Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2007 December 4

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December 4

Autofocus on Nikon F4

Where is the Autofocus button on this Nikon F4 from our article:

?

Acceptable 01:17, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

set the focusing mode to "C" for continuous focus and the winding speed at "CL" for auto focus. That is all you have to do. The camera will track the subject for as long as you have the shutter half depressed and the subject kept inside the brackets of the viewfinder. Dureo 01:25, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Might be a silly question, but there needs to be sufficient batteries in the camera right? Acceptable 03:42, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Yep. Continuous focus is a comparatively fast drain on the batteries, too. — Lomn 14:23, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

airsoft gun

My airsoft gun has really bad aim what are some way i can inprove its acurace? thanks --76.235.183.66 03:08, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Since the likelyhood of one of us having an airsoft gun, or even being relatively familiar with them, may be rather low, why don't you check out a site that is specific to them. The first Google hit for "Airsoft forum" turns out to be http://www.airsoftforum.com I suggest you try asking your questions there since they would know much more about your particular gun than we might. Dismas|^(talk) 05:07, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Heh, I'm a member of ASF! Anyway, try searching first. Cheers,JetLover (Report a mistake) 05:12, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Having the right sized BB's would help a lot! You said before that you might have bought the wrong size. If yours are really too small - this is exactly the kind of problem you'd expect. If the air can leak around the sides of the pellet during launch, the muzzle velocity will be low and your accuracy will be super-crappy. Another possibility is that you might have a bad seal somewhere that's causing a loss of pressure (which would mean lower muzzle velocity, etc, etc). Failing that, there probably isn't much you can do. SteveBaker 20:36, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Is it the gun that's bad or the shooter? That is, if it always shoots in the same place, but not where you're aiming it, you could possibly adjust the sights. If your gun has a hop-up adjustment, you can try adjusting it. --Mdwyer (talk) 04:26, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

Australian Antarctic Territory

Would I be correct in saying that Australia does actually border Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, the UK, Argentina, etc. because of its Antarctic Territory? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.208.109.169 (talk) 03:52, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Also, does that mean if I stood exactly where the South Pole is I would be in all 7 countries at the same time (the South Pole is where all the territories meet, apparently)?

The Australian Antarctic Territory is not part of Australia, it's an External territory. Additionally, very few countries have ever recognised it (or any other Antarctic territory), and under the Antarctic Treaty System of 1959, Australia does not assert sovereignty over its Antarctic claims. So no, Australia doesn't border those other countries, and if you were at the South Pole, you would not be in any of those countries. FiggyBee 04:46, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Additionally, many territories overlap; the British Antarctic Territory is almost identical to Argentine Antarctica, so saying that the British claim borders the Argentine claim would be misleading. Also, the Norwegian claim is not properly defined, and is generally considered to stop short of the South Pole, so it could never border Australia. Note however that as the UK, France, Norway and New Zealand all recognise the AAT, and likewise Australia recognises the BAT, Adélie Land, Queen Maud Land and the Ross Dependency, these countries would consider each other to be bordering each other at the South Pole (and Australia also borders France, New Zealand and Norway along it's edges). But none of these countries would be considered to be bordering each other by an independent observer (eg the United States, which has no claims, or Argentina, which has a rival claim to the British territory and is hence unrecognised by Australia). It's a confusing state of affairs, but one which is ultimately of little importance (the lack of military personnel or resident population of Antarctica makes border controls ultimately pointless; the only reason countries maintain Antarctic territories is that there is probably lots of oil in Antarctica, and before the area was preserved, it could have become the next great (black) gold rush). Laïka 15:48, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

I'm surprised by the bit about "the Norwegian claim ... is generally considered to stop short of the South Pole". All maps of Antarctic claims I've seen until just now when I looked at the one in Antarctic territorial claims show all of them extending to the Pole. According to Queen Maud Land, the Norwegian claim asserts only eastern and western limits (so it's clear why it's considered unclear); that article says that "some" maps show the claim stopping short of the Pole, but "generally" it is considered to reach the Pole like the others. Not that it matters currently, of course. --Anon, 23:27 UTC, December 4.

I think you're right - it's just that it is custom when printing maps of the Antarctic Territories to make the Norwegian claim stop short of the South Pole, to show that the southern reach is undefined. Laïka 12:08, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

Clearly we've seen different maps. --Anon, 00:19 UTC, Dec. 6.

On the Norwegian antarctic claim: It's a point for Norway not to adhere to the sector principle (defining claims as sectors), as that would strenghten Russia's claim (conflicting with Norway) in the Barents sea (where Norway wants the mid-line principle, used elsewhere in the world, to apply). No sources for that at hand, though, sorry. Jørgen (talk) 21:17, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

For entertainment value only, see also [1]. —Tamfang (talk) 22:51, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

hiccup relief

A home remedy to cure the hiccups is to breath only through the nose. Will this work on my dog if I hold his mouth shut? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.100.1.143 (talk) 05:47, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Well we can't give veterinary advice, but you seem to be well placed to try this out for yourself. However, most people breathe only through the nose already, and it doesn't stop them getting hiccups. See hiccup for some suggestions. My own tip would be to make sure its drinking water is not too cold. Cold drinks are the one thing that give me hiccups.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 09:09, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

I am not a veterinarian (or a pediatrician), but when my daughter was an infant, she used to get hiccups all the time. The way I learned that would end them every time was to change the pattern of her breathing -- if she was feeding, stop her; if she wasn't feeding, feed her; if she was sleeping, wake her up and get her to cry (although this is a case where the cure is worse than the illness). I found it worked on me, too, although the change in rhythm has to be much greater: usually I go outside and run at a dead sprint until I feel like my lungs are going to explode, by which time the hiccups have stopped. Your dog will probably enjoy it if you take him out for a run; I would suggest that. Faithfully, Deltopia 13:24, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Hiccups go away by themselves - they really don't need treating! Forcing your poor dog's mouth shut is likely to stress the poor pooch out. (Caveat: There was once a guy who had hiccups for years at a time - he lost a lot of weight and was very unhappy about it...notably, he tried hundreds of home remedy 'cures' and none of them worked. However, even this extreme version of the problem 'just went away' eventually.) SteveBaker 14:12, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

That will be Charles Osborne, who hiccupped continuously for 68 years. Gandalf61 14:24, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

That's the chap! Thanks! As I recall, he was able to stop at one time after praying to some saint or other - but it started up again soon after and subsequent appeals to the same saint didn't work again so it was probably a coincidence. It's interesting to know that it finally stopped by itself but it's sad that he enjoyed his relief for less than a year before he died. SteveBaker 20:32, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

That's also a home remedy for killing people (or dogs) with a blocked nose... --Seans Potato Business 14:56, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

You havn't met my dogs have you? Attempting to clamp Sam's mouth shut would be a great home remedy for Polydactyly! SteveBaker 20:32, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Tax in the US

 Done I have read Sales taxes in the United States and Value Added Tax and it all makes sense, but I have a few practical questions that the articles don't explicitly cover...

I am writing software for US businesses that will let them add a list of items they are selling, e.g:
Glass: $20
Ball: $35
and then generate a basic tax invoice for the business that has ordered this.
This invoice will then need to add whatever taxes are applicable in the seller's state or region and calculate a total.
Here are some questions:

1. What is the most number of tax rates one would apply,

e.g. in some states there might be a Sales Tax, a Value-Added Tax, city's tax, county tax, for-fun tax etc.
In planning the software, I might for example allow settings for 7 tax rates if I know that's the maximum

There's no limit in principle. You could replace "for-fun tax" with "national 'sin tax', state 'vice tax', county 'tobacco tax', and city 'smoke ordinance enforcement'" as a hypothetical cigarette tax example (in addition to the basic taxes laid out above). The best design decision for the software, then, is to allow settings for a variable number of taxes. — Lomn 14:17, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

If we can rule out things like food, clothing, tobaco, cigaretts, or alcohol etc, I'm trying to get some idea of whether or not there are states with multiple uniform taxes on everything else, for example if the items being sold were furniture? Would you charge both sales tax and Value-added tax, and city, county, local, state, and other taxes and have to put all these on the invoice? Rfwoolf 14:38, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

I concur with Lomn. It would be best to avoid any hard-coded limit as to how many types of tax your software can handle. Fixed-size arrays have a nasty habit of eventually needing to be bigger than the original programmer thought might ever possibly be necessary. You can avoid user complaints and possible crashes down the road, by designing the code right to begin with, without a hard-coded limit. MrRedact 16:28, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

I know very little about taxes, but as a software designed question I've found that if you make the extra effort to stick to the Zero One Infinity rule, you're usually glad you did. Even if the only immediate benefit is a more flexible GUI that isn't cluttered by Half a dozen never used input fields. --APL (talk) 00:38, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

Here's an example: In Cuyahoga County, Ohio, the total sales-tax rate is 7.75%. That includes:

• State sales tax, 5.5%
• County sales tax, 1.25%
• Regional transit authority sales tax, 1%

In Ohio, there's no sales tax on food -- except in restaurants when you dine in. So when you get your food "to go," you don't pay sales tax, but when you get it "for here," you do!

There are special state and/or county taxes on things like hotel rooms, gasoline, tobacco and alcohol. Some states allow for cities to assess sales tax, too. Then there's federal excise tax on all kinds of stuff.

There's no practical end to the number of sales taxes that can be assessed on a single product. However, it's doubtful that you'd ever see more than, say, 10. Zero to three would cover most things in most jurisdictions. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 05:04, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

Thanks so much for the answer. My question becomes, if I'm not selling food at all, nor cigarettes, tabaco or clothing, can I put that single sales-tax rate of 7.75% on the invoice, or do I have to break it down on the invoice into 3 taxes of 5.5%, 1.25% and 1%? And also is there not a Value-Added Tax that gets charged if the customer is the end-user? Rfwoolf (talk)

The answer is no, you don't need to break it down into separate sales taxes, at least in Ohio. All the money goes to the state anyway and is then distributed to the counties and transit agencies. The breakdown into state/county/transit agency is of no consequence to the retailer. There may be some jurisdiction somewhere where the state sales tax is charged on a given product but not the county or local tax. I know in Canada, for instance, some items get no sales tax, some get provincial sales tax only and some get both provincial and federal sales tax. According to our article on Value added tax, as of Jan. 1, there will be no value-added taxes in the U.S., only sales taxes. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 09:14, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

Results

It seems all of the US states conglomerate their tax rates into one amount, even if that amount technically gets distributed at various sub-rates to various levels of government. Canada on the other hand has a national GST tax of about 6%, and a PST (Provincial Tax Rate), which get calculated separately as two separate rates -- but some provinces have a Harmonized Sales Tax which combines this into 1 amount. Ultimately, in the Canada example, you might have an invoice item where GST is applicable, but not PST, or in certain circumstances if selling to certain tax-exempt entities then neither taxes apply. We then have the added problem of certain excise taxes.
For this reason in theory there is no limit to the number of taxes that can apply.
Rfwoolf (talk) 20:30, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

2. Would it be acceptable to conglomerate these into one single tax rate just for the purposes of the invoice?

e.g. if Sales tax is 7%, and Value-Added Tax is 6%, you can instead charge one tax rate of 13.42%
or
would I have to list each and every applicable tax, its rate, and give various subtotals after each rate is applied?
In developing software it would be far easier to just have one tax rate setting and apply this on the invoices to calculate the taxes to charge

Taxes are generally applied only to the base value of the item, which makes them additive, not multiplicative. So long as you're allowing for multiple taxes above, itemizing per-tax amounts on the invoice is easy (and if this isn't needed, conglomeration is easy, too). Mashing all taxes into one master field, though, is bad. How, then, would you account for different tax rates on different items? For example, in many areas of the US, sales tax applies to basic food items at a reduced rate. — Lomn 14:21, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Hmm, then let me clarify, this software would not be used for selling any food items, tobacco, alcohol, or even clothing. Does that change things? I will have to google and find examples of invoices and what the US government requires on invoices in order to get some idea of how they can break down so many taxes on an invoice per item. Rfwoolf 14:38, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

It's not a good idea to develop software with that point of view. Better to do the extra work and make it as widely applicable as possible. For example, assume that at some time in the future you will want to sell it in Canada. In Ontario the federal tax (GST, currently 6%) and provincial sales tax (currently 8%) are calculated independently (and different things are exempt from each). In Quebec, when an item is subject to both taxes, the provincial tax is calculated on the total including the federal tax. Still other provinces do collect only a single tax. But in a province with two taxes, if you just computed a single total tax amount (14% in Ontario), the amount could be slightly wrong due to rounding, and more important, the merchant won't be given the necessary accounting information to make the correct tax payments. And, as noted, different things may be exempt from one or another tax, or may have special taxes of their own (for example, Ontario has had a "tire tax" that applies only to rental cars). --Anon, 01:42 UTC, December 7, 2007.

Thanks Anon, that's quite useful, and having now phoned both federal and provincial tax places in Canada your answer seems quite accurate and I now understand it. Rfwoolf (talk) 20:30, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

Results

At least in the Canada example, for provinces that have two tax rates (GST and Provincial Sales Tax) you would have to show them separately. So I cannot conglomerate into 1 tax amount if I want to take into account some provinces in Canada. Rfwoolf (talk) 20:30, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

3. Is there such a thing as a Tax Registration Number for businesses that have to pay tax, for the buying business?

And does this have to be put on the invoice?
In South Africa businesses that are registered to pay tax have a VAT registration number which should appear on the invoice

Thanks for any and all help
Rfwoolf 10:22, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Yes, there are state Tax Numbers at least in some states. (There are also federal numbers for dealing with employees but that shouldn't apply.) Rmhermen (talk) 21:51, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Results

In Canada, the kinds of specific information to be shown on an invoice actually varies according to the amount of the invoice. In the most stringent case you have to put your buyer's name or trading name, and your business number.

 Done

Thanks to all for your contributions Rfwoolf (talk) 20:30, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

charging a rozor?

hi, Dont know how long this eletric razor should be charged. The box says it has nicd battery, LED lights red while charging (it does) and works 45 minutes when charged. Cannot open the razor since I dont have the appropriate screw driver and the wire is rated with 0.2A / 250V. Please suggest how long I should charge it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.220.149.185 (talk) 13:25, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

It's not really possible to overcharge NiCd's - so just leave it charging overnight and it'll be fine. The thing that is bad for them is recharging them before they are dead flat. Sadly, this is inconvenient for a razor - but if you let it run only (say) 20 minutes before recharging, it'll eventually only be able to run for 20 minutes. SteveBaker 14:06, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Writing to Father Christmas

When I was a child in Britain, I wrote to Father Christmas and got a reply (a form one, obviously). I can't remember what address I put on it, but it was probably Father Christmas, The North Pole or something like that. And I don't know if the reply came from the British Royal Mail or if it came from someone in the country where the letter ended up (if, indeed, it ever left Britain). Now, my four-year-old son would like to do the same thing. So, does anyone know if there is an address where he can write to Father Christmas and be assured of getting a reply? I live in Austria now, so if these things are only dealt with by the postal service of the country where the letter is posted, it might not be possible for him to do it (since they have Christkind rather than Father Christmas here, and we can't write German in any case). Many thanks. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 14:16, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

The link on the Royal Mail site is borked right now, but the RM address is

Santa/Father Christmas,

Santa’s Grotto,

Reindeerland,

SAN TA1

and they'll "to respond to as many letters as possible." Get the letter in by 13th or 17th December, depending on which source you read. Whether they'll reply to Austria is anothet thing entirely ... make sure the letter has a return address. --Tagishsimon (talk) 14:45, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for that address, looks like it's no good for me though because I'd be posting the letter in Austria, so there's no way it can reach the Royal Mail. I will probably follow the advice below. Thanks again. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 15:07, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

I dunno - add "Great Britain" to the address and it should make it. --Tagishsimon (talk) 15:10, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Of course you could also write and post the reply to your kid yourself. You might make it more personal that way. --Seans Potato Business 14:52, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

You can get a letter from Santa Claus in Finland via this link. [2] SaundersW 16:08, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

So the authoritative answer for Austria is to send a letter to 'Christkindl, Austria' - details are here. For a child of the oh-oh's, there is always eMailSanta.com - and a million others like it (Google 'email santa' - there are a bazillion of them). We have an article Canadian_postal_code#Santa_Claus that explains that any letter posted to the postal district H0H 0H0 in Canada will be 'delivered to Santa' AND replied to. In the USA, BoingBoing claims that you can write to Santa Claus in your local city/state/zipcode and you'll generally get a reply IF you put your return address on the top of the envelope (allegedly you can write to God the same way...which just blows my atheism out of the water...I'm a convert!). What we used to do was let our son write his letter (without showing it to mommy and daddy of course) write "Santa Claus, North Pole" on the envelope and post it up the chimney (where else?) with a real stamp stuck on it - then I could retrieve the letter later and compose a nice reply on the computer, print it using a 'brush script' font in red on pale green paper and post it to our home address. That allows you to personalise it FAR better than these automated systems can. SteveBaker 18:58, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

When I was tiny, oh 40+ years ago, I used to write to Santa at Lewis' department store in Liverpool - and I got a reply! :) -- Arwel (talk) 20:24, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

The U.S. Postal Service has something called "Operation Santa" which involves passing on children's letters to various private volunteers, charitable organizations and corporations who then reply and in many cases buy gifts for needier children. The program was in the news lately for its new rules which require volunteers to present ID and sign a 3 page waiver indemnifying the post office of any liability as some of the letters contain personally identifying information and there were fears of identity fraud, sexual predators and resulting lawsuits. Ahhh, nothing like the sweet combination of Christmas, childhood innocence and acting on the advice of counsel. Azi Like a Fox 20:53, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Old kids program (aired around 10-15 yrs ago) - a machine with a name and a conveyor belt that makes different things

About 15 or so years ago, there was a program on kids TV in the UK, filmed in a similar way I think, to the way that they film Postman Pat. It all centred around a factory that made all kinds of different things using a single special machine which had a name and was personified. It had a conveyor belt from which products would leave the machine and I'm not sure what was fed into it but I remember at one point lots of strips of metal. I think all the other characters where people. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Seans Potato Business (talk • contribs) 14:48, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Bertha ? An animated series by Woodland Animations who also produced Postman Pat; first broadcast in 1985. Gandalf61 14:56, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

That's the one! :) Thanks! --Seans Potato Business 15:01, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Joining wood

I'm making a table in school and I need to join a rail to a leg at an angle of 45^o. I need help with coming up with a joint to use, because it's really hard to make a mortice and tenon at 45^o. It sort've looks like this from above, but it's at 45, rather than 30, and the arrow is where I need a joint--Phoenix-sock 15:44, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

                 |---------|
                 |         |
                /|         |
               / | <--     |
              /  |         |
             /   |         |
            /   /|---------|
           /   / 
          /   /

A dowel or screw enforced butt joint might be strong enough, although I'm no carpenter. Laïka 15:52, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Check out the HTML version of Handwork in Wood by William Noyes. Might be a joint in there that'll help. --Tagishsimon (talk) 15:54, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Maybe use a biscuit joiner or turn the leg 45 degrees. --Milkbreath 15:57, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

That(a biscuit/plate joiner) would be my choice . Also, screwed through the rail (perpendicular to the rail) if the screw won't be obvious or its hole can be plugged. Then again, my wife might claim that I was just trying to justify my rather-expensive biscuit machine ;-).

Then again, see [3]...

Atlant 16:57, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Would a simple hinge work or does it have to rotate freely? Lanfear's Bane | t 16:42, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

No, it's a rail so it's not supposed to move at all. A biscuit or dowels might work, but I duuno if they're strong enough. Also, I used my other account because I was on a school computer at the time--Phoenix-wiki ^{(talk · contribs)} 20:06, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Make the mortise and tenon at 90 degrees. The tenon will itself be at 45 degrees to the rest of the leg. The tenon will not completely fill the mortise at the bottom (there will be a triangular void) but it will fill at the top. If you are a paraniod perfectionist, Glue in a triangular piece to fill the void, but I don't think it actually add anything. An elegant alternative might be to use a triangular rail. Or, build the rail from sections, with the back being a continuous piece and the front being a series of separate pieces between the legs. If the back is not visible, you can use plywood for the back (strong and cheap) and hardwood for the front. This approach dos not require anything more than a table saw. -Arch dude (talk) 00:53, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

I can't quite tell, but is this what Arch dude is suggesting? That ought to be pretty easy to machine (since the tenon only needs to be rabbetted on the top and bottom surfaces) and it also ought to be be quite strong. If the tenon is wide enough, a screw run through it into the leg might still be a nice addition.

Atlant (talk) 13:33, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

                 +---------+
                 |___      |
                /|  /|     |
               / | / |     |
              /  |/__|     |
             /   |         |
            /   /+---------+
           /   / 
          /   /

That looks like a good idea. Shouldn't be too hard to make so i'll trry that, thanks for the help--Phoenix-wiki ^{(talk · contribs)} 21:33, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

Supa Novii

I understand why the Horse head super nova was named such, it looks like a horses head. But why was the eagle nebula named eagle? Is it because it looks like an eagle?!?! If so, could some one give me a link to a pic that shows this. thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.191.136.3 (talk) 16:16, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

For this, and most other photos of astronomical subjects, a very useful reference tool is the NASA database called "Astonomy Photo of the Day", or "APOD" for short. I went there and typed in "eagle nebula" as a search and came up with 29 hits - each showing a different photo of the nebula you were inquiring about. Give it a try here: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ Saukkomies 19:15, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Always remember that it was probably the discoverer who named it. By definition, that person had a telescope that could only JUST produce a picture of it (or a bunch of other people would have beaten them to it!) - so what it may have suggested to them back then is hardly going to stand up to a Hubble photograph of the same thing today! SteveBaker 20:20, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

I did a Google phrase search on "the name Eagle Nebula" and found two pages that said it was given that name because, yes, its shape looks something like an eagle. --Anonymous, 23:36 UTC, December 4, 2007, planet Earth.

Auzie Rules

After reading the article on Australian rules football, I am still rather confused, firstly, the article needs a bit of a clean as it is full of jargon. Can you punch people in this sport?! Just how contact is it? Also, it turns out that Japan plays it too, good for them,I know how they tend to fair in normal rugby, (they put thier hearts and souls into it, but dont really get much out) How does Japan fair in Ausie rules? top of the league? bottom? Thanks 12.191.136.3man at work —Preceding comment was added at 16:28, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

I don't know too much about it myself, but the articles Japanese national Australian rules football team and Australian rules football in Japan have some info on their involvement with it. Recury 19:54, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

The rules don't permit punching, but it happens all the time and more often than not they get away with murder. There is a tribunal that meets regularly to hear complaints about such things, but not every incident gets reported. The vast majority of aficionados of the game seem to feel that it's just part of the rough-and-tumble, and not to be compared with a similar punch thrown at someone while shopping at the supermarket, for example. That would be unacceptable, the police would be involved and charges may be laid; but on the field, different rules apply, apparently. There is probably the same moral dichotomy in many other contact sports, so it's not confined to Australian Rules. -- JackofOz (talk) 23:50, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Japan is among many other countries who have small leagues and national teams. I don't know much about them, but I assume Aussie rules football would be relatively unknown in Japan, just like gridiron is in Australia. Note that AFL, while being the biggest football league, is not the only one. Japan probably has footy leagues of its own, but there are no leagues in which both Japan and another country are part of. They have played in the Australian Football International Cup, from article AFL Japan: "Japan competed in the Australian Football International Cup in 2003 (finishing 10th out of 11 competing countries) and 2005 (finishing 7th out of 10 competing countries) with remarkable improvement and depth in talent". Note that Australia doesn't play in these tournaments. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.208.109.169 (talk) 04:16, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

Development Organizations etc. in different countries

I'm looking for Development Agencies/Services/Organizations, i.e. for organizations that (aim to) advance development in other countries--kind of "national UNDPs" or other international organizations with similar goals. I'm particularly interested in those that work towards conflict resolution/prevention/recovery along with the more traditional development goals (e.g., UNDP, German Development Service, etc. as opposed to OXFAM).

Any idea where to get a bit of a list or an overview? --128.119.130.180 18:09, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

i have a question ?

how long is cocaine in your blood ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.95.248.5 (talk) 18:41, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

According to our article on cocaine, its half life is one hour. Splintercellguy 18:49, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

According to Drug test, cocaine can be found in urine for 2 to 4 days, in hair for up to 90 days, and in blood for 24 hours --Tagishsimon (talk) 19:06, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

If you mean "how long is cocaine detectable in the blood", our article "drug test" suggests about 24 hours (although it lasts a lot longer in urine and hair). However, it does not give a dose; given that cocaine has about 20% nasal bioavailability (80% gets trapped in mucus and nose hair), the dose that enters the blood stream would be about 20 mg per line, or roughly 4000 ng/ml (the standard measurement of blood concentration). The chemical that is detected in drug tests is not actually cocaine however, but Benzoylecgonine (produced by the body when using cocaine), which can be detected at levels down to about 150 ng/ml (below this, they cannot verify whether it is actually cocaine, or just an error in measurements [4]). This has a 6 hour half-life and, given 90% of cocaine becomes benzoylecgonine, this would take about 28 hours to drop below 150 ng/ml. Because biological decay is an exponential process, each time you double the dose, it adds 6 hours to the amount of time the benzo stays in detectable (longer if your liver or kidneys are damaged; 10 lines for instance takes 48 hours to metabolise, during which time the cocaine by-products move to the bladder and sweat primarily, allowing it to be detected for a couple of days further (some goes into your hair as well, where it can linger for up to 3 months). Hope that helps. Laïka 19:31, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Long term storage of a flute.

Hello, I purchased a professional model Haynes flute for my daughter apx. 2 years ago. Now, the flute may not be played for 10 to 15 years. What would be the best way to store it to protect pads etc. We live in Northeast Colorado which had a dry climate. Any information you may provide will be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Carol —Preceding unsigned comment added by Loveflutecat (talk • contribs) 18:46, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Contact a professional. I suspect that the biggest problem would be the valve pads drying out, then shrinking and cracking. A professional might be able to recommend some sort of treatment for the pads, or worst case, can help you get replacements in a decade or so. --Mdwyer (talk) 04:22, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

MGB

What would be the top speed/0-60 time for a 1.6 litre 1980 MGB? cheers —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.207.12.239 (talk) 19:17, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

"Smog controls caused the MG's performance to suffer significantly. R & T's June 1976 test recorded zero to 96 km/h (60 mph) in 18.3 seconds, down from 1962's 12.5. Top speed dropped from 171 km/h (106) to 145 (90)." from here which also says that the MGB changed little from year to year at that point. Recury 19:48, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Is this the made-for-the-US-market variant with the jacked-up suspension and the ugly bumper or is it the one they were still selling in the UK? I think you'd still get about an 12 or 13 second 0-60 time from the UK version - it was only the model that they shipped to the US that was crippled. Since the cars are now more than 25 years old, you can ignore smog restrictions in most jurisdictions and restore them to the original UK specification. Still, it's nice to know that there are still some 'sporty' cars out there that my 1963 Mini can take in a drag race! SteveBaker 20:17, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

coumadin vs other food drug interactions

Per our guidelines above, the reference desk does not provide medical advice. Please consult your doctor regarding food-drug interactions and their specific effects on your condition. — Lomn 19:35, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Christmas

What popular Christmas candy today had its debut and was given out by a choirmaster in 1670 to quiet the noisy children? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 155.70.39.45 (talk) 20:37, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Candy canes! Recury 20:45, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

No homework questions! —Tamfang (talk) 23:08, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

mobile phone game reviews

is there a website where u can find game reviews for mobile phones?? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dlo2012 (talk • contribs) 20:44, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Would a Squier Stratocaster sound good through a Roland Micro Cube?

I'm not sure so I'm asking. Would it be a good combo? Do different guitars sound different through modeling amps like the Micro Cube and the Line 6 Spider III? MalwareSmarts 20:49, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Tone is a religious issue among guitarists. Try different combinations and figure out what you like. As a tiny little amp it probably emphasizes compactness over tone, but then again even small amps can sound surprisingly good these days. Friday (talk) 21:13, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Wouldn't it depend on who was playing it? --WebHamster 21:18, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Malware, the short answer to your question: "Do different guitars sound different through modeling amps..." is: Yes, they do. :) Saukkomies 02:47, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

That's good to know, because I was worried that all guitars sound the same through modeling amps. Thanks for the help! MalwareSmarts (talk) 17:10, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

I need advice

This isn't a factual question, but I need advice. Not bragging, I get told this every day at least ten times, but I am the smartest person at my school. I don't care about my grades, 90% of my time is spent on something OTHER than my school work. I have set records on finishing 8th grade math assignments that even the most advanced 8th graders have to do for homework. (I'm a 7th grader, but if I don't annoy anybody my Pre-Algebra (highest 7th grade class) teacher gives me 8th grade work). One person in the whole school had a better average than I did, but all they did was study. As a result, they had no friends. When it was mentioned that said person had a better average than I did, someone reminded the class that I am always on MSN and NEVER study, that I'm lazy, and I don't care about my grades. My Pre-Algebra teacher says that she will move me and my other highly intelligent friend into the 8th grade Advanced Algebra class (highest 8th grade class offered) if she can find something to do with us next year. Any solutions on what class she could put us in next year are welcome. Thank you for any advice, Anonymous. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 170.185.62.19 (talk) 21:07, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

I don't know if this counts as advice, but I can share an experience. My sons (twins) and a couple of their mates were misbehaving in their German class, and their teacher, a wise woman, decided to put them through their exam a year early. The class was already accelerated, so they did a 4 year course in 2 years. Go with it, I reckon, since there are two of you and you won't be the odd one out. You might find it's really interesting, and be glad you have a teacher who isn't threatened by bright kids. SaundersW 21:18, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

In a middle school, there aren't many choices, and i bet u'll find algebra 1 really easy, so i think u should just go with it and wait until high school until u try skipping grades and things like that. Oh, and don't write anonymous on ur message, because ur ip address still shows up, so anyone can figure out who u r. Just make a wikipedia account. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dlo2012 (talk • contribs) 23:07, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

The smartest thing to do would be to talk to a school counselor. They'll know which courses are available at your school, and be able to help make this work. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 23:13, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

• School's hard, because it's got two major parts, and they only ever mention the academic book part. The hidden part is the social aspect, learning how to get along, make friends, and be popular. You can skip grades in the academics by studying hard (and if classes bore you, you can find more advanced textbooks in the library, study in your down time, and get help at your own pace from teachers), but the social aspect is hard to skip parts. It gets enormously harder if you're the youngest person in the class by two or three years, but it is an important part of school (and being a teenager in general). If you do skip ahead a few years in school, you'll find that you're a senior when your age-group is sophomores. You probably won't have any problem with the classes -- your problems, most likely, will still just be that it's too boring and easy for you -- but if you run into a situation where you want to ask a girl to the senior prom, and all the girls in your class are way too old and uninterested in you, and the girls in your age group are all strangers, it's a tough place to be.

It's a hard decision and there is no easy answer. High intelligence, as a decision like this indicates, is much less useful in real-world situations than people think. Good luck, though. Faithfully, Deltopia (talk) 00:07, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

My advice is to prepare yourself to compete with the people you will soon meet who think that they are very smart, too. Many of them will be right. Your teachers are idiots, for the most part (but be gentle with them; they care about you and are trying their best), and your present schoolmates are an unrepresentative cross-section. Concern yourself more with using your ability and cultivating your talents than with grades. Grades take care of themselves, and an "A" in America these days isn't worth the ink it takes to write it—the bar is set very, very low. You know what you can do, so do it, and people will come to you. --Milkbreath (talk) 12:51, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

Are you really telling a 7th grader to think of his teachers as idiots? That is horrible advice for just about any situation and there certainly isn't enough information provided to justify such a claim.

In response to the original poster, bragging about never studying to justify your 2nd place rank isn't the right way to approach these sorts of issues. Laziness is not virtue at any age. If you eventually want to get into a premier university, they do not care if you never studied. I've seen entirely too many bright people hold onto the notion that they are very bright but never tried for entirely too long. The world cares about actual achievement, not what you could do if you tried (with the implication that you never tried).

The optimal solution for most people seems to be that you should try to get into more advanced classes while staying in your current grade level. Many guidance counselors and school administrators are too busy to take the initiative on theses sorts of issues, so this will require you to go to them first. Do not take a dismissive "no" for an answer either (when I was in high school I tried similar things but the guidance counselors often were not interested). Calmly ask them why they do not think this sort of solution is right, and if you still disagree with them then you will need to lobby their superiors but having a dismissive, elitist attitude is not going to help so be sure to remain calm and respectful to them. Many of these issues can be dealt with if you raise enough of a fuss.--droptone (talk) 14:05, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

As you advance higher and higher in the academic ladder, things will change. I never needed to study in middle school, and barely studied in high school. Things changed when I got to college. You pretty much can't fail out of grade school unless you don't even try, since there are numerous ways to bring your grade up. It's so pretty much everyone can get a diploma--GTPoompt(talk) 09:10, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

Storing messages in TI84

Is there a way messages typed using the TI-84+'s "keyboard" can be stored in its memory for later retrieval? Acceptable (talk) 21:45, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

I have a TI-85. With that, you can store any text by just pretending it's a program. I expect you can do the same with the TI-84+. Algebraist 22:10, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

On my TI-83, I can store text as "programs" as well as strings; there are ten pre-defined string variables (available under the VARS button) and you can write, for example, "Hi"->String1. Jørgen (talk) 21:25, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Appalling translations

Almost all translations from English into Spanish I see either contain obvious errors or sound unnatural. I know I would have done a much better job than those morons. What do you think I should do? --Taraborn (talk) 22:33, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Um...if you could do a better job, then you should. No point in keeping horrible text on Wikipedia when we have someone to translate better, right? Hopefully I didn't come across as mean or sarcastic, but by all means be bold and make the corrections yourself. --M1ss1ontomars2k4 (talk) 22:37, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

(edit conflict)What the h***...? This is the Reference Desk, not the Help Desk. Reference Desk = general questions, okay? Read twice next time to ensure you have understood the question properly. I'm not talking about translations in Wikipedia, I'm talking about translations in general, be it product descriptions, movie scripts, books, computer games... --Taraborn (talk) 22:52, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

What do you think I should do. Umm. Be a little more polite? If it irks you sufficiently, take issue with the translator or the institution sporting the obvious error or unnatural sound. Honestly, we rarely comment on questions, but those were two unhappy postings. --Tagishsimon (talk) 23:35, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Product descriptions and whatnot on boxes are possibly machine translated, because it's cheap, so I imagine they don't much care how natural the translation sounds. Natalie (talk) 02:58, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

Thanks Natalie for your response. --Taraborn (talk) 11:48, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

fwiw, I had the reverse problem when living in Spain. I regularly encountered translations into English that were terrible, mangled and meaningless, often official signs by the local government or the local tourist office. On half a dozen occasions I wrote politely to the department responsible and pointed out the error with a correct version included. I never, ever received a single acknowledgement. I learned just to ignore them. There are none so ignorant as those who won't learn. Richard Avery (talk) 16:10, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Straight Razor vs Scalpel

Generally, would a finely sharpened straight razor, for shaving, be sharper than a surgical scalpel? Acceptable (talk) 22:48, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

wow, both sound pretty dangerous, but if i had to choose, i would go with the straight razor. The scalpel seems like it would be a little harder to shave with the short handle, and you would probably cut yourself faster. It even says so in the beginning of the straight razor article.--Dlo2012 (talk) 23:36, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

A scalpel is primarily designed to cut flesh, not shave hairs. A razor is primarily designed for the reverse. You decide :) Manning (talk) 00:46, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

This depends on how sharp the straight razor is... Because I'm a history geek, I occasionally use a straight razor to shave my neck (I have a full beard, but the neck needs daily shaves). So I have experience with a straight razor, and having used numerous scalpels in various projects, including tooling leather, I also have experience with them, too. Scalpels are much thinner than razors, but if you have a brand-new fresh scalpel right out of the box, it ought to be sharper than a straight razor, unless the straight razor has just returned from a PROFESSIONAL sharpener person. I say that because even the most attentive amateur - unless he or she has the right kinds of tools - is not going to get the razor as sharp as it can be done by a professional. Stropping the razor before and after each use, as well as cleaning and oiling it, keep it pretty sharp for general shaving use, but it's still not going to be as sharp as when it firsts gets professionally sharpened. So, to sum it up, a freshly professionally sharpened razor is sharper than a brand new scalpel, in my opinion. However, a razor that has been used at all will not be as sharp as a new scalpel, or even a somewhat used scalpel. Hope that helps... Saukkomies 02:55, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

And of course if you'd care to try some knapping, obsidian blades are much sharper than either. There are obsidian scalpels on the market, but I dunno if anyone has tried making a straight razor out of it. It couldn't be re-sharpened in the normal sense, though. Matt Deres (talk) 17:46, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

Location of Portrait of William Tryon

Hello, I am wondering if you can tell me where the portrait of William Tryon is located found at site wiki/William_Tryon.

Thank you so much —Preceding unsigned comment added by Skapoochy (talk • contribs) 23:42, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

If I understand you, William Tryon and Image:Tryon1767.jpg. Apologies if I'm missing the point. --Tagishsimon (talk) 23:48, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

This [5] site leads me to believe that the portrait may be located at the North Carolina State Archives [6] in Raleigh NC, USA.

--Seuss (talk) 06:09, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

Yes, I am wondering where the actual portrait is hanging, I don't believe it is in North Carolina. Thank you.

Antonio Banderas in Nasonex commercials?

Who is the guy that does the voice for the bee in the nasonex commercials? He sounds almost exactly like antonio banderas.--Dlo2012 (talk) 23:53, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

According to imdb (which, as we know, is not necessarily reliable), it is, indeed, Antonio Banderas. The Wikipedia article says it's him, too, but that's unsourced. Corvus cornix_talk 00:31, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

The Washington Post agrees. [7] Rockpocket 00:34, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

Hooray, a reference to plunder :D Neil ☎ 13:50, 5 December 2007 (UTC)