Miscellaneous desk
< March 12	<< Feb \| March \| Apr >>	March 14 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Miscellaneous Reference Desk 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 on one of the current reference desk pages.

March 13

Soldiers in peacetime

What do full time soldiers do when there are no wars to fight, peacekeeping missions to man, or natural disasters? --The Dark Side 00:17, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Call me cynical, but when does this ever happen? − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 00:36, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Training and more training. 65.173.105.125 01:24, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Local search and rescue (there doesn't need to be a disaster for this - private aircraft and sea vessels go missing almost every day of the year in larger countries), training (as 65.173.105.125 says), education, patrolling borders, shovelling snow (Toronto only), etc. --Charlene 04:01, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

In a book I read they all lost their jobs and ended up getting drunk, apart from one that was shot by an assassin :) HS7 09:49, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I think British Soldiers used to go skiing in Germany, so there are leisure activities as well as training. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 137.138.46.155 (talk) 12:43, 13 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Note a lot of 'soldiers' are reservists which means they would usually be doing their normal job Nil Einne 21:05, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

film noir cop

I need to do a stereotypical film noir cop accent. I speak the standard American dialect in regular conversation. Any ideas? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 128.174.159.34 (talk) 00:22, 13 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Watch a some film noir with cops in them. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 00:36, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

If you don't have something useful to say, stay silent please. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 128.174.159.34 (talk) 00:51, 13 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

No need to be rude. I thought Twas Now had a solid idea; if you don't want to use his advice, give us more information about what you had in mind. Jfarber 01:04, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You ask for "any ideas", Twas Now has an easy, helpful, and sensible idea, and you come back with hostility. You should apologize. --TotoBaggins 02:37, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Not only was that useful, it was exactly the right information. Watching films from that genre is the best way to a) determine if there *is* a specific accent, and b) determine what that accent is and whether it changes over time. --Charlene 03:47, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I'd assume noir cops often would speak with an Irish accent. Any truth in that? 惑乱分からん * \)/ (\ (< \) (2 /) /)/ * 08:24, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Not that I've noticed; I'd have suggested Chicago. But I think short, clipped, high pith/byte sentences are also one of the hallmarks. Learn to do Bogie in The Maltese Falcon and you'll be all set. But if you end up sounding like Peter Lorre, seek treatment immediately, lest you end up saying "This hasn't happened to me since M!"

Atlant 12:02, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

What era of noir are we talking here? For modern noir a New York (say, a bronx) accent fits the stereotype nicely, as would Chicago. for 'classic' pulp noir, I would recommend watching some of the classics, Bogart, maybe even Frank Sinatra. In that case a liberal dosing of Spillane-style slang might be useful as well. Wintermut3 17:42, 15 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Porsche Unleashed

Hi, What I want to know about the computer game "Porsche Unleashed" is that which tracks in this game are real in the real-life because when I was playing the game on Pyrenees track, I noticed that there is a castle in Pyrenees, is this true that there is a castle in Pyrenees or they just made it up? Thanks. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 74.14.117.171 (talk) 01:53, 13 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

René Magritte seemed to think so [1]. Slightly less surreal is Château de Foix and the the fortress of Montségur, among the so-called "Cathar castles". Rockpocket 08:11, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

All the tracks except for Zone Industrielle are at least based on real places. The Monté Carlo tracks are all based on authentic city maps, but I think that the rest are fictional, but with elements of reality. For example, the Normandie track could be just about anywhere in Southern France or Switzerland. However, if you own the Canadian version of this game, you can be certain that the tracks are not based on the real world locations: the makers simply took the European tracks and renamed them for Canadian locales! Laïka 22:38, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Getting pictures to look like this

Hi, I saw this desktop background photo and it really captivated me. This photo. Please ignore the menu bar. Does anyone know how I can get a picture to have the same feel and atmopshere as the photo in the background with Photoshop? It kinda has a dark, smooth feel to it. Thanks. 74.14.73.99 01:55, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Reference Desk: Computing, ask there.--droptone 02:10, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know how you would actually do it, but it looks oversaturated, the contrast is way up, brightness is way down, possibly the blue channel is increased, maybe a 50% greyscale filter or something like that, and a sharpness filter. --⁪froth^t 06:53, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

BTW, does anyone know where that pier is? --Richardrj ^talk ^email 07:52, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The pier looks computer rendered, the background looks real. see here for other computer rendered images and tell me if you agree. Jon513 09:46, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This is my image. It is real and is of Penarth Pier in South Wales UK. It is also copyrighted and any use without my permission will be served with a takedown notice. Here is my post...https://www.deviantart.com/l8/art/Dawn-On-The-Deck-45706006 157.231.153.74 (talk) 10:12, 25 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I've been to alsomst every pier in Kent, and none of them looked like that :) HS7 09:47, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It looks like high dynamic range imaging to me? --24.147.86.187 23:56, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

High contrast, low brightness. (Yes, I still use version one of Adobe Photoshop.) V-Man - ^T/_C 23:52, 16 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

STD Testing

A while ago I ran across some article on maybe Techcrunch, or some other website like it. The article was talking about a start up company that was offering the sort of rapid STD testing, that is currently being used in the porn industry, to consumers. The company was a start up by some grads from some innovative college like Stanford (maybe). I went to the company's website a while ago, and it was pretty interesting. On the company's website or in the article it was talking about future plans for the company. The company was planning to offer something like the ability to display test results on cell phones and on the internet. It seems pretty neat, innovative and potentially world changing. I am trying to find out what company this is or what article this was. Unfortunately, I cannot find/remember either. I would appreciate any help. --Remi0o 08:11, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Tulips in Vermont

A coworker asked me if I knew of a place in Vermont that has a huge field full of tulips. She saw some picture in a magazine in the last year that had a field of thousands and thousands of tulips. She doesn't remember the specific magazine but it was one that dealt specifically with Vermont and sights to see within it. I've tried to find where this is with various Google searches but have come up with nothing. Anyone else want to give it a shot? Dismas|^(talk) 12:12, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Are you sure it was Vermont? I have searched too and found nothing. I live not far from Vermont, and it is not known for tulips. Vermont would be an unlikely place to raise tulips because the growing season is short, and there is the danger of a killing frost well into May. Marco polo 15:40, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I'm just going on what she said. I've never heard of it though I've only lived here for four years. Plus, as an average guy, my ears aren't really tuned to hearing stuff about flowers, so if someone said something about it, I'd probably not remember it. Dismas|^(talk) 20:12, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Iran was known for its tulips a few years ago, maybe there is a place called vermont there :] HS7 19:42, 14 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Dogs and chocolate

Will dogs happily eat chocolate even though it's poisonous to them? Or do they have some instinct that it's not a sensible thing to do? - Q4 13:09, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Dogs will happily scarf down as much chocolate as is available. Dismas|^(talk) 13:15, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

This is the best link I found on the subject. [2] The key is to not give the dog even the tiniest bits of chocolate, or they will start to actively seek it out! --Zeizmic 13:54, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I believe this to be an urban mith, i fed my dog chocolate all the time, and he was fine for many many years. can some one please cite a reliable scource, or maybe we have a resident vet online?

The Chocolate article says just this. Wikipedia isn't just a Reference Desk service :D. Splintercellguy 15:19, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It's definitely not an urban legend. I have books on dogs that list chocolate as a definite poison for dogs. A concrete reference would be: "The Complete idiot's guide to choosing, training and raising a dog" by Sarah Hodgson, Alpha book, ISBN 0-02-861098-9. In the "What to do in case of poisoning" quick reference guide inside the front cover, it says list a bunch of poisons and what to do if your dog eats them. Next to chocolate, it says "Induce vomiting (if the dog swallowed the poison within the preceeding 2 hours) by giving hydrogen peroxide (several teaspoons for a small dog or tablespoons for a large dog) or syrup of ipecac (1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon depending on size of dog). ...so, no - not urban legend. Dogs are not omnivores - they have a very different digestive system to humans and you can't just assume they can eat our foods without consequences. I also know someone who owned a puppy who ate an entire bar of Hersheys and died soon after (within a couple of hours - probably less). Big adult dogs need a pretty large dose for it to affect them though. My two dogs (140lb mutt and 34lb Lab/Retriever) eat the odd chocolate chip cookie and suffer no ill consequences. Like most poisons, it's a matter of body-weight to amount of poison that matters. So small amounts fed to big dogs does no noticable harm - but an entire chocolate bar fed to a toy poodle or a puppy of any breed is going to be *BAD*. Dogs don't avoid it by instinct - that I know for sure! Dogs did not evolve in a world where refined chocolate was available to them - so they've had no time to evolve to avoid the stuff. SteveBaker 15:41, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Not to "diss" Steve's work, but the article on Chocolate referenced above is properly sourced, as a good Wikipedia entry should be. :) Jfarber 16:00, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, indeed it is. The Theobromine poisoning article is also interesting - it says that a 20 kg dog (like a Lab or something) is going to get sick with 240g and die after 500g - it also says that the LD50 dose (the amount at which half of all victims will die) is 300g. Also that 1.3g per kilogram of a dog's body weight (0.02 oz/lb) is enough to cause symptoms. So a typical chocolate bar (at maybe 200g) is going to do bad things to any dog that eats it - and to a dog under maybe 20lbs (pretty much any small dog) it's going to be fatal if it doesn't vomit it up before it's all digested. SteveBaker 18:49, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Well the amount needed to upset (or kill/poison) the dog varies on the size/fitness/age of the dog and the type of chocolate given - it all comes down to the dogs tolerance of theobromine(sp?) - of which white chocolate has the least - and according to one article 'baking chocolate' is very high in the substance. So you may get away with feeding your dog some chocolate, but it isn't a good idea because:

They will start to seek it out more actively
It can cause them hyperactivity, diahrea and other reactions
With too much you can cause death

Rfwoolf 16:02, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

My dog ate my Easter Basket and Christmas stocking, and she was fine.

How lucky! Jfarber 16:55, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Even then, you should try to avoid letting your dog eat chocolate. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 18:15, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

She probably barfed it up someplace before she'd managed to digest it all. Still - one lucky dog's survival doesn't make it alright. SteveBaker 18:32, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

What about dog chocolate? How do they make it different from regular chocolate? --Candy-Panda 02:54, 16 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Tornado?

'While driving on Alligator Alley through the everglades in Florida we spotted what looked like a small tornado. It was just swirling from the ground to about 15 feet high. I know that it was not a tornado, but I was wondering what it is called. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Amorello (talk • contribs) 13:42, 13 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

See Dust devil. These things are lots of fun to go up close to. --Zeizmic 13:46, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Article

File:Microcebus lehilahytsara -large.jpg

Goodman's Mouse Lemur, discovered in 2005, and one of a host of new Primates discovered so far this century

Hiya, was looking for an artticle on a newly dicrovered spieces of animal, or mammal or fish or bird ect or even just a list of such, as i am bored and want to read something interesting. thank dudes and ladies —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 81.144.161.223 (talk) 15:18, 13 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

So a search on 'newly discovered species' and you find a few articles - but the trouble is that with all newly discovered species, there isn't much known about them and the Wikipedia article is never more than a short stub...hence not much interesting reading! If you like that kind of article though, I'd recommend: Living fossil, Lazarus taxon and the articles linked from those two pages. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by SteveBaker (talk • contribs) 15:27, 13 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Homo floresiensis is an interesting, if controversial, proposed new species recently discovered (albeit an extinct one). See also the Category:Species described in the 21st century. Rockpocket 21:22, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Arizona Laws on Towing a Vehicle (Phoenix)?

What is the law in Arizona about towing a vehicle? Do they have to give you any kind of notice or can they just come in the middle of the night and take your car?--BLogan —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.80.54.75 (talk) 15:55, 13 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Sorry to hear about your car, but I suspect this falls under the heading of "Wikipedia cannot give legal advice." I recommend a good local lawyer to check out the local laws for you. Alternately, if you want to save some dough, I often find that local journalists on the Police Beat may be willing to ask the cops for you -- their relationship with police department will often be good enough to get a quick, straight scoop. Jfarber 16:03, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

In most, if not all, states, I think that the owners of private property have the right to remove items, including cars, left on that property, without notice. If, on the other hand, you were legally parked on a public right of way, you may be able challenge the towing in court, though doing so would probably cost more than paying to recover the car. The third case that I can imagine is that you were illegal parked on public property. In that case, I don't know whether Arizona law requires notice before the city or county tows your car. Again, you could hire a lawyer to find out, but paying to recover the car would probably be cheaper. Marco polo 16:07, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

online auction....

Hello,

I am starting an online auction site for buying and selling automobiles, motorcycles, boats, and other motor vehicles. The site will be similar to EBay motors, meaning the concept. However, this site will only be for users in my state. I have done searches online for similar auctions, but most of them are auctions that only allow dealers to list. My site will be for any one with a motor vehicle for sale in my state. My question is, is there any restrictions and/or copy rights I need to be aware of before launching this web site? Thanks.

Mack8 16:48, 13 March 2007 (UTC) Dell Johnson[reply]

Sorry, I don't have an answer for you, but my first thought was: why do you think people looking to buy and sell motor vehicles would go to your website rather than eBay Motors? That website allows you to search by zip code already. You'll have a struggle tempting people away from such a popular and well used site, IMHO. --Richardrj ^talk ^email 16:56, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

People might not trust you, and it seems you do not have much experience if you have to ask your question. What state do you live in?--Proficient 19:09, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Check with your state department of motor vehicles (the part that licenses dealers) as far as what requirements there are, if any. There are many speciality classified and auction sites and there is no reason you cannot make a success of it. I do not think you have to worry about copyright unless you copy eBay's name (e.g. CarBay) or any very distinctive look of eBay. Other than that - go for it! And good luck! --Justanother 19:18, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Also, be careful about the mechanism that you use for the auctions. Ebay may have a copyright on their program, just like they got in trouble a while ago for the "Buy it Now" feature. Mr.Z-mantalk¢Review! 19:23, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

(Not answer:) It may be worthwhile visiting a business lawyer for advice on this - there are some that do copyright and contracts as well. Sure it can cost a bit, but for certain projects it may well be worth it. A lot of your budget will actually probably go towards developing the site. People need to be able to trust the site (I'm assuming this) and obviously the more professional and automated the site, the more people will be impressed and inclined to use it. Then your next major budget will be on marketing and advertising; getting people to come to the site in the first place. You'll probably need a lawyer to tie up all the legal stuff such as terms and conditions of using the site, of sales/bidding, etc. Good luck Rfwoolf 11:33, 14 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

outlaw poster

Searching for any information on a outlawed poster depicting Disney characters. The poster showes Micky,Pluto( might be Goofy),and Donald setting around a water pipe smoking pot. Caption reads "Ain't gonna work on Disney farm no more". Jmeubank 16:51, 13 March 2007 (UTC) Jmeubank[reply]

I believe this is what you are looking for. The caption is actually Dizzy's farm.—WAvegetarian (talk) 16:59, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The poster is probably from 1965 or later, as Bob Dylan's song, "Maggie's Farm" was released that year. The canine figure is likely to be Goofy rather than Pluto, as of the two, the former is anthropomorphized (e.g. walks on two legs, etc.) -- Deborahjay 18:21, 14 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The image Wavegetarian provided shows Goofy. 惑乱分からん * \)/ (\ (< \) (2 /) /)/ * 23:23, 14 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

i have that poster!!!!email me jesse.will@roadrunner.com

Exploding birds

Do birds explode when fed uncooked rice? My friend says they do because the rice swells, is this true?

No, it poses no danger to birds. They do advise against throwing rice at weddings, but this is because it is very difficult to clean up, and is easy to slip on. Bird seed is a better alternative because birds are more likely to eat it than they are rice. Shui9 17:33, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Here's the Snopes's article on it. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk)`

Its rumored on totse.com that Alka Seltzer will make them explode, especially Sea Gulls. Do NOT get caught doing that OR you WILL GO TO PRISON. 65.173.105.125 02:29, 14 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Totse is about the worst source for information. Splintercellguy 03:56, 14 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Prison??!? I think a fine is about all you would receive. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 04:46, 14 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

no you will be sent to prison for murdering birds. :( --Lerdthenerd 10:11, 14 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Niether Alka-Seltzers nor sherbet nor baking soda could cause birds to explode: they are perfectly capable of simply burping the gas back up! Source Laïka 13:45, 14 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

What about if you feed them some of that stuff that you throw into the road and it goes bang as cars drive over it :] HS7 19:40, 14 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

That would count as a Improvised Explosive Device. Pacific Coast Highway ^{{Kiss me! • I'm irish!}} 23:44, 14 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I understand you could get jail time for killing a state bird. V-Man - ^T/_C 02:49, 15 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

According to the US Federal Code (Title 18, part 1, chapter 3, section 41) killing any animal could net you up to six months imprisonment. If you're found guilty of cruelty to animals, then the fine and/or jail time could go up drastically, persuant to state law. Specifically, if you make a depiction availible (youtube anyone?) you could be liable for up to five years imprisonment, per federal law (Title 18, part 1 chapter 3 section 48). Hope that helps.Wintermut3 17:50, 15 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

>_< GG. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by V-Man737 (talk • contribs) 23:54, 16 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Replying to a question

I was wondering how to reply to someone question on the reference desk. Do I just hit the "edit" button and type there? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 76.167.159.75 (talk) 18:33, 13 March 2007 (UTC).[reply]

Yes, exactly--VectorPotential^Talk 18:35, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

And please put a colon in front of your reply for intending, and sign your reply with four tildes, like this: ~~~~ . 惑乱分からん * \)/ (\ (< \) (2 /) /)/ * 18:43, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

(Maybe he didn't intend to indent.) :) JackofOz 23:15, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

papaya

Which tastes more sweet -- papaya Hawaiana or papaya corriente?Coffsneeze 20:03, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

English Premier League questions

WikiProject Reference Desk Article Collaboration

This question inspired an article to be created or enhanced:

Multiball system

Please consider contributing

In EPL football games, do the spectators get to keep balls that are kicked/deflected into the stands?

Also does the league have any revenue sharing between teams(like in the American NFL) or a salary cap? 24.183.96.173 21:50, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

No, balls are typically reused. The EPL teams share television revenue (as unlike in Spain, they have to negotiate their TV deals together) and there are "parachute payments" to clubs that get relegated to help them adjust financially, but the rest of the revenue is not shared. There is no enforced salary cap, though there is discussions about having one (for example, in restricting salary payments of each club to a proportion of their turnover). Rockpocket 22:01, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I was surpised on my visit to Lord's Cricket Ground to see that fans are not allowed to keep balls that get hit into the stands. Apparently, there are strict rules in cricket about how long balls must be used, and that figures into the strategy of the game. (In baseball, fans keep all balls hit into the stands, although it's common for fans to "throw back" home runs hit by the other team. They'll typically go through several dozen balls in the course of a baseball game.) -- Mwalcoff 23:00, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Changing the ball in cricket is a big deal, particularly as the replacement may swing more through the air. Once the ball is slightly worn, it's almost impossible to find a similarly worn replacement, although when a ball gets damaged, the umpires do try. You need a little context - in Test match cricket, a ball will be bowled 480+ times before it is replaced, so it starts red and shiny and ends looking browner and dull, with dents, scratches and frayed. There is more information about this at Cricket ball. An image of a used cricket ball would be a valuable addition to that article. --Dweller 13:07, 14 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I've heard that the average lifespan of an average MLB baseball is 2 pitches. Rya Min 23:51, 13 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It wasn't that long ago the English top-level football matches used to use a single ball in the course of a match. The whole stadium would have to wait while the ball got thrown back from the stands, and on the odd occasion the ball got booted out of the stadium, there was en ever longer wait. When the home team were one up with a few minutes to go, the fans would often be slow to pass it back thereby wasting more time! Now there are a number of balls used to keep the game moving. Rockpocket 04:49, 14 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I have heard this being called the Multiball system, but I don't know whether that is an official name. It is becoming more common in lower-league football as well: for example, my team, Brighton & Hove Albion, use it down at the Withdean. Hassocks5489 08:57, 14 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I've read that in the early days of American football, it was also the rule to use the same ball for the whole game. That may have been more due to economics than anything else. It's a good thing I wasn't sitting in the front row at Lord's -- out of habit, I would have scampered over to pick up the ball after it rolled outside the boundary and put it in my bag as a souvenir! -- Mwalcoff 23:25, 14 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I think Multiball system deserves its own article, currently its only disambiguated at Multiball. Anyone want to contribute? Rockpocket 06:01, 16 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]