Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2009 June 22

= June 22 =

Chocolate-covered Flash Drive
I accidentally left my flash drive in my pocket with a piece of chocolate, which proceeded to melt all over the terminal. I wiped off the outside, but I am unsure of how to go about cleaning the inside. Should I use a solvent, or water, or nothing at all? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.55.215.69 (talk) 09:09, 22 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Don't use a solvent. You can open it and clean it with absorbent tissue paper. Soaking it with water should also be OK, if you let it dry.Mr.K. (talk) 10:02, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

I would suggest distilled water, as tap water could have metal ions that stay after drying. 65.121.141.34 (talk) 15:08, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
 * And if the chocolate has pervaded the flash drive too far, you could always treat it as just a really hard version of a Heath bar. Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots 18:28, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Just in case anyone didn't pick it up, Baseball Bugs is just joking. Thanks,  gENIUS  101  19:51, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Yes, do not actually try to eat a Flash Drive. It could be hazardous to your health. Unless it comes with explicit information affirming that it is edible. Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots 20:24, 22 June 2009 (UTC)


 * A "Heath" bar, hmm, I'll make a note in my ledger. 86.4.190.83 (talk) 20:45, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Hey! I'm supposed to be The Joker around here! :) Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots 22:18, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

Popular Mechanics actually did offer advice in the last year or so on what to do when a cellular telephone gets wet. Not the same thing, but some of the hints might apply to your case (or chocolate bar). By the way, Heath Bars contain toffee, which might not have been in your original ingredients. —— Shakescene (talk) 05:32, 23 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Hard toffee or hard silicon, either way you can chip a tooth. Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots 11:44, 23 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Or tooth a chip. - KoolerStill (talk) 03:03, 24 June 2009 (UTC)

If a chocolate covered drive isn't to your tastes, there's always these. Note if if your drive is REALLY gunked up (to the point of unusability) and has important data on it, you could unsolder the usb connector and solder on a new one, a fairly common operation when the connectors break off. I haven't heard of being done because of chocolate immersion before though. 208.70.31.186 (talk) 05:53, 23 June 2009 (UTC)

Food In Montpellier, France.
Hi All,

I'm off to Montpellier in the South of France in a few weeks and am just wondering if you can give me tips on must-try dishes from that region. A quick googling tends to come up with lists of restaurants rather than dishes, although I suppose any non-missable medium-priced restaurants in the area would be useful to know too.

Cheers, Lukerees1983 (talk) 10:02, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

Hi, We live 35 miles from Montpellier. Being a coastal city most of the specialities are from the water. If you like shellfish try the Plateau Royale. In all sizes, it is a mountain of assorted shell fish, on ice. Eat with your fingers. Lovely. Obviously fresh fish caught that morning are a must. The oysters from the Etang de Thau (Bouziques) are some of the finest in France. About 10% of France's oysters are farmed in the Etang. AVOID anything Setois. They will be a variety of cuttlefish. Very much an acquired taste. The best local wine is Picpoul de Pinet. White, one of France's finest. But carafe wine is fine. Most favour the rose. Red can be heavy down south. How's that to be going on with?86.209.155.121 (talk) 13:54, 22 June 2009 (UTC)DT

Wardrobe door catch thingy
What is the name (in the UK please, if it's not universal) for a door catch for wardrobe doors, that's invisible from the outside? To open the door, you need to press it in the appropriate place and it clicks and pops open, presumably on some kind of spring... It means you can have a wardrobe door without handles, without needing to resort to sliding doors. Thanks. --Dweller (talk) 10:06, 22 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Try searching the web site of a hardware store in the UK. In the U.S., the Ives Invisible Latch comes up on some quick searches. ---—  Gadget850 (Ed)  talk 10:18, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Thanks - my question was the prelude to doing exactly that: I was planning to, just didn't know what to search for... I need the vocabulary! --Dweller (talk) 10:41, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
 * These are commonly used on kitchen cupboard doors as well. They are known as "kick-latches" because they can be operated by pushing the door with the feet when the hands are full. - KoolerStill (talk) 11:45, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I searched Screwfix, probably the UK's leading mail/internet retailer of DIY stuff. "Kick latch" didn't seem to do the trick. I'm still struggling to find this. Anyone? --Dweller (talk) 12:46, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Here you go, this UK site has them under the name of "touch" catches. Here in Oz we're rougher, and kick our doors. - KoolerStill (talk) 12:54, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Thanks. Interesting, I found the same item, with the same name at Screwfix, but Screwfix says it's "For use on loft hatches." which makes me think it may be too big and clunky for a wardrobe door... -- Dweller (talk) 13:05, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
 * You might want to try "push latch" also. -- LarryMac  | Talk  13:22, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Surprised no one tried to search for "spring latch" or "magnetic latch", which yield some results. --Wirbelwind ヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 16:06, 23 June 2009 (UTC)

Officeless company
Is there any legal, descent, and serious officeless company on the world? Quest09 (talk) 10:35, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
 * There must be countless of them. Here's one that famously started in someone's bedroom/car boot. --Dweller (talk) 10:44, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Virgin Group does not have offices? Quest09 (talk) 11:26, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
 * They didn't when Richard Branson started them - and they were legal, decent and serious then. --Dweller (talk) 12:58, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

I think you'd struggle to find any 'well known' companies that don't have a least one office/set of offices. Yes, small start-ups will often be out of people's home or wherever they can do their work but that's a bit different. Also at what point would a house become an office? If you operate out of a room of your home and its function is to be an office is it really different to being in a rented space in an office-complex? On this theme Goretex are an interesting firm in terms of how they setup their function. My understanding is that all staff are 'associates' and there are no formal tiers of management, plants are limited to something like 150 people etc. ny156uk (talk) 14:29, 22 June 2009 (UTC)


 * There are a great many companies, entirely legal, decent, and serious, that do not have their own office. Typically their nominal "office" will be that of a law firm or of a registered agent such as Corporation Trust Company.  These generally aren't well-known companies, of course.
 * In the United States, mutual funds typically have no employees, but instead rely entirely on their service providers. The "office" of a mutual fund generally will be that of its investment adviser (or, for some purposes, its transfer agent).  I don't know if that's what you have in mind with "officeless" or not.  John M Baker (talk) 17:32, 22 June 2009 (UTC)


 * There are of course branchless banks - however even thy have a head office. DJ Clayworth (talk) 19:10, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

Who defined the color's value?
After reading some articles about colors, I am doubting that who defined Burgundy = 128:0:32, Vermilion = 227:66:52, Scarlet = 255:36:0, etc.? There are not references to explain this issue. So who defined the color's value?--百楽兎 (talk) 11:05, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Many of the colours separately listed are from HTML or CSS standards; the 3 you mention are not among them. See the WikiProject Color/Sources for Color Coordinates discussion pages for the sources (and reliability) used in the project. The article List of colors may  also help you understand this complex topic. Two common sources of colour standards are the Pantone scheme for developed for printing, and the Federal Standard 595 for USA Government specifications. The latter carries no names, only code numbers. Standard chips can be scanned and analysed for their computerised equivalents. The three names you mention have been in use for centuries. Other names were invented later, often with no history or accreditation. And of course paint manufacturers invent new names every season. For a good conversion chart (without names) from the Pantone CYMK scheme to HTML hex codes see here.
 * The short answer to your question is, the topic is very complex and the hex codes for your 3 colours have not been attributed to any source. The page history shows numerous minor corrections to the hex codes by various editors. Yet another color website DOES have the 3 names you've mentioned, but with slightly different hex codes. WikiProject Color may be your best place to get this resolved. - KoolerStill (talk) 12:48, 22 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Thank you very much. Your answer is helpful.--百楽兎 (talk) 23:41, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

Request for comment
Personal information deleted for contribution from Tom Lloyd Llody (talk) 16:57, 22 June 2009 (UTC)


 * This is a reference desk. It answers questions. It is not Facebook. You should avoid putting in information that identifies you. What is the question? Dmcq (talk) 17:18, 22 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Googling part of the deleted text showed that it has been posted to various message boards recently; in addition, one site quoted it as a letter or flyer dated 1985. So I suspect that it wasn't Tom Lloyd himself who posted this (otherwise he would have been the same age for 24 years). --bonadea contributions talk 17:47, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

Old article.
Hey I use to have an old article named "A new direction in japanese diplomacy" by Seiichi Kondo But I cannot find the article itself anymore, only a reference to it on the homepage of the paper. Does anyone have any idea how I can aquire it again? Joneleth (talk) 17:49, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Which paper? Vimescarrot (talk) 18:10, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

Japan Echo Joneleth (talk) 19:01, 22 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Try this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Archive#Wayback_Machine perhaps? 78.144.243.58 (talk) 19:03, 22 June 2009 (UTC)


 * A bit of googling finds an abstract here. 208.70.31.186 (talk) 06:00, 23 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Depending on where you are, you may be able to find the article in hard copy at a library near you. Try searching for "Japan Echo"  here.  You want the December 2004 issue (v. 31., no. 6) Some jerk on the Internet (talk) 18:16, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

Pirates of the Caribbean
I just watched the Pirates of the Caribbean films and I want more swashbuckling adventures, please recommend similar films :) Thanks you —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tempekatte (talk • contribs) 19:54, 22 June 2009 (UTC)


 * If it is not too late, I would advise you to not watch the second and third films of that series. You might also get some better results on the entertainment desk.  65.121.141.34 (talk) 20:10, 22 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Watch anything made by Errol Flynn in his prime. You might want to avoid the musical called The Pirate Movie. Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots 22:20, 22 June 2009 (UTC)


 * I highly recommend "Treasure Island", "Long John Silver" and "Blackbeard the Pirate" with Robert Newton. I also like "Anne of the Indes" with Jean Peters and "Buccaneer's Girl" with Yvonne De Carlo.--TrogWoolley (talk) 22:22, 22 June 2009 (UTC)


 * The Star Wars and Indiana Jones series qualify, but I expect the reader has seen all of those already. Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots 22:30, 22 June 2009 (UTC)


 * How about The Goonies not particularly pirate-y but has a pirate-theme and is a great movie. Also Hook is a good pirate-ish movie, well I think so anyway. ny156uk (talk) 23:07, 22 June 2009 (UTC)


 * I liked The Black Swan (film) - the hero briefly looks knowingly at the audience as though to say "Ooops!" when being caught out during an informal interrogation by the pirates. 1940s I think, black and white. Edit: I must have seen it on a b&w tv. I think Errol Flynn was famous for many swashbuckling films. 78.147.137.38 (talk) 23:29, 22 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Master and Commander might qualify. Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots 23:43, 22 June 2009 (UTC)


 * And for a short subject, there's always Buccaneer Bunny. :) Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots 23:44, 22 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Not pirates, but if it's swordplay you're after, there's any of various interpretations of The Three Musketeers. Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots 23:47, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Erol Flynn was the archetypical swashbuckler. He starred in Captain Blood (1935 film). -Arch dude (talk) 01:46, 23 June 2009 (UTC)
 * --and see Category:Pirate films. -Arch dude (talk) 01:51, 23 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Then there's the obviously-named 1976 film Swashbuckler (film), which at least has swordplay in it, although somehow it's hard to picture Robert Shaw in that role after seeing him in The Sting and Jaws. Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots 03:28, 23 June 2009 (UTC)


 * The Princess Bride has some of the same important elements as the movies we've been talking about. It has an unusual format in that the main story is being read to a small boy in the present day, which some people might find annoying, but it is a movie I love.  --Anonymous, 03:33 UTC, June 23, 2009.


 * Excellent, and plenty of swordplay, which is the essence of "swashbuckling". Like when Robert and Inigo are seemingly dueling to the death, yet speaking in relatively polite tones to each other. As opposed to how Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone's duel turned out. Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots 03:45, 23 June 2009 (UTC)


 * The Crimson Pirate with Burt Lancaster!! Wonderful swashbuckling comedy.Rhinoracer (talk) 10:20, 23 June 2009 (UTC)


 * So someone liked it. I got bored within half an hour: the comedy was cheap (fighting with klutzes, wahoo!) and the star had negative charisma. —Tamfang (talk) 03:08, 25 June 2009 (UTC)


 * See Swashbuckler films 78.144.202.34 (talk) 11:31, 23 June 2009 (UTC)


 * The Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn, Basil Rathbone and Olivia de Havilland is probably the best you'll see. Astronaut (talk) 15:03, 23 June 2009 (UTC)


 * And how could I forget - for swordplay, watch anything to do with Zorro. Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots 15:20, 23 June 2009 (UTC)


 * I don't think anyone linked to Category:Swashbuckler films yet. But, if you liked Pirates like I liked Pirates, you might like these too. :) Zain Ebrahim (talk) 16:25, 23 June 2009 (UTC)


 * But not Cutthroat Island— it sunk some ships, a production company and Geena Davis. ---— Gadget850 (Ed)  talk 17:09, 24 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Rats, no one mentioned Scaramouche. —Tamfang (talk) 20:10, 22 July 2009 (UTC)

Gardening Forums in the UK
What are the best gardening forums for the UK? 78.147.137.38 (talk) 23:46, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
 * A quick Google search will give you a choice of many, including some sites that list the forums they consider the best. Gardening is a very broad topic, so you would need to find the one that best suits your needs. - KoolerStill (talk) 08:44, 23 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Anyone can do a Google search - I think that's taken as read. "Some sites that list the forums they consider the best". What sites would these be please? 78.144.202.34 (talk) 11:21, 23 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I doubt there's ever been a "best forum" competition, and you don't specify how you interpret the word -- more members? more pictures? wider range of topics? A good looking site, with well organised articles and an active user forum, is Let's Go Gardening. GardenersCorner is a busy forum with good membership but no articles. This directory of newsgroups and forums may help you further. - KoolerStill (talk) 13:08, 23 June 2009 (UTC)