Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2006 July 25

Humanities Science Mathematics Computing/IT Language Miscellaneous Archives

The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions at one of the pages linked to above.

< July 24 Miscellaneous desk archive July 26 >

Army

How do I go about locating my son, Scott Malley, who is a Staff Sergeant in the PA Army National Guard and as far I know stationed at Fort IndianTown Gap Army Base in PA? I have not heard from him in 6 months and he has not returned phone calls. I do not know what has happened to him. I tried finding a contact on the internet for the base but have not gotten very far. Maybe someone knows how to do a search better than I. Thanks - I really want to find him. Fran Malley, his mother

Have you tried contacting the personnel or public affairs departments at the base? The numbers are on this page. You could also try the PNGAS. I don't know how much help this will be given that he's apparently not returning phone-calls though - assuming he received them, there could be any number of reasons why he doesn't wish to do so, and no-one really knows but him. Ziggurat 01:01, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Try contacting the Red Cross or the Salvation Army. They can sometimes help in getting in touch with servicemembers. User:Zoe|^(talk) 02:21, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Not to get into advice column territory or anything, but here's my advice anyways. If he's not returning calls, there's a personal reason for it. (Alternatively, it could easily be that you simply have the wrong number.) I wouldn't persist in trying to contact him if he doesn't want to talk to you. Write a letter, sure, but don't call him again. zafiroblue05 | Talk 04:04, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

My guess is at this point the mother here first wants to know that her son is alive and well. Perhaps there is a way to confirm that outside of phoning him?

My answer presupposes that both of you want to be in contact with each other. From the FAQ list for Fort Indiantown Gap: How do I locate, or get a message to a soldier who is training at the Gap? For emergency communication, contact the Fort Indiantown Gap Police Department, at 717-861-2727. For non-emergency communications, call the soldier's unit phone number, distributed prior to training. They also have a General Information number for civilians (717-861-2572). Since this base has been decommissioned (it is no longer a Federal base), it no longer has a base locator, the usual way to reach someone on a military post.

If you don't meet with success at the local base level, you can try the PA National Guard's Deputy Adjutant General, Army — MG Robert P French, at 717-861-8605, or contact your State Representative. In my experience, they can get a response when an ordinary citizen cannot. --Ssbohio 04:22, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

As mentioned, maybe he doesn't want to speak to you. --Proficient 08:13, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

If you happen to know any friends of his you may consider asking them if he is alive and ok. I would not recommend it, but if you think that something has gone horribly wrong you may want to consider filing a missing persons report. That would put the police on his case, but if it turns out that he is alive and alright and for all intents and purposes not missing you can be brought up on charges of filling a false police report. TomStar81 00:58, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

Does an app like this exist?

I'd like an app similar to KeePass, where I can attach a USB thumbdrive to my PC, enter all my passwords into an app stored on that drive, and then have it automatically log me in (using Firefox) to every site who has a username + password written into that app. Sort of like Gator used to do, but not spyware-a-licious.

I use Roboform. CambridgeBayWeather (Talk) 01:36, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

There is not all the much in Category:Password managers but it is still work while to take a look. Jon513 11:14, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

It's a built-in feature in Opera. Do you have to stick with Firefox? Natgoo 17:37, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Breaking news (for me): It looks like the new (2006-07-13) Password Exporter Firefox extension will solve your problem. I'm giving it a try, at least. (Aside, another problem if one doesn't know who asked in the first place: they may never see the solution!) --Seejyb 23:33, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

There is a feature similar to this built into recent releases of Firefox. You enter passwords in sites, and Firefox remembers them -- once you enter your "Master Password" that you set for Firefox, it automatically logs you into everything else. Check your privacy settings. Taiq 07:44, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

American west fireamrs

I am looking for information on teh types of firearms used in teh Amerian west between the years 1836 and 1855. If u could provide the names, manufacturers, calibers, range, and general usage that would be greatly appreciated.

I can't really turn out much in the way of specifics, but you'll find that in that era, long guns were transitioning away from the musket to the rifle. Both articles have some history sections to work with, but I don't see much in the way of manufacturers. (Calibres were "big" and "damn big," from the black-powder rifles I've seen - our article says the muskets used between .50 and .80 calibre. Ouch.) Repeating rifles didn't start coming on the scene until the latter half of the 1800s. Samuel Colt did invent the revolver in 1836, however. Good luck! Tony Fox (speak) 20:55, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Didelphimorphia (Oppossum) diet?

I was wondering if the Didelphimorphia species ate rats and other house pests?

In New Zealand possums are considered pests themselves, but they're not cannibals afaik. DirkvdM 07:58, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Encyclopedia! Right here, right now! --Zeizmic 15:26, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

They mostly eat grubs, worms, insects, bugs, spiders, refuse, carrion, and the odd pencil, plastic sandwich bag, and rubber band. They are not quick enough to be hunters of anything that can run and their teeth are not designed for ripping and tearing the way dogs' and cats' teeth are. They don't have fangs per se. They're omnivores, like humans. --Gabbyhayes 03:44, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

legends ,tlales

can u give me links to sites about festivals,legends,sayings ,rituals,poetry assciated with the land ,air ,water associated with india --Mightright 07:11, 25 July 2006 (UTC)the reason i am asking u to help me is because when i googled it the answers were not very relevant .

Please don't post your questions to more than one reference desk - the best place to discuss this is over at the humanities desk. — QuantumEleven 08:22, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

opps sorry--Mightright 08:29, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

No worries! :) — QuantumEleven 07:34, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

Difference between tax terminologies

What is the exact difference between tax terms like tax,cess,duty,levy etc.--Redsan65 07:46, 25 July 2006 (UTC)—--Redsan65 07:46, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Tax refers to all kinds of taxation. Levy is a verb meaning "to impose or collect a tax". Duty and cess are types of taxes. A duty is a tax that is levied on specific commodities, financial transactions, estates, etc., and not on individuals. A cess ussally refers to local taxation. Jon513 14:16, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Using Wikipedia's contents while using others?

Hi, I am making a website about the Treaty of Waitangi. If I use the information from Wikipedia, must my whole website be licensed under GPL? Because I am using information and images from various sources which have different copy conditions, such as "Crown Copyright", CC, and others. I don't want to add a note stating that the paragraph is licensed under GPL to every paragraph taken from Wikipedia. If my site is consist of less than 25% of Wikipedia contents, do I still license the site under GPL? Thanks, --inky 10:25, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Any text or modified version of any wikipedia text is under the GFDL. According to the GFDL a "Modified Version" of the Document means any work containing the Document or a portion of it, either copied verbatim, or with modifications and/or translated into another language. Of cource the GFDL does not limit fair use. Jon513 11:10, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

If you have a sentence from Wikipedia or a sentence from crown copyright material, you must acknowledge it, specifically, wherever you copy. Imagine if you could publish a book where "25% was from someone else's book" without acknowledgement. So your site will, properly, have a large and complex list of acknowledgements (and permissions, where necessary), just as a book would have to. Unless you rewrite. Notinasnaid 11:13, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Look at the "AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS" part of the GFDL. It basically means that if your final product is a collection of documents, and you are not copyrighting the arrangement itself in a restrictive way, then you can use GFDL documents without licensing all of the resulting derivative work under the GFDL. The CC Sharealike license has a similar provision, "The above applies to the Derivative Work as incorporated in a Collective Work, but this does not require the Collective Work apart from the Derivative Work itself to be made subject to the terms of this License." In short: yes, you can keep the individual documents licensed under different schemes, as long as it is clear on the page of each document what their licensing scheme is. --Fastfission 16:39, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for these responses. Rather than making a long and meaningless(who wants to read it?) bibliography, I will release the information in my website into the public domain! --inky 06:46, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

That's good, but just in case you were thinking of it: remember that you can only release your own writing into public domain. You cannot release a single sentence from Wikipedia into public domain. Notinasnaid 23:32, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

Of course, many of the sentences in Wikipedia existed in the public domain before Wikipedia was created. Edison 21:04, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

need help in senior project

hi all, as mentioned in the heading,could anyone suggest me a topic for my senior project which is necassary for the graduation,as i am a final year student doing BSc. in Computer Engineering,Im willing to implement a networking software(or something related to networking). Any idea or suggestion will be appreciated.-- FOZ

do not post in multiple places the computer section was the correct place to post. Jon513 12:27, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

"Hunter's style" food

Specifically, in connection with the preparation of food, many recipes refer to the food as prepared "hunter's style". Please define 'hunter's style'.

Thanks,

LGL

At least in Italian context it means "in seasoned tomato sauce", see Cacciatore [1][2]. Someone speculates "a recipe that is easy to prepare after a long day of hunting"[3] but sounds speculative and also happens to be cooked in tomato sauce. Weregerbil 15:30, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

German Jägerschnitzel is a veal or pork cutlet in brown gravy with sauteed mushrooms. "Jäger" is German for hunter. User:Zoe|^(talk) 15:44, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Perhap's it would be the style of a person who hunts game. --Proficient 08:15, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

Thumb: digit or finger

Trying to get an answer to a question that my 12 yr old son and I are trying to figure out. I have read the definition of the thumb, hand and fingers. They are somewhat conflicting. One calls the thumb one of the fingers, one just lists it as a digit and the other says that there are 8 fingers and definitely calls it a digit. Is it a "finger"? Cindy T

accordin to dictionary.com a finger is "One of the five digits of the hand, especially one other than the thumb." I think that it depends who you ask. Jon513 15:20, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Eviction law

I recently moved (I live in a small rural town) and my current landlord wants me to sign a rental agreement that says he doesn't issue eviction notices, and if the rent isn't paid he will lock the property, and I will be arrested for breaking and entering. Many renters in this area do this, but I dont understand how it is legal (I live in the US). How can eviction law be circumvented in this manner, and if it can be wouldn't all companies do it?

Ive been renting there over a month, and my question is if I refuse to sign this (because I dont think it is legal) and he were to lock the property, would I be arrested for breaking & entering? Wouldn't this be false arrest? Sindweller 15:07, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Sounds like Texas, where he is allowed to shoot you, as well! --Zeizmic 15:23, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

WHAT!? Sindweller 15:52, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

These matters vary by state. I can recommend Nolo's renter's rights book (ISBN 0873373804) which larger bookshops will carry. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 15:56, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

You may also find there is some kind of tenant's organisation that might give you legal advice. If this were anywhere other than the US it would be unquestionably illegal. DJ Clayworth 17:12, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

I thought the contract would be illegal, but I am concerned that if I refuse to sign it, he will change the lock where I live and I will have no where to live. I live in a *very* rural community and I am certain there are no tenant organizations around. My town only has 5,000 people and the nearest city is 50-60 miles away. I can't really afford an attorney now...Any advice would be appericated. Sindweller 18:54, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia doesn't give legal advice, but it seems reasonable to think at least some chance that if you sign this then it will be binding, and to plan on that basis, rather than assuming that it's just hot air. If you want to be pragmatic about it, you have nothing to worry about if you plan to pay your rent, on time, every time. If on the other hand you expect to be able to "string out" a late rent, your landlord has given you the clearest possible message that he doesn't intend to tolerate that. Notinasnaid 20:53, 25 July 2006 (UTC}

Quite outrageous but if you have no alternative, I suppose... But I would avoid him as a landlord if you possibly can because he doesnt sound like the type of landlord who will cough up for repairs, give you your deposit back, etc, etc. You need to go to some public office (the mayor's office?. local police?) and get some kind of feel for what attitude they would take if he did lock you out for refusing to sign that contract. Would they help you gain access to recover your possessions for example? Jameswilson 23:53, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

I believe that in the Netherlands it's ok to sign a contract that goes against the law because it would simply be invalid. If there is any chance you'll ever have a problem paying the rent you'd better ask someone knowledgeable (if they dont show up here). Or what about forgetting to pay? Could happen. Or worse still, what if you're abroad and something goes wrong with automatic payment? If the landlord even has the idea that he may break into your house and reclaim it, it doesn't matter that you know it's not legal. You don't want that to happen when you're not there. Like James said, you need a good relationship with your landlord. Your house is your turf. If someone else has the notion that it's really theirs and they start off on this footing, you'd better think twice. But then that's what you're doing now.... :)

On the other hand, this may all be some misinterpretation. Have a straightforward talk with him (in as far as that is possible in the US, but you'll know that better than me). That might clear it all up. DirkvdM 07:22, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

It does vary by state, but I suspect most are like this quote I found here for Oregon: [4]

"Although your written lease agreement cannot shorten the number of days required by law for notices of termination, the lease may make notice periods longer."

Nowimnthing 19:26, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

Not a lawyer, and the following is not legal advice to be relied on, but: A well written statute, such as a good tenants' rights ordinance, includes a clause stating that the tenant may not sign away any rights. Then however many such waivers one is forced to sign are merely "contracts of adhesion" and don't stand up in court. Not all laws are so well written. But if there is not such a provision, it is too easy for the party with the power to force the other party to sign away rights. Edison 21:11, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

You might want to look over the article on standard form contracts, particularly the section on contracts of adhesion to see some examples of legal thinking on these kind of boilerplate contracts & their enforceability. However, please remember that Wikipedia is not a source of legal advice and that every situation is unique. Many attorneys will give a short consultation for $50 or so. That can be a valuable investment if you're uncertain about this contract. --Ssbohio 22:02, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

Delete account

how do you delete you wikipedia account?

You could start by asking this question at the correct place, which is the help desk. And note that you should always add a title to your question. I've added one for you. --Richardrj 16:09, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

But in short, you can't. —Daniel (‽) 17:50, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps asking an administrator? --Proficient 08:17, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

No, accounts cannot be deleted for copyright reasons. If you don't have many edits, you can get a beurocrat to change your account name. Even accounts with no edits at all are not deleted. —Daniel (‽) 08:23, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

Read WP:Right to vanish.--Anchoress 02:00, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

Who's a Peach?

69.81.50.252 16:57, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Errr...try Peach (disambiguation) or Peaches (disambiguation). - THE GREAT GAVINI {T-C} 17:39, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

You already asked this question, and received an appropriate answer, on April 26. --Shantavira 19:58, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

• Ty Cobb-hotclaws**==(81.134.68.10 11:20, 27 July 2006 (UTC))

Just a Minute, Theatresports and Organisation

Could Just a Minute be seen as a variant of Theatresports? Are there any groups which practice JAM in some official manner (as in TS), other than the Radio 4 show?

Thanks a bunch. —Daniel (‽) 17:49, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Not really - JAM came first (1967 vs 1970s), so maybe the other way round. -- SGBailey 20:17, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Just a Minute definitely came first, along with lots of other related shows (mainly from the pens of Frank Muir and Denis Norden) such as Many a Slip, Call My Bluff, and Face the Music. If you're looking for a show that can be seen as a variant of theathresoprts and which came after theatresports, try Whose Line is it Anyway?. Grutness...wha? 02:52, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

Article Hits

How do I see how many times an article has been viewed, or who has been viewing an article?

Check out Wikipedia:Very_Frequently_Asked_Questions. Weregerbil 20:02, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

You need to know where you're going with that one; the answer may be buried a little too deep for the general enquirer, and in a somewhat counter-intuitive place. I was interested in the answer too, so I clicked the link but nothing showed up. After trying a few likely-sounding links on that page, I eventually clicked the unlikely-sounding "Editing", where I found the topic "Is there any way to see how many people have viewed a particular page?", only to be told:

• Unfortunately, there is not. The servers that run the internet store copies of Wikipedia in "web caches" in order to speed up access to the material. Since many viewings will be of the cached copies and not of Wikipedia directly, there is no way to count viewings, because Wikipedia does not have access to those servers (which are owned by many different companies). Also, Wikipedia is free for anyone to download and display, and therefore many websites, such as Answers.com autonomously provide their users with Wikipedia articles (see mirrors).

I say "unlikely-sounding", since I can't see what simply viewing a page has to to with editing it. JackofOz 01:23, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

I think the question refers to page views on Wikipedia itself. There used to be counters but they were turned off long ago because they made the servers too slow. Adam Bishop 02:42, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

In addition to the "Editing" subheading, this question is on the Wikipedia:Very_Frequently_Asked_Questions page itself. Just scroll down, question 12. I also suggest checking out the other 12 VFAQs, they are good stuff! Weregerbil 07:55, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

You can't. --Proficient 08:19, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

Seems pretty sucky that one is unable to see how popular an article is. Is there no list of "most often viewed articles?" Frequent hits would one argument against someone nomination to delete an article.Edison 21:14, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

Techno Music

What would you call a album that has two cds as part of a album like for example Dream Dance Vol. 18, Top of Trance Vol. 3, Trance Top 40 Vol. 2 and Trances Voices Vol. 11 and how many albums are related to these albums that I have shown? Thanks.

I'd call them each a "double album". To get a track listing, try typing the names into amazon.com, which will also provide a serach list of other albums with similar styles or titles. -- SGBailey 20:12, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Stripper game

How many games beside DreamStripper are there that deals with strippers because I couldn't afford DreamStripper of the Internet, so I was wondering if there any games that are free from the Internet.

I am not sure what you're asking. --Proficient 08:19, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

I think the questioner is looking for porn disguised as a game.--Shantavira 09:40, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

No, I am not looking for porn disguised as a game. I mean real game of stripper. Look, I ask the already the question above already. Please, can someone tell me where to get a free game of a stripper because I couldn't afford the DreamStripper game of the internet. --Don Mustafa11:48, July 26 2006 (UTC)

So just what the frig is a game of stripper supposed to be? Is it a game where you take the role of a stripper and try to maximise your earnings, a game where you take the role of a punter and try to see as many naked women as possible before your money runs out, a game where you run a strip club, a game where you remove paint from walls in the shortest possible time, or something else entirely? There are bucketloads of free games on the internet, but if you can neither ask a decent question nor use google to search the web then you probably aren't ready for them. --Howard Train 18:00, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

Hmmm. You wouldn't happen to have a copyright on that paint clearing game, would you Howard? Hyenaste ^(tell) 23:20, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

No, it's the game where you remove debugging information from binaries. --Philosophus ^T 09:43, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

According to the blurb(which I only hunted for for the purposes of Wikiresearch ;)!) *Your own personal stripper on your own computer! You decide her dance moves, what she wears, even the music! Have her writhe or spin just when you want as she dances or create an erotic and exotic dance* but he can't afford that,so he wants a free one off the Internet.

And can anyone else picture the OP jumping up and down shaking his fists when he's shouting out 'I've already asked the damn question above,just answer it' when he's asked to explain or clarify it... 88.106.252.194 22:56, 27 July 2006 (UTC)Lemon

Free porn - well, alright, free naked ladies applications - off the Internet usually comes with free trojans, worms, and viruses (or so I've heard at stripper). I suggest you save up your money and get the Real McCoy. Or put in a bid for an early birthday present.--Shantavira 13:57, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

Cool Userpage Table

Where can I find all of the options that I can use for the table that a lot of users put in their profile? (example below to right) --Sportskido8 16:36, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

en	This user is a native speaker of English.

Try Wikipedia:Userboxes for an index of all the userbox types (e.g. Wikipedia:Babel for languages). Also note that while there's no rule against having lots of userboxes on your page, some editors (including myself!) think it's in bad taste to fill your user page with hundreds of them (something akin to personality spamming :) .Ziggurat 21:02, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Is there a userbox for people who agree with that? Digfarenough 02:09, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

Inevitably. See Wikipedia:Userboxes/Userboxes. --Shantavira 10:55, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

for example,

This user believes that Userboxes Are Evil And Must Be Stopped. This user does not realize the irony of using a userbox to voice his dislike for userboxes.

What's the name of that game....

What's the name of the wrestling game where you own WWE? (or WWF, not sure how old it is). It's for the PC, but I can't remeber the name.

Infectious_mononucleosis

With mono, what causes the sore throat? Is the sore throat likely to disappear and then come back again?

Inflammation in the back of the throat, called pharyngitis, is the cause of the throat pain. This is a major response area and immune system battleground for viral infections acquired through the nose and mouth. The sore throat typically does not recur after it has resolved, but your mileage may differ. alteripse 02:29, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

Thanks!