends whether they are actively hiring or if you are going into a queue for when they start hiring (that is, they might have a fixed number of employees, but in a store that large, it probably fluctuates regularly, so they are probably always keeping a list of potential hires "on file"). But you should feel free to call them in a week to pursue it if you haven't heard from them (just be polite—"I submitted my application last week, and was just curious to find out if anything had been decided on yet?"). That's not considered a bad thing at all if you are respectable about it, and they will usually tell you if they are actively hiring, if they'll hold it for a month, etc. With such big corporate jobs, they usually have to run your application by a central office, which takes maybe a week.

As for fun—as with many jobs, it depends on what you find "fun", but working with people is about as fun as you make it. I have worked as a cashier elsewhere and found it more or less enjoyable. You will occasionally get really cranky/weird people (the sorts of people who are willing to give up 20 minutes of their time to haggle for a 50-cent discount they feel entitled to), but if you go into it with a good attitude, it can be a tolerable way to pass the time, and a fine entry-level job. You learn how to deal with people, and with money. The down-side to such retail jobs are that you are often being pushed to foist things upon the customer that they don't want or don't need (e.g. "sign up for our card"), and there are rewards/punishments for failing to meet quotas in that respect, and that is kind of soul-sucking (I don't know if Best Buy does that, but Barnes and Noble did when I worked there). --Mr.98 (talk) 13:30, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

In my experience, there is at least one interview required prior to any job offer. If/when the manager asks what you would do if you discovered another employee stealing from Best Buy, the only acceptable answer is that you'd inform a manager. There is also a drug test required, although I can't recall if that was prior to the job offer or not. --LarryMac | Talk 13:37, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

When I worked for a different corporate retail-type store, they made me take some long, computer-based personality test that included the "would you inform on an employee" type questions mixed in with a lot of "are you a sociopath" type questions. It was very odd, especially considering how low-grade the job was (we weren't dealing in seriously valuable merchandise). The correct approach to all such tests is to answer in the way you'd assume the manager wants you to—not necessarily to answer honestly. Honesty is not valued in such an environment if it does not correspond with the expectations. (Honestly, my ability to care about theft by another employee—or anyone else—is directly correlated to whether they pay me enough and treat me well enough to have any loyalty to the business. But you can't say that and expect to get the job.) --Mr.98 (talk) 14:57, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

This sort of "personality test" is often a form of Psychometric test which can usually detect if the subject tries to give expected rather than true answers: the numerous apparently bizarre or irrelevant questions offer a cross-check on the more direct ones, and unless you're an expert in the technique there's no way you can second-guess them all well enough to fool it. Since being detected in giving dishonest answers is likely to eliminate you from consideration, it's advisable not to try to slant them. When competently used (not always the case), such tests can give a surprisingly detailed and accurate picture of your personality (and a good employer may give you a copy of the resulting analysis), allowing the company to decide how well suited you are to the job on offer: for example, a front-of-store salesperson needs to be good at personal interactions more than at patient record analysis, whereas the opposite may hold true for a back-room stock controller.

Applying psychometric testing properly requires specialised knowledge and training which do not come cheaply, so it tends to be used by larger organisations with sizeable HR departments, or by large employment agencies. When used by an employer, they're likely to be part of its standardized hiring procedures, which is why they may be applied to even apparently low-level jobs. That said, recruitment is usually a costly process anyway, while getting rid of someone who turns out to be unsuitable can be even more so, so it's cost effective to spend a little more to appoint the most appropriate candidates. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 10:57, 24 October 2009 (UTC)

what if the manager asked "what you would do if you discovered me stealing from Best Buy?"

see also How_to_Irritate_People#Job_Interview (since we don't have much on the monty python version)Gzuckier (talk) 16:48, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

Smoke maker

Is it possible to home build something similar to the smoke generator that's inside some model train engines? How would I do it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.44.55.2 (talk) 19:17, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

This page describes several of the common model train smoke units; seems like it might be a good starting point for designing a unit of your own. At a minimum, you'd need a reservoir and a heat source; possibly a wick and some type of "smoke stack" type tube. --LarryMac | Talk 20:41, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

Thanks, I'll look into that. I remember that the old trains needed WD40 to make smoke, and that when I sprayed WD40 on a hot surface it made smoke too. In terms of danger, would this "smoke" be toxic?

There is also the subsequent OP who has devised a conventient smoke generator. As you both geolocate to London, you simply run a thin hose from their kitchen to your model train. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 21:27, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

What?

Yeah, should be pretty easy. if you're in Croydon, say, and he's in Barnet, you'd only need 30 miles of hose (plus some way to get it across the city without being run over). I'm guessing C.e.Z's comment was not to be taken too seriously. :) Grutness...wha? 07:10, 23 October 2009 (UTC)

Eh? I don't understand, and how the hell do you know where I live? Look, I was just asking about smoke machines, forget it ok? I'll ask elsewhere. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.44.55.2 (talk) 10:00, 23 October 2009 (UTC)

Please ignore the joke answers. Wikipedia tracks everyone's edits by username (if you have one) or IP address if you don't. There are tools to use your IP address (82.44.55.2) to find roughly where your internet connection is based, like this.

Sorry I don't know the answer to your train smoke question, but Larry's link might be useful, and someone else might reply later with an answer. AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 10:43, 23 October 2009 (UTC)

IP tracking does not work in all countries - the IP is in UK, that's all you can find out with UK IP addresses - the track will just give the location of the ISP (I see plenty of web ads thinking I'm in Telford, where Enta.Net is located - 150 miles away)  Ronhjones  ^(Talk) 00:55, 25 October 2009 (UTC)

(outdent)Not sure what your specific application is, but you might also look into a "fountain mister" (just google that phrase), which is the type of unit used on small water fountains to make fog or mist. Not really something you can build at home, but it might fit your needs. --LarryMac | Talk 11:44, 23 October 2009 (UTC)

Oven cleaner difficulties.

My housemates and I cleaned the oven with your standard oven cleaner, we left it and then forgot to clean it out, and then later turned on the over. Smoke and fumes ensued, so we changed our dinner plans and left to ventilate, when it was cool we tried to clean it out again, and again, and there is no visible oven cleaner in there anymore (it went pretty crusty) and now its stopped smoking after the oven was on some more, presumably its all burnt off and doesn't smell so noxious. But now I have the fear of using the oven, any way of making sure its all gone?

As a side, what kind of fumes would have come off that stuff? 188.220.144.215 (talk) 19:27, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

Take a bucket and a sponge and just wipe the interior down. Dilution is a wonderful thing. Vranak (talk) 19:35, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, when I say we cleaned it out again and again I mean we did, scary fumes of doom I tells ye. 188.220.144.215 (talk) 19:37, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

Does it have a self-cleaning feature? I would use that (it bakes the interior at some 900º over the course of three hours or so, which gets rid of everything). But other than that... if it isn't smoking anymore (and maybe you want to run it at a high temp for an hour or so just to make sure), then it's probably baked off. Can you tell us what specific cleaner it was? --Mr.98 (talk) 19:48, 22 October 2009 (UTC)

As Mr.98 said, it would be helpful if you specify precisely what brand of overcleaner you used, or even just take a look at the over cleaner bottle or a similar one to find out precisely what the active ingredients are. The over cleaner I have has sodium hydroxide and diethylene glycol alkyl ether Nil Einne (talk) 21:20, 23 October 2009 (UTC)

Sodium hydroxide, Oven Pride [2] to be precise. Its still smoking but I'm going to try just washing it out with clean water a bit.188.220.144.215 (talk) 16:08, 24 October 2009 (UTC)