Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2010 May 3

= May 3 =

Mineshaft
Is/was there really an S&M gay club of that name? 24.189.90.68 (talk) 00:04, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * In what jurisdiction? The world is a big place.  What part of the world supposedly had such a club?  -- Jayron  32  00:51, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * NYC. At least that's what I heard. 24.189.90.68 (talk) 01:08, 3 May 2010 (UTC)


 * Have you used Google? This is the first hit.  TenOfAllTrades(talk) 01:28, 3 May 2010 (UTC)

Right, I don't know why Google failed to enter my mind. It's just that someone in a video was wearing a shirt with the name and emblem on it, and someone commented about its ties to the club. So I got super-curious and came straight here. 24.189.90.68 (talk) 01:52, 3 May 2010 (UTC)


 * Doing anything "straight" won't get you very far if you're interested in gay clubs. :)  --  202.142.129.66 (talk) 02:46, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Hey now, I didn't mean I was curious in that sense. ;) 24.189.90.68 (talk) 03:11, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Not that there's anything wrong with that. :)  Dismas |(talk) 05:28, 3 May 2010 (UTC)

Apparently, the answer to the question is yes - and  - "the area’s premier members-only club. Located on Washington St. at Little W. 12th St., it was open around the clock from Wednesday night through Monday morning, featuring a roof deck, clothes check, dungeons and other amenities. The S&M free-for-all opened in 1977 before the AIDS era, and was finally closed by the city’s Department of Health in 1985." Ghmyrtle (talk) 08:09, 3 May 2010 (UTC)

Garfield Vault
When I try to read the Garfield comic strips at http://www.garfield.com/comics/vault.html, the screen where the strip is usually displayed is blank. What do I need to download that will allow me to view the comic strips?--ChromeWire (talk) 00:04, 3 May 2010 (UTC)


 * It's a problem with the website (on mine it says that this is the strip for "Undefined, NAN NAN", which is computer talk for "Something has gone horribly wrong"). So probably just wait until tomorrow and it'll probably be fixed. --Mr.98 (talk) 00:57, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes - "NAN" stands for "Not A Number" - which is what the computer says if you try to do something like divide by zero or take the square root of a negative number. However, all we can tell from that is that they have a software bug of some kind.  It's really impossible to deduce much from that - other than it's not your fault and that there is probably nothing you can do about it other than wait for them to fix it. SteveBaker (talk) 14:26, 3 May 2010 (UTC)

Ok thanks. --ChromeWire (talk) 01:33, 3 May 2010 (UTC)


 * It still seems broken to me today. If you're jonesing for Garfield, you might try one of the other sites that comes up for a Google search of "Garfield comics". The Garfield.com site seems extraordinarily poorly programmed—a real disaster of web design. --Mr.98 (talk) 13:25, 3 May 2010 (UTC)


 * And if you can't see Garfield anyway, you might as well be reading Garfield Minus Garfield, which is actually much funnier. Matt Deres (talk) 13:35, 3 May 2010 (UTC)


 * Yeah - I'll second that - Garfield minus Garfield is much funnier. They just removed the Garfield character and all of his dialog from the strip - leaving the other characters talking to themselves more or less nonsensically.  You wouldn't expect that to be good - but it's actually really hilarious! SteveBaker (talk) 14:26, 3 May 2010 (UTC)


 * And tying into not a number and garfield and garfield minus garfield, there's the square root of minus garfield which being a mezzacotta project is of highly variable quality --Psud (talk) 07:50, 6 May 2010 (UTC)

TELKOM SA
I would like to know what different function codes there are for telkom telephone users. When you dial *31* before the actual contact number you automatically hide your caller I.D. I would like to know if there is any more functions you can use for private use? I cant find it on any site or on Wikipedia. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 163.195.192.70 (talk) 07:38, 3 May 2010 (UTC)


 * The article you are looking for is vertical service code. Unsurprisingly, however, it deals only with US telephone codes. Doubtless there is a website somewhere that lists those for SA. Perhaps you could try putting that expression into your search engine.--Shantavira|feed me 08:29, 3 May 2010 (UTC)

Ipod
My ipod, when put onto shuffle will play various songs for hours on end, howver, if it plays one slayer song it will thenshuffle between only slayer songs for the next few hours, why is this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.58.82 (talk) 07:41, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * There are technologies that will remember which songs you skip and which you listen to and give you more of the music you listen to and gradually phase out songs that you skip. I don't know if you'd have to specifically tell it to do this; I've never owned an iPod. But that would be my first guess; are you skipping lots of the non-Slayer songs? Vimescarrot (talk) 08:46, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * You're over-thinking this, Vimescarrot. I do own an iPod and several other Apple products.  When you simply hit "shuffle" or pick a song out of your "songs" list, then it shuffles between all songs on your iPod.  But when you go to a specific artist, then you are basically working your way down a tree structure and the iPod doesn't go back up the tree to retrieve songs to work into the shuffle.  It assumes that because you went to a specific artist's folder, that you only want to hear songs from that artist.  Dismas |(talk) 09:31, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure I understand. Are you saying the OP must have gone into the Slayer folder for it to only be playing Slayer songs? Vimescarrot (talk) 13:04, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * I also have an iPod (never leave home without it). It doesn't sound like the OP is in his Slayer folder, because he seems to imply that he kind of "came upon" a Slayer song, and somehow the random player got stuck in a Slayer groove (but then again, he might be, and that would be an easy answer to the question). I don't know a whole lot about the algorithm(s) that Apple uses to jump to the next song, but I've wondered myself if they program a certain degree of non-randomness into it-- from time to time, I'll hear a cluster of songs from one group in a row.  I googled "iPod" "shuffle" "random" and "algorithm" and came up with some interesting discussions. Kingsfold (talk) 14:06, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Relatedly, there's a setting in iTunes (haven't seen one on my Touch, but that's not to say it's not there) that dictates whether you're more or less likely than random to hear songs from the same artist in a short period after one has already played on shuffle. 131.111.248.99 (talk) 14:08, 3 May 2010 (UTC)

Because even your iPod knows how awesome Slayer is! 8') 74.218.50.226 (talk) 14:16, 3 May 2010 (UTC)

Slayer are awesome, but sometimes you are in the mood for something a bit more chilled and a slayer song comes onto shuffle, not a problem but when shuffle as been on for 2-3 hours and then all of a sudden all you hear is slayer after slayer it can be a bit annoying, I love slayer as much as the next guy but... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.58.82 (talk) 15:09, 3 May 2010 (UTC)


 * Looks like I'm the next guy, but I don't particularly like them. I agree with Vimes on this one, though. On Shuffle settings, iTunes tends to play the songs you listen to the most, which ends up being a vicious circle if you only listen to iTunes on Shuffle - the more you play the songs, the more you'll play the songs, basically. I suggest just switching it off altogether. --  KägeTorä - (影虎)  ( TALK )  19:23, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Yep. This is why I usually partially manipulate my random playlists by programming them to not play songs that have been played in the last X days.  Then, as soon as one is played, it drops out of the playlist for a while. Kingsfold (talk) 11:31, 4 May 2010 (UTC)

birds
what was the oldest living cockatiel on record? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.66.193.73 (talk) 08:47, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * This wikipedia item says 36 years. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 08:58, 3 May 2010 (UTC)

Do main parties ever lose their deposits at general elections?
The election is on Thursday, and I was thinking about the fact that UKIP lost over £200,000 last time on deposits. I know it on rare occasions happens at by-elections, but at main General Elections do the three main parties ever lose their deposits anywhere?

Thanks, Prokhorovka (talk) 09:12, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Rarely, but it does happen. In most constituencies, only two of the main three parties have any real chance of winning (outside of England, it can be even fewer due to national parties), so the other major party can end up with very few votes. The Tories were close to losing their deposits in some Scottish seats at the 2005 general election, but I can't find any examples where a major party actually did lose it. (There are plenty of examples from by-elections, as you say.) --Tango (talk) 15:07, 3 May 2010 (UTC)


 * Contrast with the Monster Raving Loony Party, who have never fielded a candidate who retained their deposit, and have a deal with William Hill this election to give them a chance to win their deposits back . 86.178.228.18 (talk) 20:47, 3 May 2010 (UTC)


 * has a table showing how many deposits each party lost in the 2005 election, the Conservatives lost 5, the Lib Dems 1, and Labour 0. has a list of some by-elections where Labour lost their deposit. Hut 8.5 08:56, 4 May 2010 (UTC)

That's perfect. Thank you. Prokhorovka (talk) 13:34, 4 May 2010 (UTC)

Karma
there is a bird building a nest ontop of a gate that gets used regularly. The nest is a wast of time, if i shake the gate the nest will be ruined and the bird will realise that it is a waste of time. Is this good karma as i will save the bird time, or bad karma as i will be ruining its nest? should i go and shake the gate, or not? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.58.82 (talk) 10:07, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * I would shake the gate. The way I figure it, you're doing the bird a favor by pointing out (in terms that the bird can likely understand) that building a nest there is a foolish thing to do.  Dismas |(talk) 10:56, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * I agree. Kittybrewster  &#9742;  11:33, 3 May 2010 (UTC)


 * I also agree. The bird will re-nest somewhere else—this is what birds do. The sooner they realize that their nesting site is inappropriate, the better. You definitely wouldn't want the nest to be disturbed when it already had eggs in it, would you? --Mr.98 (talk) 14:07, 3 May 2010 (UTC)

Making money online with very little investment?
Is it possible for an individual to make modest amounts (say a few hundred to few thousand $ per month) online?. There are many snake oil salesmen who promise quick wealth in the internet, I don't believe them, neither am i interested in illegal businesses. If you could please give some websites of average joes who actually make a living online, that would be an inspiration for me. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.244.144.251 (talk) 10:11, 3 May 2010 (UTC)


 * This question comes up quite frequently here - and sadly, we're never able to give a satisfactory answer. The problem is that we need to know what skills you have.  Without that, there is little chance of making money legally.  So - what are you good at?  What would you be prepared to learn? SteveBaker (talk) 14:18, 3 May 2010 (UTC)

ok, let me state the strongest of my skill, which is artistic skill. More specifically, using an image editor to create static artwork. I also have some business skill, I have been sporadically buying and selling stuff for some profit. I have an uncanny ability to find deals ( so I think lol). Iam prepared to learn anything that would earn me success in this endevour - online business. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.244.144.251 (talk) 15:17, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Depending on how much time you want to put into it, you could try Mechanical Turk. I did some turking for a while, and if you really dedicate yourself to it, I could see it bringing in a few hundred dollars a month.  Its mostly low-skill, repetitive tasks (like data entry type stuff).  I found that, in terms of money per hour, it wasn't worth my time, but depending on how fast you work and what your interests and skills are, you could make some small amount of coin turking.  -- Jayron  32  15:24, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Presumably you mean Amazon Mechanical Turk, rather than sitting in a "machine" playing chess. --Tango (talk) 15:32, 3 May 2010 (UTC)


 * These links might be helpful: What Color is Your Parachute? (book) and JobHuntersBible.com:. -- Wavelength (talk) 17:02, 3 May 2010 (UTC)


 * If you can paint things that 3D artists would find useful as texture maps - you might maybe make some money by selling 2D images at places like http://www.TurboSquid.com - this isn't going to be about painting gorgeous pictures of things - we're talking stuff like repeating brick patterns, grass, dirt, rusty metal...that kind of thing.


 * I wonder if there might also be a business in retouching photos for people - I don't know of a forum for selling that kind of service - but maybe if you had your own website and managed to somehow advertise it.


 * SteveBaker (talk) 02:10, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
 * If you're a world-class poker player, you can do it with no investment. Clarityfiend (talk) 20:47, 4 May 2010 (UTC)


 * For a look at what others are doing to earn $5 here and there, check out http://www.fiverr.com. Warning, lots of crap on the main page, but if you go off into the side areas, there are more professional offerings.  DaHorsesMouth (talk) 03:16, 5 May 2010 (UTC)


 * This guy http://todoodlist.com/ charges £6 for a PDF download. British, shamefully. 78.146.23.126 (talk) 21:17, 5 May 2010 (UTC)

Sense of culture
1. Countries like Poland that were seperated and ruled by others for ages, also see Macedonia, how have they managed to retain their owns sense of culture without being absorbed into the ruling country? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.58.82 (talk) 10:55, 3 May 2010 (UTC)


 * Even though many maps show it as part of Russia, Poland specifically still had a seperate identity for much of the 19th century, see Congress Poland. It really only had no seperate existance for about 50 years, probably not long enough for full assimilation into Russian culture.  Other people still retain distinct identities, sometimes because no country will "accept" them into their culture (see the Romani people). Other times, a people will retain its seperate identity despite hundreds of years with no country.  Greek people, for example, lacked a state of their own from the fall of the Byzantine Empire in the late 15th century until the modern state was created in 1822.  The Basque people haven't had a state of their own since the Kingdom of Navarre was partitioned by France and Spain in a series of events in the 16th century.  Its a complex melange of situations, sometimes cultures are lost as they assimilate into the majority culture.  I was somewhat disappointed myself in researching this answer, as the article Cultural assimilation deals mostly with immigration issues.  -- Jayron  32  12:08, 3 May 2010 (UTC)


 * I'd say it comes down to 4 main factors:


 * 1) The degree to which the ruling nation is committed to forcing assimilation. If they destroy all churches, ban the language, and take the children from the parents to be re-educated, this will have a major effect.


 * 2) The degree to which the subject nation is willing to resist assimilation. Are they willing to risk fines, jail, or death to continue practicing their religion in secret, speaking their language, etc. ?  This may vary by the level of technology of the nations.  A "backward" nation may assume that the institutions of a more developed nation are superior to their own, and thus may be more willing to accept them.  For example, if the conquered nation had no written language, they may be more wiling to use the written language of the conquerors, than if they already had their own.


 * 3) Relative numbers. Is the subject nation still 90% the original people, or is it 90% colonists ?  The majority will tend to overwhelm the minority, over time.


 * 4) The length of time of the colonial period. StuRat (talk) 14:16, 3 May 2010 (UTC)


 * Another factor is the extent to which other nations try to help the conquered nation resist assimilation. In the case of Tibet, attempts by China to wipe out the native culture (specifically, their religion), may have been offset by India's willingness to allow Tibetans to live in exile there, and to maintain their culture. StuRat (talk) 14:30, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Don't forget religion, especially in Poland but probably most other stateless nations. Until mass education in the late 19th century, most people in most places were illiterate - but priests could read and write. Outside big cities (where most members of the "occupying" group would live) churchmen would often be the only literate people in a community, and by default the written culture that survived would be produced by the Church. If the "occupiers" followed a different religion (as Russians and Germans, but not Austrians, did in Poland), the Church would come to represent the nation. 81.155.57.153 (talk) 14:48, 5 May 2010 (UTC)

Pepperspray
2. Is it possible to buy pepperspray in the UK for personal protection of woman. if so where? if not is it because it is illegal, and if so why? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.58.82 (talk) 10:55, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * In the United Kingdom, "Any weapon of whatever description designed or adapted for the discharge of any noxious liquid, gas or other thing" is a Prohibited Weapon, under S.5 of The Firearms Act 1968. The same act covers other prohibited weapons such as automatic firearms and rocket launchers, all of which can only be possessed by permission of the Home Secretary. Although legal for police officers, recent debates have arisen whether such a weapon should be legal for civilians as means of defensive purposes only. Pepper_spray Kittybrewster  &#9742;  11:11, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * I was advised some years ago to keep a cologne spray in my pocket for use in the same circumstances as pepper spray would be used. Being female it would be deemed to be an appropriate thing to have in my pocket, so no questions would be asked. --TammyMoet (talk) 12:45, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Alternatively, many places hand out attack alarms/rape alarms (the security guards didn't like us calling them "rape alarms") that, at their most useful, are minature air horns. Although not terribly useful for the supposed purpose of attracting help, these can be sounded close to the attacker's ears, being very loud and startling. Like pepperspray, this is supposed to give you an opportunity to run away. Having played with them, I'm pretty sure that anyone having one sounded in their ears is going to feel some pain and alarm. 86.178.228.18 (talk) 20:27, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * You can buy pepper spray as "Squirrel Stop" in litre containers in garden centres. It is not pressurized. You can then decant some into a cologne spray to carry in your pocket. (It would presumably then be illegal.) Alternatively I have heard of people keeping loose pepper or chilli powder in their pocket which they could throw at an assailant's face.--Shantavira|feed me 07:05, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Heh. I'm now imagining someone walking through a park late at night when an assailant leaps out.  Person holds out a jalapeño, "Here, eat this!". FiggyBee (talk) 07:32, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Bertrand Gachot was jailed for two months for using CS spray, so you would risk imprisonment for using as a weapon any of the sprays described here. --Phil Holmes (talk) 08:54, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
 * This is exactly why I repeated the advice I'd been given by the head of security at my workplace, to carry a cologne spray: as I'm female, it would be deemed an appropriate article to be carried by a woman and so would not be classed as an offensive weapon. Clearer? --TammyMoet (talk) 11:34, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Unless it was used as an offensive weapon. --Phil Holmes (talk) 13:42, 5 May 2010 (UTC)

Spiders, Penguins, etc.
3. How long can your average spider go without food? I know snakes can go months, but there is the same spider in my bathroom, and while always in the same place but never in the same position, so its alive, but there is never anything in the web, and i doubt its gets food often if ever. how long can it live, its been months now, I am almost tempted to give it something to eat. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.58.82 (talk) 10:55, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * I don't know about spiders - but we too often judge food requirements by our own standards. We (being active, warm-blooded animals) need food almost constantly.  Cockroaches can survive for three months without food and one month without water - I suspect your spider (which probably just sits dead still for days at a time) is at least as capable.  Even quite large animals can go for a long time without eating.  Crocodiles and some snakes can last for six to eight months without food, Emperor Penguins can go for over three months in arctic conditions without eating.  If you don't have to generate body heat - and if you don't run around a lot - you can last a long time on very little indeed.  So don't worry - your spider is probably doing just fine. SteveBaker (talk) 13:57, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * The warm-blooded/cold-blooded dichotomy is deprecated since it is more complicated that that in reality but, in simple terms, aren't birds (including penguins) warm-blooded? --Tango (talk) 15:14, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes, but I'm guessing that their adaptations to the extreme cold means they lose (and thus, need to produce) a lot less heat. The feathers and the group huddling, for example. They also look quite tubby for birds - more fat would mean more insulation - though that one's not in the article, so I'm not sure. Vimescarrot (talk) 18:23, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * The current issue of the Cousteau Kids magazine discusses penguins. Unfortunately, it does not address the specific question of how they go without food for periods of time. But one thing it mentions is that they can stand stock still for days while sheltering/warming an egg. I imagine that tends to conserve energy. Penguins have such a thick coat of feathers, which in turn are coated with oil from preening, that they are practically impervious to the cold. So much so, that their "bare" feet are needed to dissipate extra body heat. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 22:18, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Those adaptations mean they don't lose more heat than birds in warmer climates, but do they mean they lose less? --Tango (talk) 22:46, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * The Cousteau publication doesn't say anything about blubber, but it does say they have "heavier" (which I take to mean "denser") bones, which is part of why they can't fly. Maybe that's also connected with their ability to retain heat? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 23:36, 3 May 2010 (UTC)

Robinson Crusoe
In the original book, I seem to remember that he tried to cut down a tree, that took him ages, and later discovered that it was an...iron wood tree and so was very hard, he later chose not to use these trees, he later then found a use for these trees, what was the name of this type of tree, does it really exist, and do we have an article on it? I may have been metal wood tree, or iron wood tree. Also, I cannot find our article on Red Wood Tree please help thx —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.58.82 (talk) 11:04, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Redwood. Kittybrewster  &#9742;  11:13, 3 May 2010 (UTC)


 * We have an article Ironwood - which says that there are several dozen different kinds of tree that are commonly called "Ironwood" - so this is more of a generic term for any exceptionally hard wood. I can attest to the toughness of some of these species though.  Here in Texas, the Bodark tree is amazingly hard.  We had a gigantic one slap bang in the middle of where our house was to be built.  Our builder blunted two brand new chainsaw blades and needed three gallons of gasoline to cut it down and remove the larger branches!  You'd certainly be there a very long time with a hand-axe.  The remaining stump had to be removed with dynamite!  The resulting bright yellow wood is extremely heavy and doesn't seem to rot.  On that basis, I wanted to make a bench for the back yard out of the main log - but after my efforts to cut it (first with a hand axe - then with my chainsaw) met with no more success than the builder had with his, I gave up, removed the bark - and we just sit on the log! SteveBaker (talk) 14:12, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Additional Ironwood question, what is the species in Hawaii called ironwood? Googlemeister (talk) 19:32, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * According to this site it can be one of several Casuarina sp. Caesar&#39;s Daddy (talk) 21:26, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * For "Red Wood Tree", see Redwood. Alansplodge (talk) 11:42, 4 May 2010 (UTC)

Arteries and Veins
What are the differences between arteries and veins? —Preceding unsigned comment added by ASSG (talk • contribs) 20:33, 3 May 2010 (UTC)


 * See artery and vein. Comet Tuttle (talk) 20:53, 3 May 2010 (UTC)

The main difference is that arteries carry blood away from the heart and veins carry blood towards the heart. 82.43.89.71 (talk) 21:28, 3 May 2010 (UTC)
 * That would be a physiologic difference, but it wouldn't help you if the cross-section of the vessel in question in on a slide. Anatomically, arteries and veins differ in their muscle layers, with the former having muscle tissue contribute more to the thickness of the vessel wall.  DRosenbach  ( Talk 16:51, 4 May 2010 (UTC)