Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2009 December 8

= December 8 =

Monetary economics
What is monetary economics? The aricle is not easy for me to understand. How useful it is to study when you look for a job later? Is it related to banking?

sorry too many questions. please help! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.4.154.240 (talk) 02:03, 8 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Go read monetary economics. --FOo (talk) 04:36, 8 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Or, ask in the Reference desk/Miscellaneous (section) if the article is difficult to understand. I agree the article is pretty technical, but basically, monetary economics is the study of economics through an understanding of money, how it is used, where it flows and its value. Compare that to labor economics, where work and pay are the basis for understanding the economy, or fiscal policy, where it is government taxation and spending that are the starting point.


 * In every day usage, monetary economics is all about interest rates: what happens if they rise or fall? Since in a modern, well-developed society (e.g., the US, not China) interest rates permeate all parts of the economy, from government borrowing to personal credit cards, adjusting interest rates can have a significant influence on how fast / slow the economy grows, how fast / slow prices change and how fast / slow jobs are created or destroyed. DOR (HK) (talk) 10:02, 8 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Monetary economics is about interest rates but its also about the money supply, inflation,debt and Central Banking in general. It's kinda the study of money, how individuals use it and how governments can manipulate it to achieve certain goals. 203.217.43.224 (talk) 09:19, 9 December 2009 (UTC)

I need these bible versus
Accdude92 (talk to me!) (sign) 02:14, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Yoda-Mentor/Teacher in your Life
 * Protege-Mentee in your life


 * I'll assume you are aware that there are no mentions of Yoda in the Bible. So if I understand you correctly you are looking for Bible verses relevant to the mentor relationship? DJ Clayworth (talk) 02:17, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * I'll recommend you read some stories of mentors in the Bible. Starting with the Old Testament, Elisha and Elijah are good places to start, particularly 1 Kings 19 going into 2 Kings. Going into the New Testament, I would suggest reading the whole of a Gospel to look at the relationship between Jesus and his disciples (it'll only take you a couple of hours). Then maybe look at Saint Paul and Timothy. Search the letters of Paul for any mention of Timothy, and then specifically read Paul's letters to him. DJ Clayworth (talk) 02:22, 8 December 2009 (UTC)


 * (EC with DJ C) If you want Mentor-Mentee relationships in the bible, here are some good examples:
 * Elijah (mentor) and Elisha (mentee) from 1st and 2nd Kings
 * Jesus (mentor) and any of the Twelve Apostles (mentees)
 * Barnabas (mentor) and Paul (mentee) from Acts
 * Paul (mentor) and Silas (mentee) from Acts and Paul's Epistles
 * Just a start for ya. -- Jayron  32  02:27, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Even moreso than Barnabas and Silas: Paul and Timothy, who was taken into Paul's company as a teenager, and brought up to eventually be put in charge of the church at Ephesus. &mdash;Akrabbimtalk 02:43, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * But I need actually versus.Accdude92 (talk to me!) (sign) 02:58, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * And I need one for encouragement too.Accdude92 (talk to me!) (sign) 02:59, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * You have access to a bible and a concordance, presumably. Look up passages in the books we describe involving the characters above.  How much of your homework do you want us to do for you?  We've given you all you need to find actual verses.  You could actually, you know, read the bible.  There are many versions actually written in English you know... -- Jayron  32  03:35, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * And by the by, if you want encouragement, (you hadn't mentioned this) the bible has lots of passages about encouragement. This is my favorite online bible.  It has a good search function, and has several common translations.  I use NIV, but whatever works for you.  Just search for the word "encouragement" (or indeed, the characters we cite above for mentorship) and you can find the passages yourself.  -- Jayron  32  03:45, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * The reason we're not giving you specific verses is that we don't know what point you are trying to make about mentorship. Bible verses are not meant to be taken out of their context. You will need to decide what you think is important about mentor relationships and find a quote that you think summarises it.
 * By the way, the plural of verse is "verses". "Versus" means something else completely. DJ Clayworth (talk) 16:05, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Yoda...bah...Lucas misspelled it - that's "Yodh": " y Yodh Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands." - a clear reference to his interaction with Luke on Dagobah.  SteveBaker (talk) 03:31, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * I certainly hope you are joking, but incase others don't realize it, yodh is a hebrew letter (cognate of the greek iota and the latin I) and in the bible verse you cite, its being used in an acrostic psalm, where each passage starts with a successive letter of the alphabet. Hence its use here.  Anyways, carry on -- Jayron  32  03:38, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * NEVER attempt to explain a joke :-P ...sigh... SteveBaker (talk) 04:18, 8 December 2009 (UTC)

School districts adopting technology policy
Why are schools districts starting to adopt a new policy requiring students to be technology proficient to graduate from high school these days? What does it mean? WJetChao (talk) 04:49, 8 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Helpful information - your country, your state/province, nearby cities of note - otherwise there are probably, oh, 9 million school districts to pick from around the world. 218.25.32.210 (talk) 06:38, 8 December 2009 (UTC)

(Ignoring the localised reasoning) Simple - because they believe it is an important skill to have a successful life/career after schooling finishes. They may not expect you to go working in technology, but a good starting understanding of these things gives you A) a platform to move from (if you want to) and B) ensures the graduating population have a basic proficiency in this subject. It's the same reason they make you (in my country) study another language, or study one of the humanities. 194.221.133.226 (talk) 09:03, 8 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Again, ignoring where you're from, here in the States, it's hard to find a job that doesn't have at least a minor technological component. Except for some minimum wage jobs, service jobs, and some manufacturing jobs, you will need to know how to use a computer for your occupation.  Additionally, with the proliferation of computers in the home and the fact that many gov't services have a web site, online forms, etc. being computer literate helps just get things done for your personal life.  Dismas |(talk) 11:42, 8 December 2009 (UTC)


 * And, in the future, online voting might be an option, so it's also in the public interest that their citizens know technology, not just in the interest of the individual. The term "the Digital Divide" has often been used to distinguish those who have access to and know how to use technology from those who don't.  There is some evidence that access to technology, in and of itself, means access to improved health care (by being able to look up medications, interactions, etc.), improved careers, etc., even after normalizing for differences in income, social status, race, etc. StuRat (talk) 18:16, 9 December 2009 (UTC)

Boiling and evaporation
what is the difference between boiling and evaporation ???? thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.197.255.228 (talk) 11:00, 8 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Start with the articles on boiling and evaporation. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 11:36, 8 December 2009 (UTC)


 * This should really be on the science desk but I'll answer. The first thing to understand is that the temperature of a liquid is actually an average, and that individual molecules may be at different temperatures. When a liquid boils, its average temperature comes up to the level at which the molecules of the liquid convert into a gas. When the individual molecules get the enthalpy of vaporization, they become gaseous and (assuming the liquid is not being heated in a sealed vessel) escape from the vessel in which the liquid is being heated. This does not happen to all molecules simultaneously which is why a boiling liquid does not suddenly vaporise entirely, but as heat continues going in to the liquid, all the molecules eventually acquire the heat necessary to change into gas.


 * In evaporation, the liquid's overall temperature is under the level at which it boils. However this is an average and some individual molecules are at higher temperatures. Some are at the boiling point and when they get the energy necessary to convert into gas, they do become gaseous. One effect of this is that the overall (average) temperature of the liquid falls, because the molecules at particularly high temperature are more likely to vaporize and therefore leave the liquid, so you will notice a cooling effect if you let some water on your finger evaporate. Sam Blacketer (talk) 11:47, 8 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Depending on your mathematical background, the OP may want to consider looking into Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution. The basic idea, for the non-mathematically minded, is that at any given temperature, there are a range of molecules with different amounts of kinetic energy.  That is, at 20 deg C, there are some molecules moving very fast, and some moving very slow, and some moving at a medium speed.  There is a "threshold energy" which is keeping the molecules in the liquid state, its basically the "intermolecular binding energy" holding them together.  If the kinetic (motion) energy of a single molecule ever exceeds this intermolecular energy, then the molecule will escape the liquid and become a gas.  At any given temperature, there will ALWAYS be at least a small number of molecules which exceed this speed.  The boiling temperature is the temperature at which the bulk of the molecules (i.e. most of them) exceed this energy, as opposed to just a few.  I'll try to put together a crude picture to give you an idea of what is going on.   -- Jayron  32  14:00, 8 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Here's the pic. Click on it for a bigger version:




 * Those were good scientific answers. Now, if you're interested in the answer from a cooking perspective (which might explain why you posted here instead of at the Science Ref Desk), boiling is when bubbles rapidly form, rise, and burst at the surface of the liquid, making noise as they do.  If that doesn't happen, it's just evaporation. StuRat (talk) 18:00, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Ah, if we're going to go that way to describe it, there are also terms which describe varieties of boiling, like Simmering or "bumping", or of things like Boiling chips which prevent bumping. -- Jayron  32  20:29, 9 December 2009 (UTC)

Upgrading to student account
I hold a current account with Abbey in the UK. I plan on upgrading to the student account; if I do so, will I keep the same account number and card number? Many thanks, 86.16.123.171 (talk) 11:02, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * If the account you have now is a standard "Abbey Account", you should do. I tried exactly the same thing with the same bank, though, and couldn't keep the same account because they had some rule against changing the nature of an account less than 6 months after it was created. If you've had the account less than 6 months and they haven't changed that stupid rule, then you will have to open a new account, as I did. --Tango (talk) 11:40, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Thanks a lot. I've had it for a couple of years, so it should be fine. :) 86.16.123.171 (talk) 12:38, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * What, as a matter of interest, made you ask that here rather than asking Abbey? DJ Clayworth (talk) 15:16, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * The reference desk doesn't play Vivaldi for half an hour when you ask them a question? Fribbler (talk) 16:25, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Hmmm - maybe we should! (Maybe Motorhead is more our style?) SteveBaker (talk) 18:45, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Thank you for holding. Your enquiry is important to us and one of our reference desk operatives will be with you shortly. While you are waiting, you may wish to read our article on elevator music. Gandalf61 (talk) 14:58, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Excellent. Now if you could make a template out of that...DJ Clayworth (talk) 19:29, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Thank you for staying on the line. We are currently experiencing unusually heavy holiday traffic [and normally chronic short-staffing]. Please continue to hold and the next available underpaid know-it-all will be all too glad and ready to assist you to the limits of his or her unprofessional ability. While waiting for a  useful answer to your original question, please feel free to sit back and admire the handsomely-wrought begging banner provided for your enjoyment at the top of this page. Your call will not only be monitored for quality assurance, but published all over the Internet and perpetually archived in places you've never even thought of. Thanks again for your patience, and have a great trip! —— Shakescene (talk) 08:50, 11 December 2009 (UTC)


 * I signed up for a student account with Abbey National (as it then was) nearly ten years ago, and they gave me a little wok. The account is long since closed, but I still regularly use the wok. 93.97.184.230 (talk) 00:59, 10 December 2009 (UTC)

Old Christmas advert
A while ago, I saw on Tarrant on TV an advert: a man cleaning up a reastaurant. He then left. The message (text, I believe, not spoken) was just telling people to go home and have a happy Christmas with their family. I think this advert was by McDonald's, and it only happened once. Does anyone have more information? I'm looking for a video but if one doesn't exist, I'd settle for knowledge, on the basis that sooner or later I will surely be able to find it. :) Vimescarrot (talk) 19:10, 8 December 2009 (UTC)


 * I remember Chris Tarrant showing the advert, but I don't know where it came from, and Google hasn't been able to find it for me. I can do no more than confirm that it was shown which you knew anyway .    D b f i r s   09:09, 11 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Reassuring that I'm not going crazy, at least. Cheers! Vimescarrot (talk) 14:23, 12 December 2009 (UTC)

Bus to drive slower than cars?
Do bus actually drives slower than cars. Since From Santa Margarita High School to El Toro took 30 minutes without waiting between buses, I'm guessing driving a car would be faster. Do buses drive that slow or is just the stops.--209.129.85.4 (talk) 20:21, 8 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Buses certainly have less "get up" than cars, so they take longer to get to speed. Also, being that they stop often, they spend more time not moving at all.  Furthermore, buses may be equipped with a Governor which limits their maximum speed.  -- Jayron  32  20:39, 8 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Bus engines are designed for capacity and fuel efficiency, sacrificing speed. Buses are also heavy. Two factors which affect both top speed and acceleration. Vimescarrot (talk) 20:46, 8 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Also deceleration, i.e. they have to start slowing-down sooner. And don't many states set a lower maximum speed for buses than for cars (e.g. 55 instead of 65)? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 21:00, 8 December 2009 (UTC)


 * There are also limits to how must acceleration/deceleration that human beings who are not strapped in can safely tolerate. Ideally a bus would accelerate and decelerate much faster than a car, because it has people without seat belts in it, some of whom may be standing (or in wheel chairs, or children, or elderly, etc.) --Mr.98 (talk) 00:59, 9 December 2009 (UTC)


 * I assume you meant to say that "a bus would accelerate and decelerate much SLOWER than a car"? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 01:12, 9 December 2009 (UTC)


 * And what fun would that be ? :-) StuRat (talk) 16:59, 9 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Even if the speed limits are the same, buses tend to actually drive to them (the consequences for a bus driver speeding being rather worse than others). Also round here buses have other restrictions, such as always stopping at level crossings. DJ Clayworth (talk) 21:36, 8 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Level crossing? Here in the US, school buses have to stop at railroad crossings, open the door for a better view of the track, and then they may close the door and cross.  Dismas |(talk) 00:55, 9 December 2009 (UTC)
 * Level crossing is non-American for railroad crossing. And here the same restrictions on school buses apply to city buses. DJ Clayworth (talk) 19:28, 9 December 2009 (UTC)

Interestingly in my home town (York) the council have recently proposed buses in the city having to drive at no more than 20mph rather than the 30mph that most of the roads around the city are limited to. The piece made our 'yokel' press - http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/4780312.York_bus_drivers_face_20mph_limit/ ny156uk (talk) 22:39, 8 December 2009 (UTC)


 * According to the comments on that article, the story is rubbish. I guess the Press is up to its usual trick of trolling for reader letters. AlmostReadytoFly (talk) 08:37, 9 December 2009 (UTC)

Many (school) buses also have speed regulators set at 60 mph or so. Nadando (talk) 02:07, 9 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Buses are amazingly slow. There are the reasons already listed, and also they may not go directly from your starting point to destination, but may instead turn off to go to other stops.  Also, allow extra time to wait for the bus to pick you up.  My brother has found that he can ride his bicycle 5 miles to work far faster than the bus can get him there. StuRat (talk) 16:59, 9 December 2009 (UTC)