Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2007 August 19

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August 19

Troldhaugen: who's wedding?

Troldhaugen [Troll Hill/Mound] was the name invented for Edvard and Nina Greig's home outside Bergen, Norway. That being the case, who's wedding was celebrated in Greig's joyous composition "Wedding Day at Troldhaugen"? Thank you.

Grieg had a marital crisis in late 1883, the year before he built the house at Troldhaugen. He was reconciled to his wife with the help of some friends, in 1884, shortly before they built the house. I could easily be wrong about this, but I hear it as a renewal of his own wedding vows (he married Nina in 1867), and a happy reminiscence of successfully enduring a life crisis. Apparently he didn't write "Wedding Day at Troldhaugen" until 1896 (pub 1897). (This is original research: if anyone knows of an actual wedding at the Grieg house, let us know; their only child died in 1869 just after her first birthday.) Antandrus (talk) 00:08, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

This explanation sounds reasonable, except that 'wedding day' is specific whereas 'celebration' would be more appropirate to your theory. I also wonder if it was actually composed for his daughter, but only written down 30 years later? Thank you again. Shir-El

According to the Official Troldhaugen website, this piece was written to commemorate the succesful celebration of Nina and Edvard's silver wedding anniversary in 1892, i.e. five years earlier. It is part of his Opus 65 and was originally named "Here come the wellwishers". Asav 13:53, 25 August 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia Efficiency

How does one commend Wikipedia for being Efficient, etc. ? 65.173.104.223 01:02, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

There are plenty of ways:

• Donate money to the Wikimedia foundation here: [1]
• If a particular person helped you out - thank them on their talk page (click on the person's signature - then click on 'discussion' and add a thank-you.
• If a particular project (such as this reference desk) helped you - then a thankyou right here at the end of the question thread is always appreciated. For articles, do it on the 'discussion' page.
• There are many ' awards' you can give to individuals. They don't mean much - but people seem to like them.
• The biggest thing you can do is to help. Pick an article on a subject you know a lot about - and improve it. Take photos of things for articles that don't have them and donate them under GFDL. I bet you can improve on the article about your home town - or your favorite sports team or TV show. Whatever you do for a living is pretty much guaranteed to have an article about it - the odds are good you can add something there. My favorite is to pick a subject I know NOTHING about - teach myself all there is to know about it from books, etc - then write about it. The Mini Moke article is an example of exactly that - I bought every book ever published about this weird little car - talked to experts, owners, etc - and now the article is a featured article and featured on the front page. You can do this - help Wikipedia - and educate yourself at the same time.

SteveBaker 02:30, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Great answer, SteveBaker! A.Z. 06:24, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

You can also have a look at Requested Articles and Most Wanted Articles; these are lists of articles that people have requested but do not yet exist; you can often find an interesting subject or two here to write about - if the article is particularly interesting, you may be able to get it featured on the Main Page in the Did You Know? column (I've got Funeral train, Dogs Trust and A8(M) motorway (Northern Ireland) featured in this way). Laïka 18:04, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

As Wikipedia is my main source of electronic entertainment, and I don't have cable TV as most people in my part of the world do, I have simply set up my online banking system to send the Wikimedia Foundation a check each month in an amount equal to a normal cable bill. Seems fair. --Sean 14:18, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

A "Premie" Squirrel

Yes, I have one and need to know what to feed it. I believe it fell out of its nest but is clinging to life. After preparing a bed of compost and giving it a quick shower it crawled into a mum located in my shrub bed. A shot of Jack Daniel's? (no, of course, not). I'll patiently await your reply. Thanks!Groseg 03:21, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Call an animal shelter, or animal rescue center. They're the proper people to take care of what is, in reality, a very sick baby animal. --Haemo 03:23, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Another sensible option would be to put it back where you found it and let nature do its thing. --Sean 14:20, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

It's a mammal - so if it's very young it'll need body-temperature milk from something it's willing to try sucking on. But in all likelyhood, cow's milk won't keep it alive for long because it's going to need something or other that mommy squirrels can provide that mommy cows don't. Realistically, an animal rescue center - or back in the nest where it's mother left it are going to be it's only chances of staying alive. SteveBaker 14:48, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

If you live in the US, try checking for a local Wildlife Rescue Center Audubon Society Lookup. They can offer advice like What to Do with A Baby Mammal where they specifically say that cow's milk won't work. Check out the links for more info. Best of luck, Liz / Librarian @ Portland, Oregon

Why are the people who answer questions mean?

Why do the people who I ask questions on the Reference Desk write back these dark you-can-do-it-for-yourself or this-world-has-a-lot-of-things-you-better-get-straight-dummy mean? I am just asking a simple question which is available to anyone who cares to answer, not for people who want to stir up a stink. Now I didn't mean to have illegal downloading of the Adobe Printshop, it was just question that if either there was a website which has a license or an agreement to do so. And whoever replied to my question giving me such an answer and telling they don't about fonts, why do you have to be such a mean person? I don't wait 24/7, I do other things which for your information you don't see becuase your sitting on the other side of your computer just talking from what you would like to just telling people to understand in their Wikipedian lives. It's a answer, not a comment! --Writer Cartoonist 03:31, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps that answer wasn't all sugary-sweet, but I wouldn't characterize it as mean. The word "dummy" was neither mentioned, nor implied anywhere i saw. The 24/7 comment wasn't about you, but about the volunteers here, some of which only pop in every now and then. Occasionally you need to wait several days to get the best answer to your question - simply repeating the question won't attract more answers, unfortunately. Also, part of the staff here is very concerned about giving advice that is illegal or could get you in trouble. Sometimes we use a harsher tone to drive the point home. Call it tough love, but no one here tries to be mean. So, give us another chance, and don't stop asking your questions here! ---Sluzzelin talk 04:12, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Excuse me? I didn't say I don't care about fonts. I said I know nothing about them, which is true. I know jack shit about fonts. I can't tell Ariel from Helvetica from Times New Roman. I can't answer that part of your question. I answered to the best I could - that if you're looking for free downloads of a product illegally, we can't help you, but that to the best of my knowledge it was availible at the adobe website. Seriously, you didn't even give it a day before posting the same question again - I can look, but I hazard a guess that it was a few hours. There's no reason you should expect an answer within the first few hours of posting a question, and I pointed this out. I don't appreciate your anger towards me, when I was just trying to be helpful. I'm not a robot, I'm a woman, and so I'm sorry that my answer to your question wasn't devoid of personality. Maybe you should try gratitude that I went out of my way to answer your question instead of anger at the way I phrased the answer, since I didn't HAVE to even read your question. Kuronue | Talk 06:19, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Editors whose answers or comments seem mean may not be conversant with WP:BITE, which basically says "This page in a nutshell: Do not be hostile toward newcomers. Remember to assume good faith first and approach them in a polite manner." Edison 18:28, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

In this instance I don't see a problem with Kuronue's answer, but have grave difficulties with Writer Cartoonist's question. In my view - and after considering AGF and its implications - an apology is owed by Writer Cartoonist to Kuronue, in part for discourtesy and in part for a false accusation. --Tagishsimon (talk)

Please could we all take a look at WP:CALM, and WP:CIVIL too. WriterCartoonist is new and inexperienced, and not used to the ways of the reference desk. I think Sluzellin got it about right - we do our best, it can take time, and sometimes (if we are concerned about legal implications, or it's been a long day, or the cat has puked on the carpet) we can come across as snappy. All of us more experienced editors should read WP:BITE and WP:AGF from time to time, and remember that Everyone makes mistakes! Please, let's not get into a dispute here - the reference desks (in my experience) are one of the more civilized corners of the Wikipedia, the sort of place where cups of tea and buttered crumpets turn up from time to time. We don't do edit-wars here, we don't flame or troll or start fights. Sometimes we take a deep breath and count to ten, and sometimes some of us even think "Blow this for a game of soldiers!" and go on a dabbing spree, but on the whole we keep it calm, and soon we'll be back. Best wishes to ALL in this thread, DuncanHill 11:10, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Have a nice cup of tea, and a sit down! I think what we all must remember, is that the medium of text is such that it is all too easy to see subtexts, or innuendo in text, that truly was not the intention of the original writer. Your mood at the time of reading, what's going on with you at the time, all can influence how you'll personally see someone's message, and can cause misunderstandings. This is why I just love using smilies and pictures, because they assist in the conveyance of my true intent, and often leave little doubt in the reader's mind that I mean well, and it is my hope that I won't be misunderstood as often. ^Ariel♥Gold 11:24, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

tourist in shanghai

÷what is the best tourist location one should stay while in shanghai

Check out http://wikitravel.org/en/Shanghai#See. DirkvdM 08:51, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Multi City trip

Is purchasing a multi city trip on an airline website the same as getting regularly searched flights but the only difference being that you are able to choose your connections with multi city.--logger 06:38, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

No, it's more intended for people that will stop in one city, then go to another a few days later, etc. It's not designed to be used for making connecting flights, and I doubt if it will let you do this as well as it will often ask you only the day you wish to depart on the 2nd flight, not the exact time. You'd probably end up staying at the airport at least a day ;) -Wooty [Woot?] [Spam! Spam! Wonderful spam!] 08:25, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Oh i think i get that now. it just seemed confusing. I suppose it simply is a way to do an additional city.--logger 08:39, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

I have a trip i am taking to salt lake and that is multi-city--logger 23:54, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

You might be interested in Mileage run. --Sean 14:25, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

DISH network price increase history

When was DISH networks last price increase for all of it's programming packages.--logger 08:19, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Careers for Teenagers

How can a secondary school student become a regular PAYED contributor of a scientific/academic (of a fairly respectable reputation) magazine without too great a deal of active research, of which she has no opportunity?

I doubt it. You would almost certainly have to attend university--Pheonix15 12:04, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

In addition, UK scientific/academic journals don't pay anything to contributors. In the US, they often charge to publish articles. (Added by SaundersW-Forgot sig

knowing people would probably be the best place to start, but given that you just wrote "payed", I highly doubt many publications would want to hire you --Lucid 13:47, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Can't you just get a job at KFC like the rest of us? --Candy-Panda 13:27, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

As the others have said, this is highly unlikely. If you're talking about peer reviewed academic journals of original research, then if you can't conduct research, there's no hope. If you're talking about more mainstream magazines aimed at a more general audience such as New Scientist then you'd have slightly more chance, though honestly don't get your hopes up. If you really think you can cut it, then you could start by sending some unsolicited articles to the editors, or try to pick up some freelance work; if they really think your work is worthwhile they may publish your articles and pay you. No one's just going to start paying you for this sort of stuff without proving yourself though. --jjron 15:14, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

You may be able to get a job in a non-academic capacity, as a receptionist or somesuch. That would let you be in the office without requiring many qualifications and possibly net you some contacts should you decide to work there after college. Furthermore you might want to investigate any internship programs these magazines may have. Again, you probably wouldn't be writing articles but you would get to see how the process works. Plasticup ^T/C 17:41, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

CARTOONS - draw scientific cartoons? no qualifications needed???87.102.9.208 18:11, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

I suppose it just might be possible to find a niche role by virtue of your age. If you're still in secondary school then you have a perspective on how science and math is taught and presented to teenagers (badly!) that most scientists have long ago lost track of. It might be hard to spin that out into a paying job - but if you are insightful, perceptive and a compelling writer, you might maybe get some articles published - maybe something like: "Secondary science education: A User's perspective". But it's unrealistic to think you'd get a regular paying position. Go get your degree in journalism (with a minor in a science) or in science (with a minor in journalism) first...then think about this again. SteveBaker 14:33, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Thanks SteveBaker. Perhaps you need to go and spend some time in the classroom and show us how to teach well, since you would obviously be so good at it. --jjron 10:28, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

Look - I'm no teacher - I don't have the "people skills" - it's a job I couldn't do. But the state of science education (here in the USA at least) is terrible. My son is in the gifted/talented stream of the School of Science and Engineering. That's a magnet school (ie pretty well funded by industry as well as government) - according to annual Newsweek surveys over many years, its consistently come out as one of the top 10 best rated high schools in the entire USA (it's number 6 this year). As the name suggest, it specialises in science & engineering education - and my kid is in all of the most advanced classes. Science education in the USA simply doesn't get any better than that. It's CRAP! My son learns most of his science from me - and spends a significant fraction of time in class teaching his teacher and correcting errors in the (terrible) textbooks. Nowhere near enough hands-on practical stuff. The teachers manage to suck all of the joy from the subject. Truly, deeply, awful. We need to pay teachers enough to attract people who know their stuff into the profession - we need to spend a lot more money on science labs - we need to relax the ridiculous safety rules for school science labs - we need textbooks like the Feynman physics series - we need to care. SteveBaker 14:09, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

Out of all professions, teacher bashing is one of the easiest and most common pursuits of politicians, media, etc, at least in Australia, and I believe in many other countries (sounds like the USA as well). After all, we've all been to school, and it affects all our kids, so everyone 'knows' how it could be done so much better. I hear arguments like yours all the time, but am yet to hear anyone who can present a truly workable solution, rather than just a glib, facile rant, or at best a plausible sounding, if superficial suggestion for isolated cases. I'm talking something that will work for all kids, not just the top 10%; things that will work across a range of topics, not just for isolated pockets of content; stuff that will work for your everyday government school that takes every kid that rolls up off the street, and not just the schools with limitless budgets educating the elite; and something that is actually doable in the reality of the classroom with twenty-something real teenagers (or more), not just in someone's imagination. Many people seem to wonder why Science classes aren't action packed multimedia extravaganzas, and point to exemplars of travelling or fixed science shows, or such things, and say 'why aren't you doing this?'. There's a simple lack of appreciation - whether by design or stupidity I do not know - that no single person 'performing' twenty hours of novel content every week can possibly attain this, or even come close to it. I'm afraid, Mr Baker, despite your assertions otherwise, that most teachers do care deeply, at least in their first years in the profession, but become beaten down by years of high workload and sustained negativity from students, parents, society, media, politicians...the list goes on. I'd really like to see things improve - but in the meantime, hey, lets just keep on bashing the teachers. --jjron 08:07, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

Firstly, I can compare my science education (in a pretty typical British grammar school) with the one my son is getting (in what is supposed to be one of the best high-schools in America) - I have no idea what it's like in Australia. We had practical hands-on science as 50% of our weekly teaching in biology, physics and chemistry. My son is lucky to get one 'general science' lab session per month - and when he does, the experiments are frankly, lame. When I was 16, I measured the speed of light using a spinning octagonal prism - I calculated the charge on an electron using Millikans oildrop experiment - I applied an electical stimulus to a frog's leg and measured the force it could produce as a function of cross-sectional area. My kid is 16 years old and he gets to time the swing of various pendulums using a stopwatch and to measure the accelleration of a sled on an air track under gravity. That's *IT* for an entire term of 'science' classes - all of the rest is taught from a book. He isn't even allowed to heat up a beaker of water using a bunsen burner for chrissakes!

Secondly, I completely agree with your analysis of WHY teachers get beaten down - I could certainly be convinced that it's not their fault - but that doesn't change the end result for the kids who come into science with all of that youthful excitement - only to find it's a dry, boring subject taught by people with no interest in doing that anymore. Heck - this is the year 2007! Where are the computerised experiments? Where are the lasers? Why aren't they playing with the weird properties of superconductors? Why aren't they wiring up simple electronic circuits? Taking what you say as the truth - if my kid is lucky enough to get a young teacher, he may be taught by an enthusiast who cares and has the right skills - but if (as is inevitably overwhelmingly the case given maybe a 35 year career for a typical teacher) he gets one who (in your words) "has years of high workload..." - then he's screwed. I'm not saying that this is the fault of the teachers. It's the fault of the system within which they are expected to work. You seem to agree with me that things need to improve - that's all I'm saying here.

Thirdly, no, I don't have a solution. I have some ideas (more practical work, less ridiculous safety rules. Much, MUCH, better textbooks, less reliance on standardized test exams for grading, more project work) - but those things cost money - some more than others - so I have no complete solution.

SteveBaker 19:57, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

That early answer was right; in real academic journals, you don't get paid to write, you have to pay to have your paper published. (That doesn't mean they'll publish anything if you have the money). So if you want to get paid, you'll need to shoot for something like Scientific American or Discover or such. There's no secret; just keep writing, keep submitting, when you get rejected keep bugging them for constructive suggestions, don't get discouraged, and keep trying. Over and over and over and over. Once you get the first one accepted, it's easier. Gzuckier 14:45, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

Hardcore Famous users

I was wondering how many "hardcore" users there are on Wikipedia. The big names, like Dweller, Cecropia and Giggy, who always take part in RFAs and AFDs and are seen eveywhere. I estimate about 2000 myself but thats a wild guess--Pheonix15 13:35, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

That depends on your definition. I wouldn't say commenting on every !vote is a sign of a hard core editor. You can see the list of wikipedians by edit, but that's biased to people that do a lot of small edits (like myself) instead of a few big ones (who are usually better contributors overall) -- The list shows that there's around 3000 users over 6500 edits, or so --Lucid 13:49, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Well, I'll define "Hardcore" as making large amounts of edits every day, knowing Policy like the back of your hand and being well known. That would include you as well as plasticup I suppose--Pheonix15 13:56, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Hehe, as L said the raw edit count is biased to people that make a lot of small, and often extremely minor edits. I'd be interested to see a list that showed something like average edit size; not sure how you'd do it, maybe in number of bytes, if there's any way that's recorded or could be accurately calculated. You may need something like a minimum number of edits to be counted as well, like in many sports where they don't regard the players statistics as having any validity until they've played say twenty games. What's funny is that of the three 'big names' you listed in your original question, I've never heard of any of them. --jjron 14:54, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

You would have if you've been around off the mainspace. Anyway,there just examples, there are more, likeRocketpocket and Wikidudeman. What about Can't sleep clown will eat me. You must have heard of him--Pheonix15 15:19, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Of my 1605 edits, only 625 have been on mainspace, but anyway... Yes, I have heard of some of those others; I do know of editors with over 30,000 edits, which I guess regardless of how small the edits are, is pretty 'hardcore'. --jjron 15:48, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Wow. I'm only number 1,595 on this list. (Warning: clicking that link can lead to editcountitis, which while rarely fatal, is nasty) here. But thanks for what I'll take as a compliment... --Dweller 18:35, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

there are plenty of statistics at http://stats.wikimedia.org/EN/TablesWikipediaEN.htm but it was last updated Oct 30, 2006. There is a chart which sheds some light on this matter:

Edits >=Wikipedians     Edits total
1	628811	100.0%	40051604	100.0%
3	292660	46.5%	39505151	98.6%
10	158065	25.1%	38723556	96.7%
32	69875	11.1%	37224182	92.9%
100	31970	5.1%	35150969	87.8%
316	14847	2.4%	32170449	80.3%
1000	6358	1.0%	27458518	68.6%
3162	2170	0.3%	20154771	50.3%
10000	504	0.1%	11094410	27.7%
31623	61	0.0%	4038259	        10.1%
100000	8	0.0%	1486525	        3.7%
316228	1	0.0%	328398	        0.8%

which shows that there are about 2000 people (those with more than 3162 edits) that do about half all the edits, however this also includes bots. Jon513 18:57, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Hardcore? Me? Giggy ^Talk 01:44, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Nah, you've only got 6493 edits to your name, whereas I have 11150. Not that I mean to brag, of course. :) Anyway, you've only been editing for about a year, so your edits per timespan are about the same as mine. DirkvdM 07:08, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Re Jon513's post, is there any way to get these stats without counting the bots? It's hardly fair to be comparing humans to bots (even if some may be bot-like). --jjron 07:10, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Not fair? Sounds like you're already infected. I recommend urgent treatment. --Dweller 09:36, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Hmm, sadly you might be right! --jjron 10:34, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

That's nothing. I've got 661361 edits. --Carnildo 23:48, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Wow! I had never looked at the edit count list before. It's kinda scarey to find oneself in the top 3000 editors on the tenth biggest english-language web site on the planet. We have to be careful though. Statistics can be quite deceptive. I think it's important to distinguish between "edit-count" and "contributions to the encyclopedia". Lots of people who just hang out on various Talk: pages can rack up enormous numbers of edits without actually contributing much - and some vandals can rack up a lot of edits too. Interiot's tool is a much better way to measure actual content contribution because it breaks it down by name-space. My edit count (up over 7300 now) has only 2600 in (Main) space - which is a reflection of the fact that I spend far too much time here on the reference desk and far too little writing and fixing articles. I'd bet that my ratio of 'real' work to other stuff is pretty common amongst the top few thousand Wikipedians. However, what is amazing to me is that Wikipedia's top contributor (User:Rich Farmbrough) has 164,000 edits of which 150,000 are in (Main) space! He's spent less time (well, less edits) in User: and WP: than I did! SteveBaker 14:21, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Your contribs off the main space still improve the site. I notice RFA never takes that into account. Anyway, I think a better title for this section would be "Famous" users--- Pheonix15 20:28, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Famous? Me? Giggy ^Talk 00:13, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

Nah, I had never heard of you before this thread. :) DirkvdM 19:43, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

Actually, when I was last put up for RFA, they failed me precisely because my ratio of main to WP space edits was too high! I had plenty of both kinds of edits - but they failed me because I'd spent too much time in main!! SteveBaker 13:51, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

Sorry Pheonix15, I disagree, I reckon you were right first time - hardcore is a better term for it. As an obvious example, I wonder how many people had really heard of No1 Rich Farmbrough before; maybe not famous, but evidently hardcore. --jjron 08:14, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

Another word for go?

Help.

It would depend on the context. If you wanted a word for go as in ready, steady, go!, then start, proceed, commence. For go as in whose go is it? then turn, move might do. DuncanHill 14:48, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

what about a another word for go like i'am confused thesarus. --Ithinksomethingisburning 14:49, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Or for go as in go away, then leave, depart, exit. DuncanHill 15:01, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

depart yes thanks duncan --Ithinksomethingisburning 15:03, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Igo, Baduk, Weiqi, I could go on --lucid 15:06, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Try this link. --jjron 15:20, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Wiktionary lists:

• (move from one place to another further away): move, travel, wend, wend one's way
• (disappear): disappear, vanish
• (be destroyed): disintegrate
• (burst into laughter): burst into laughter, burst out laughing
• (work): function, work
• (fit): fit
• (have as its/their proper place): belong
• (take a turn in a game): move, make one's move, take one’s turn
• (urinate): pee

I would add:

• (oriental board game): Weiqi, Igo, Baduk, Gi
• (unit of measurement, volume): 0.18039 liters.

Where is this?

http://www.mmaringreport.com/news_stories/ice_14_pics_banks.htm

anyone? --Ithinksomethingisburning 15:04, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

I believe the ICE 14 Mixed martial arts event, where these photos were taken, was held at the Metropolis Nightclub in Fairfield, Ohio, USA on March 12, 2005. --jjron 15:34, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

this site?

http://www.polar.se/Beringia2005/eng/pictures/20050828%20isvallar.htm

--Ithinksomethingisburning 14:56, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

This site [2] has a map of the Beringia's route on that expedition. DuncanHill 14:59, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Berricuna Network Web Filter how to get rid of it?

please help on this on? --Ithinksomethingisburning 15:05, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Barracuda Network Web Filter? Where are you encountering this software? If you are at work you should speak with the network administrator who will be able to give you access to the filtered content. Plasticup ^T/C 17:31, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Sometimes you can bypass those filters by leaving off (or adding on) 'www.' on the URL or if it's a big company you are trying to reach, you might try using a '.org' or '.web' address instead of '.com' (or vice-versa). You might have luck with '.co.us' too. You can often also get the content (perhaps a few months out of date) using the wayback machine or by searching for the page on Google and looking at the cached version of the page. Also, you might find a web anonymiser that isn't blocked (eg https://www.kproxy.com/index.jsp). Please don't use this information for evil! SteveBaker 03:03, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

I was just looking at those recently. If you want to get rid of it, I will gladly take it.

More seriously, if the Barracuda has been put in place by your corporate management, it would be much advised to ask IT about getting exceptions from certain filtering than being caught going around a corporate filter later. Freedomlinux 20:55, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

How do you make a website of your own?

I was wondering how to make a website...for people who are looking things that my website could help them with. Could someone show me? --Writer Cartoonist 19:14, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Well it really depends what kind of website you are talking about. But in general, if you want to start in on making a website, first you need to learn the markup code that webpages are made with (HTML, usually with some CSS thrown in as well). That's Big Step #1, so why don't you tackle that first and come back when you are ready to move beyond that stage and we can talk about servers and the like. --24.147.86.187 20:51, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Many ISP's (that's the company you buy your internet service from) provide a service to help their customers create small websites, may be worth having a look at their help-pages. DuncanHill 21:14, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

There are simpler ways to do it than learning HTML and CSS (not that it's a bad thing to know them). WYSIWYG editors such Adobe Dreamweaver and Microsoft Frontpage are easier to use - I'm sure there's freeware ones as well. Check out the Web development article. Depending on what you want to do, it may be useful for you to set up a Content management system instead. Re 'can someone show you', well, yes they can, but you'd need to pay for lessons, buy a book such as the ...for Dummies series which are good for beginners, or access some of the heaps of online tutorial stuff. --jjron 07:35, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

A freeware cms would be Joomla. The internet is ideal for learning stuff, if you find the right sites (there's a lot of rubbish out there as well). Of course, the Internet is most ideal for info on internet-stuff, such as making a website. But the really easiest way is to use something like http://www.wiki-site.com. Just log in, confirm through email and you've got yourself a website. A wiki website, which you apparently already know how to use. There are plenty others like that. Also non-wiki ones, if you don't want others to correct any mistakes you might make. :) DirkvdM 07:53, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Or if you're too lazy to learn HTML, I think at Freewebs.com you don't have to know any markup, all you have to do is register (it's free too, so if none of the other options work, you could take a stab at this). --71.117.38.175 15:47, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Yellow American paper

Why do Americans on TV and in films make notes on yellow paper? Is there a shortage of ordinary white paper in the USA? DuncanHill 19:20, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

No, there's no shortage. Yellow seems to be a popular choice for legal size note pads and has caught on to letter size pads as well. Dismas|^(talk) 19:28, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

An article in Interior Sources Magazine claims that, "The yellow legal pad, a must among lawyers, executives, students, writers and thinkers of all sorts, was devised specifically because yellow was thought to be a color which stimulated the intellect." Supposedly, F. Scott Fitzgerald loved to use them. I've also read that yellow is easier to stare at for prolonged times, so for heavy-writing jobs, it is easier on the eyes than white. The above might be true, might not be true, but I've heard both of those reasons for decades. ^Ariel♥Gold 19:46, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

It's also the usual colour of a post-it. Adam Bishop 19:51, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Wouldn't a contrasting colour be better for a Post-it note? DuncanHill 20:03, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Well, Post-it notes come in all colors. But generally speaking I don't think it is common to use Post-it notes with a legal pad. --24.147.86.187 20:49, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

When your eyes are tired bright white tends to 'bleed'. Plasticup ^T/C 21:12, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Yellow note pads are not used in countries besides the US? I guess I always thought they were universal, but now that I think about it, I’ve never seen one overseas. --S.dedalus 22:07, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

I've never seen them. Do you have a picture of a yellow note pad? A.Z. 22:10, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

How about this? Corvus cornix 02:07, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Have just found this Ampad#Legal_pad_claim DuncanHill 22:15, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

I had always heard the Financial Times uses a salmon pink paper to reduce eye-strain, but apparently according to our article, "this move was in truth inspired by economy - pink paper being cheaper than white." --Ybbor^Talk 02:47, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

In a recent thread someone said they chose it because it made their newspaper stand out more in the newsstand.

If yellow is a colour that stimulates the intellect, then shouldn't Wikipedia have a yellow background? DirkvdM 07:58, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Do we really want people to start thinking? It just causes problems. Neil ム 12:35, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

That's mediaeval. DirkvdM 19:47, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

I'm going to suggest a new avenue of speculation. The yellow pad arises mainly out of its use on television, where it has the advantage of less reflectivity than white paper. Uses outside television drama arises as watchers become socialised in the ways of their profession by watching TV shows related to their profession (especially lawyers & police people). No evidence for this, btw. --Tagishsimon (talk)

It doesn't show urine stains. Gzuckier 14:46, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

Yellow paper causes less eye strain, which is important for legal professionals who are likely to take and read many notes from paper for long periods of time. Additionally, non-white papers tend to be cheaper, as chemicals for bleaching paper white cost more than those for unbleached paper. Additionally, using white paper on television may cause color or light balance problems, especially if the contents of the paper are intended to be viewed by the viewing audience. Freedomlinux 21:14, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

children's story from early 60's

I am looking for a book that I read to my son in the early 60"s. I remember the title as "all the way through to Kalamazoo" about a cat who was the engineer on a train. title may have ben differnect but the phrase "all the way.." was used throughout. Looking for actual title and source for book.

Perhaps the Little Golden Book, called 'The Train to Timbuctoo' by Margaret Wise Brown? 10:23, 25 August 2007 (UTC)

Laundry physics

When I wash my duvet covers in my washer-dryer, despite the cover being the normal way out when it's placed in the washing machine, by the time it comes out it has invariably been turned completely inside-out. How does this happen? -- Arwel (talk) 20:20, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Its know as the inversion principle. You should always wash your undies duvets outside in for max cleaning- then they come out the right way round.--DieselFitter 23:40, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

I'll assume that last bit was a joke. For one, you still need to turn it inside out, except now you have to do it before the washing instead of after it. But that doesn't matter, because that's not the way it works, I believe. I assume it has to do with the inside being different from the outside in that it has an extra peice of cloth there (what is that called?) that seems to prefer to be on the outside. Don't know how that works, though. DirkvdM 08:04, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Generally speaking, things have higher and lower energy states. I'd suppose that when the duvet is right-side-out, all those sharp folds in the fabric (at the seams) represent a higher energy state than if the duvet were inside-out and those folds were then flat. Applying enough random energy to the system (by tumbling it in your washer) tends to cause the system to relax from higher energy states towards lower energy states.

Or maybe it's just a plot by the duvet to hide the pillow cases (pillow slips)?

Atlant 14:09, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Good answer!!!Gzuckier 14:47, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

What sort of cow is this?

I saw this cow grazing while on a walk the other day. What variety of cow is it; in particular, is this sort of cow bred for meat or dairy? I ask because none of the cows I saw had udders, so I assumed they are meat cows, but perhaps the females had all been taken for milking. Laïka 22:10, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

I think it is a heifer (immature female) - there appears to be one of her teats visible between the legs. In heifers the udder is sometimes so undeveloped as to be almost invisible until you get up close. All cows have udders (well, one udder each). Bulls (which are not cows) don't have udders. It looks like a beef breed to me, but I can't identify which. My first thought was a South Devon, but I think not. We need a goood cattleman on the desk! DuncanHill 23:05, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

It could be a Gelbvieh that European farmers have separated into two different lines, one for beef and one for dairy. (I don't know anything about cattle, but I have this nice book A Field Guide to Cows by John Pukite.)--Eriastrum 23:57, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

That sounds like a good book! DuncanHill 00:09, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Maybe a darker-colored Charolais? Rmhermen 02:55, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

The Charolais article does mention a red factor charolais. DuncanHill 03:01, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

My dad (farmer) tells me it is indeed a red Charolais heifer. Neil ム 14:53, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

A cow in its natural upright state.

Atlant 16:49, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

OK, many thanks to you all! Laïka 20:18, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia Font

What font(s) do(es) Wikipedia use? 71.227.94.119 23:19, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Depends on your browser, but people's defaults are usually Times New Roman? Wild stab but perhaps the monobook.css? Splintercellguy 00:12, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Arial 12 here, on default. HYENASTE 01:05, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

You'll want to look in http://en.wikipedia.org/style/monobook/main.css, I think. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 02:31, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

To clarify the above, in your browser's preferences/settings (whatever they are called) you can specify to either use the site's default (which on Wikipedia appears to be Arial 12) or override that with your own preferences. For example, in Firefox it's edit > preferences > content > fonts & colours > advanced, which gives the option 'allow pages to choose their own fonts'. If tha box is checked, the settings above it will only kick in if the site does not specify a font (or size). DirkvdM 08:13, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

What Firefox is that? On mine (2.0.0.6 for Windows XP) edit > preferences has migrated to tools > options Algebraist 14:55, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

On Linux it's edit > preferences. Someoneinmyheadbutit'snotme 18:55, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Typhoon Dean ?

IF this hurricane gets over the Pacific Ocean, reforms into a hurricane, is it called a typhoon ?! 65.173.104.223 23:32, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Will it keeps its current name ? 65.173.104.223 23:33, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

Hurricane John (1994) was a hurricane that crossed the International Date Line twice, changing from a hurricane to a typhoon, then back into a hurricane. 71.227.94.119 00:51, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Hurricane Cesar-Douglas (1996) is an example of one that crossed over Central America. Even though it retained tropical storm strength, and would have retained its name had it remained within one ocean basin, it received a new name upon entering the Pacific. This happens rather rarely, because of the rough terrain of Central America, and I doubt any hurricane has ever survived a traverse of the high Sierra Madre of central Mexico, which appears destined to be the ultimate fate of Dean. Hurricane Hurricane Joan-Miriam (1988) was another; that one crossed Nicaragua. In the eastern Pacific, where crossover storms go, they are still called hurricanes. Antandrus (talk) 01:49, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Here's a list of the eight known and named crossover storms (prior to 1949, they were not recorded): [3]. Surprised we don't have an article on this yet on Wikipedia. Any takers?  :) Antandrus (talk) 01:55, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

The current answer is about half right. If a storm crosses over "basins" and maintains status as a tropical cyclone, then it keeps its original name in the other basin. If it dissipates to disturbance status, and then reforms in the other basin, it will be renamed in the new basin. See "What happens to the name of a tropical cyclone if it moves from the Atlantic regions to the Northeast Pacific, or vice versa?" from the AOML site.

The name for these systems is still "hurricane/tropical storm" in the eastern and central Pacific. They call them cyclones in the western Pacific, but the difference is merely semantical.

In general, for storms crossing over Central America, it is highly unusual for storms to maintain tropical characteristics crossing over (in fact, they often get ripped apart entirely crossing the mountains). Should a crossover happen, it still is unlikely it would maintain enough characteristics. –Pakman044 04:10, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

Shuttle ?

Will the shuttle blow up upon re-entry ? I have seen the hole repeatedly on the news. 65.173.104.223 23:42, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

If it would, then NASA wouldn't have declined to repair the hole. Splintercellguy 00:10, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

As a child I remember reading that tiles fell off or fell apart all the time, it was completely normal. If it was normal enough to appear in children's books about space shuttles, I guess they didn't think anything bad would happen. But then it did, and now we hear about it all the time, while it was already happening all the time anyway. Adam Bishop 00:59, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Columbia had a similar problem, then it blew up on re-entry. 65.173.104.223 02:12, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

The damage to Endeavour, and the damage to Columbia are not in the slightest way, similar. Go read up on the shuttle's heat shield, and the cause of the Columbia accident; what happened in that situation was vastly different than the small issue with STS-118. The reason NASA managers were considering repairing it was to minimize post-landing processing and turnaround time, not because it was a safety issue to the crew or vehicle. Feel free to also read the daily summaries from STS-118 for factual information. Cheers, ^Ariel♥Gold 02:39, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

NASA have done an insane amount of testing and simulation to verify that the shuttle will be safe (or at least no more risky than normal) - the only real debate was whether the underlying aluminium wing surface might be damaged to the degree that subsequent repairs would be costly, not whether the thing would blow up on reentry. The risks to the astronaut in doing in-orbit repairs are not negligable - so it was judged that the safest course of action was to not attempt a repair. Now they have the additional excitement of landing with a hurricane in the vicinity of their primary landing site. SteveBaker 13:48, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

I sure hope 65.173.104.x doesn't resolve to a NASA subnet. Wikipedia cannot give advice on the safety of spacecraft. Consult an aerospace engineer. 69.95.50.15 15:18, 20 August 2007 (UTC)