Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2010 August 27

= August 27 =

Companies that utilizes expired patents or inventions not patented in their country
Are there any companies that is known to use expired patents or inventions not patented in their country to manufacture products that they could sell in their local market?-- Lenticel ( talk ) 01:45, 27 August 2010 (UTC)


 * There are many; the easiest list to come to mind is any generic drug manufacturer; these companies depend on patent expiration for their business model. Comet Tuttle (talk) 04:56, 27 August 2010 (UTC)
 * All patents expire, so most companies using older products use expired patents. Aaronite (talk) 17:07, 27 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Consider all of the millions of web sites that use GIF format for storing pictures. The patent for that expired in 2003/2004, plenty of companies make money from GIF-image web sites. SteveBaker (talk) 05:02, 28 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Funnily enough I nearly posted the same thing earlier today but then decided I really should go to sleep Nil Einne (talk) 12:26, 28 August 2010 (UTC)

want a very cheap and simple detector to remove iron nails from timber for reuse
I have a large quantity of timber removed from a dismantled house. In order to reuse it the timber has to be resized. There are a lot of old rusty iron nails on the timber which is not easy to locate as they don't show on the the sooth covered timber. Is there any cheap tool to locate them? Or can somebody suggest some improvisation?--117.204.88.112 (talk) 04:13, 27 August 2010 (UTC)


 * Most stud detectors will do the trick and a basic unit can be bought for between $20-30 at your local hardware store —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.167.165.2 (talk) 04:26, 27 August 2010 (UTC)


 * Of course, you'll then need to extract each rusty nail for which you will also need a claw hammer, screwdrivers, and strong pliers. It could be a long job if you've got a whole house-worth of timber.  If it is just you, I suggest you invite some friends round for a claw hammer and stud detector (and beer?) party, to try to get the job done in a weekend.  Astronaut (talk) 10:42, 27 August 2010 (UTC)
 * It's not exactly cheap (~$100), but apparently electronic detectors like this are what the pros use (and the reviews seem very favorable). If you really have a large quantity of boards, the time saved in finding the nails may be worth the investment. Deor (talk) 19:40, 27 August 2010 (UTC)
 * I'll note that $100 will likely be far cheaper than replacing a decent quality tablesaw blade, or even a basic plainer/jointer head, which is what you'll probably have to do if you miss a nail. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" and all that. -- 140.142.20.229 (talk) 01:51, 28 August 2010 (UTC)

Iceland-Faroe line on Google Maps
On Google Maps there seems to be a faint line linking Iceland and the Faroe Islands:

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=63.548552,-10.371094&spn=2.839252,14.128418&z=6

Zoom in and it disappears. What's with that? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 221.216.52.189 (talk) 13:40, 27 August 2010 (UTC)
 * I can't reproduce it here, which suggests that it's some minor glitch somewhere in the software stack on your machine. As an example, perhaps the images aren't being quite perfectly aligned because of sloppy floating point arithmetic (because something's compiled with -ffast-math or equivalent somewhere along the line). 128.232.16.58 (talk) 15:16, 27 August 2010 (UTC)
 * I can see it using Firefox and Internet Explorer. It is a thin white diagonal line. 92.29.123.117 (talk) 15:42, 27 August 2010 (UTC)


 * It's a defect in the PNG image that Google is sending. It's evident in this image. The line is visible on (at least) Imagemagick, Eye of Gnome, Firefox, Chrome, and Gimp. It's some kind of rounding error in the projection software Google used to generate the map. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 16:13, 27 August 2010 (UTC)
 * It's definitely an error, it's not a ferry if that's what you were hoping for ;) --Ouro (blah blah) 16:52, 27 August 2010 (UTC)
 * But there is a ferry service between Tórshavn in the Faroes and Seyðisfjörður in Iceland. It's run by the Smyril Line (website here).  Ka renjc 18:33, 27 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Interesting! --Ouro (blah blah) 15:31, 28 August 2010 (UTC)
 * On Google Earth, there's an error showing sand and a solid black line on Greenland, and a bridge disappearing into the water in Lake Baikai. Hmm, maybe the glitches in Greenland are really hiding giant fissures in the ice? ~ A H  1 (TCU) 19:08, 28 August 2010 (UTC)

San Diego restaurants
Hello all. My girlfriend is flying out to visit me next week, and I was wondering if maybe my fellow wikipedians could suggest some places to eat. I'm not necessarily thinking romantic, just nice. As far as dress code goes, I'm thinking a nice button down shirt (oxford) with jeans; nothing too fancy. --AtTheAbyss (talk) 16:45, 27 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Your best bet is to look at Chowhound.com. → ROUX  ₪  17:10, 27 August 2010 (UTC)


 * San Diego ABOUNDS in wonderful restaurants, some in-hotel, most not so. My wife and I ate magnificently all over SD on our recent trip there and we either asked for recommendations from locals; or we consulted the SD Tourist Website; or else we consulted Wikitravel and typed in San Diego which will point you to a limitless choice of variously priced restaurants. But DO NOT go to the Macdonalds at the Tijuana crossover point into Mexico at the terminus of the Red Trolley Line. It is surely the most disgusting eatery worldwide outside of a third-world piggery. But we particularly liked the Postcards Restaurant in the Handlery Hotel on Hotel Circle South (I think). OK, the hotel itself may not be a 5 star classic hotel of the world, though we thoroughly enjoyed our 10 day stay there; but the food was excellent, well prepared and served in a very relaxed and informal dining-room setting, and great value for money. But wherever you choose, I am sure that in San Diego, you will not be disappointed. 92.30.101.220 (talk) 23:32, 27 August 2010 (UTC)
 * McDonald's seems to generally be disgusting and low-end in the US, unlike in Europe where if it wouldn't be fast-food it would be a luxury restaurant :P Rimush (talk) 11:50, 28 August 2010 (UTC)
 * I could be offended by this. I am of the opinion that they don't even sell food, and the only reason to go in is the free toilet. --Ouro (blah blah) 15:34, 28 August 2010 (UTC)
 * I don't understand how you could be offended. I'm talking about their standards of cleanliness which seem to be much higher in Europe than in the US. I am European too, btw... Rimush (talk) 15:58, 28 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Try WikiTravel. ~ A H  1 (TCU) 19:06, 28 August 2010 (UTC)
 * I must have taken your message the other way, Rimush, forgive me. My thought was that if you'd consider it to be a luxury restaurant, then some might think we have nothing better. --Ouro (blah blah) 05:35, 29 August 2010 (UTC)

Chicken elbow mushrooms?
I ate at a Chinese restaurant in Cambridge, MA last night and had some of the best mushrooms I've ever eaten. I asked the owner what they were called and he said "chicken [something] mushrooms". The [something] was unintelligible, but he pointed to his elbow while saying it, as though it had something to do with his elbow. The musrooms were sliced so I couldn't see the exact shape, but probably the original would have been about three inches across, and smooth and flat - kind of like a portobello, but smaller. it was kind of an offwhite/tan color, and sometimes one edge of the mushroom slices (the top I presume) was a medium brown. Any thoughts about what mushroom I ate? Calliopejen1 (talk) 17:04, 27 August 2010 (UTC)

Laetiporus? ny156uk (talk) 17:12, 27 August 2010 (UTC)


 * Maybe because "shelf" sounds like "elbow," and one name seems to be sulphur shelf (in the Laetiporus) article). Bus stop (talk) 17:23, 27 August 2010 (UTC)
 * That's probably it, thanks! I'll take more guesses, but for now I think I need to just poke around in local markets for these delicious mushrooms! Calliopejen1 (talk) 17:32, 27 August 2010 (UTC)
 * There's also the the fried chicken mushroom (Lyophyllum decastes), which is sort of portobello-shaped. I see no elbow connection, unless he burned his elbow in the frying oil. Or maybe he was miming chicken wings? ---Sluzzelin talk  17:46, 27 August 2010 (UTC)

Do the Jews control the US media?
I would like to know if the Jews control the US media from a factual persepective.

Thank you.

69.116.236.229 (talk) 17:55, 27 August 2010 (UTC)
 * No. And this sort of racist nonsense should be removed. → ROUX   ₪  17:57, 27 August 2010 (UTC)


 * Of course the answer is No, but this question is understandable, afterall. Actually when we switch on TV we see and hear so much violence and people mostly responsible for this are a certain religion which are sworn enemies of Jews (their holy book infact designates Jews as apes etc. ) so they can't believe they are so bad, the first thing that comes to mind is Jews are misleading the world, which is, of course, not the case.  Jon Ascton    (talk)  02:07, 30 August 2010 (UTC)


 * It's listed among our Antisemitic canards. See the subsection "Accusations of controlling the media" for further references.---Sluzzelin talk  17:58, 27 August 2010 (UTC)


 * Thanks 69.116.236.229 (talk) 18:00, 27 August 2010 (UTC)


 * As an aside, Sluzzelin's excellent link is a good example of why I don't think we should remove questions like this. I had no idea that article existed, and it's a factual answer to the canard.  Comet Tuttle (talk) 18:38, 27 August 2010 (UTC)


 * Agreed.  Wikiscient  (talk) 00:13, 29 August 2010 (UTC)

To actually give an answer to the question -- it would be impossible for "the Jews" to control anything, because there is no single Jewish organization or hierarchy similar to the Catholic Church. Jews adhere to many different movements and sects, and many don't belong to any type of Jewish organization. It would be impossible for "the Jews" to do anything as a group, even if they all agreed on a course of action, which is never the case. (An old saying goes, "Two Jews, three opinions.") Most big media outlets in the U.S. are publicly held corporations, and are owned by thousands of different people. There are certainly some media outlets that are owned by individual Jews, but it's absurd to argue that they are in cahoots with all of the other media outlets they are competing with.

Interestingly, NBC is mostly owned by General Electric, founded by Thomas Edison, while ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company. Both Edison and Disney have been accused of antisemitism. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 00:22, 28 August 2010 (UTC)


 * If the Jews control the media, they must be Self-hating Jews. (Yes, we have an article on it!) Bus stop (talk) 00:27, 28 August 2010 (UTC)
 * It would be as reasonable to say "The Christians" control the media, or "The atheists." "The vapid control the media" might be closer, but even that isn't entirely accurate. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 00:41, 28 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Or Glenn Beck. ~ A H  1 (TCU) 19:04, 28 August 2010 (UTC)


 * There are really a few different questions in here if you are responsible about it. One is whether there are a cabal of Jews running things in an organized way. There seems to be no real evidence for that. Another is whether there are a disproportionate number of people of Jewish ancestry or faith in media positions. I haven't seen the numbers but I wouldn't be surprised, the same way that there are a disproportionate number of Jewish lawyers and doctors. This is not because it is a conspiracy, but has to do with complicated sociological factors about which professions different groups aim for and self-select for. (A conspiracy would require actual conspiring — planning and scheming and other "organized" attempts to consolidate power. I see a lot of individuals.) And another question is whether or not the "Jewish lobby" as a whole exerts a lot of influence over the media. This is probably true to a degree, in the same way that the National Rifle Association exerts influence over politicians and the NAACP exerts influence over how race is discussed on talk shows. That is to say, there are a lot of interest groups in the world, and they exert a lot of power (both in terms of politics and in power of the purse). However it is hard to say that any of them are dominating. It is worth noting that most coverage of "Jewish" issues in US media is decidedly complicated — for example, Israel is generally not portrayed in a positive light. --Mr.98 (talk) 15:49, 29 August 2010 (UTC)


 * It's relief to know that Wikipedia knows that this "Jews control this and that" idea is bullshit. But Indians are not so aware, sadly. Believe it or not, in India the elite hold this as cherished notion .The higher they are placed, the louder they yell anti-Israel slogans  Jon Ascton    (talk)  03:10, 30 August 2010 (UTC)