Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2007 April 13

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April 13

Human race

Where did the human race opriginate? was it Africa? If so why aint we all black?

Human evolution suggests Africa. Human skin color explains the variances. --Tagishsimon (talk)

See also our articles on Out of Africa hypothesis, MC1R and SLC24A5 Rockpocket 00:20, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

(In answer to that final question,) Some poor shmuck has to be Don Imus.

Atlant 13:57, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

Two Questions.....

1. Texas has a "Failure to ID" law. What are the penalties ?
2. Got servere weather, maybe tornadoes expected for the Texas area, Louisiana area, Arkansas area, Oklahoma area on 4 - 13 - 07. Is there a article ? Would place one, but my ISP is acting up. 205.240.146.156 04:11, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

1. According to this document [1], an offense under Texas penal code 2004, Sec. 38.02. Failure to Identify is a Class C misdemeanor (unless you are a fugitive from justice at the time of the offense, then it is a Class B misdemeanor.) According to this document [2] "An individual adjudged guilty of a Class C misdemeanor shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $500." and "An individual adjudged guilty of a Class B misdemeanor shall be punished by: (1) a fine not to exceed $2,000; (2) confinement in jail for a term not to exceed 180 days; or (3) both such fine and confinement. " This is under "normal" circumstances and may differ according to the situation. You should seek a lawyer if this question is for anything other than general interest, as neither myself, nor Wikipedia, can offer legal advice. Rockpocket

We generally don't create articles for temporary, relatively minor news events. You may find something on Wikinews. Wikipedia is a worldwide encyclopedia that attempts to provide encyclopedic information spanning the millennia. If a storm kills dozens and injures hundreds it may have long-term notability no matter where on Earth it strikes, but most countries have five or ten storms similar to those that hit Texas per day, and we can't have articles on all of them. --Charlene 22:27, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

heat balance

why the long wave terrestrial radiation is 120 unit where as the short wave solar radiation (insolation absorbed by the earth)is 66 unit?59.91.189.78 05:05, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

Bursting Disc

A Bursting Disc is a piece of equipment inserted in to a piping system as a safety device. How does it work? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 213.106.233.42 (talk) 08:34, 13 April 2007 (UTC).

There's some information at rupture disc. --Mathew5000 09:21, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

Shaving bumps

How do I prevent myself from getting itchy little red bumps on the back of my thighs from shaving? --124.180.65.230 13:03, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

The easiest way to prevent it is, don't shave. If that isn't an option, the article on shaving has some advice. You could also google "razor burn" and follow some of those links. - Eron ^Talk 13:45, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

aside from the articles and tips listed: heat: get as much heat as you can on the area you are shaving, i don't mean burn yourself with a blowtorch, more use a face cloth soaked in hot water, apply to you thigh and leave for at least 5 mins, this is to soften the hair, then use shave foam/gel massage in well and 'shave with the grain' = shave the way the hair is growing, then apply after shave balm.Perry-mankster 13:50, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

Thank you for the advice! :) --124.180.65.230 14:14, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

What that sounds like though is that you're shaving against the hairs, and the bumps result from the fine hairs there being stuck under the skin. There are creams that help it, but the best way is to not shave the hair too short. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 00:01, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

Gordie?

I've heard this (or a similarly sounding) word for someone from the northern bits of England. Is there a Wiki article on it, however it is spelt? 81.93.102.185 15:24, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

Geordie is what you're loking for, I think :). Martinp23 15:27, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

Cheers lots. :)) 81.93.102.185 15:38, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

I added a redirect from gordie to geordie. since gordie had no article.Czmtzc 16:29, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

Gordie had no article ? I wonder Howe that happened ? StuRat 19:10, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

email at Nintendo

How do i email someone at Nintendo? Do they do: first.last@nintendo.com or something else? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.54.61.158 (talk • contribs)

That will certainly reach them. If it's not a recognised name the mail will probably just drop into their info@nintendo.com box. Bear in mind that they get thousands of emails a day so don't expect a response. If you can send a message via their website you are slightly more likely to get a reply.--Shantavira 19:19, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

If you know the specific person you need to talk to - and if they aren't some mega-famous executive or something - then the email will get to them. And if the question is important and meaningful and polite - you'll get an answer too. I know lots of people at games companies who reply to appropriate email from the general public. However, the few contacts I have with Nintendo employees don't seem to follow any particular pattern - I think they probably have the policy of "if the name isn't already taken, you can have it" - so there are all sorts of 'handles' that people choose besides their names. SteveBaker 19:50, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

Magnetic Spinning Rims

Hello...

I was wondering if this was a good idea. I actually was going to put out a patent on it but my patent lawyer said the original patent covers this design. U.S. Patent 6554370. A man named David Fowlkes actually invented the original spinning rim and started the company Davin Wheels. Lets just say he is a brilliant guy with a good idea.

His rims are designed so that they spin using ball bearings. This creates a lot of friction. My idea is a totally different design that includes no ball bearings. The solution was quite simple. A spinner held in place by the opposing poles of two magnetic rim circles. A negative pole on a negative pole has no place to go besides suspended in mid-air magnetically sealed in to the rim. The only thing that it can do is spin around and around with the only friction being air.

I pitched the idea to him and got no response. I really think it is a good idea and since I can't gain money from it... I would just like to see it happen.

My question is...

Is this feasible?

Thank you, Bryan Mitchell —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 209.23.129.248 (talk) 16:59, 13 April 2007 (UTC).

Are you talking about the decorative spinning rims on car wheels ? If so, you'd likely need to have a powerful magnetic field to overcome the vibrations and forces on the rim while driving or turning. StuRat 19:06, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

see Magnetic bearing—eric 19:15, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

relation of industrial engineering and E.R.P ?

Dear Sir/MAdam , is there any relation ship between Industrial engineering and Enterprise Resource Planning ?

Regards RAJA. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 220.225.87.20 (talk) 18:13, 13 April 2007 (UTC).

ERP can and is used in industrial engineering. I wouldn't call it a relationship. See enterprise resource planning.--Shantavira 19:24, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

Shampoo

What is the difference between shampoo and real poo? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 88.110.125.229 (talk • contribs) 15:47, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

Much like the difference between sham reference desk questions and real ones; one cleans up misunderstandings, the other just stinks up the joint. - Eron ^Talk 20:03, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

Thats one of the best replies (and put downs) I have ever seen to a silly question! Touche! 8-)

In other words, sham questions bring real pain, while real questions are like champagne. — Michael J 20:07, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

And another sparkling answer!

Stop it - or I'll have to hit you with a large rock...OK - maybe a shamrock. SteveBaker 16:16, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

Moving to LA with no idea how to drive

So... I'm moving to Los Angeles in August and I don't know how to drive. I'm wondering how many hours of lessons this would take to learn (note that I am a student), how much it would roughly cost in total, and how much I would expect to spend running a cheap car in LA. Ideally, I would join a carsharing scheme, but that only seems to be just taking off in LA (Zipcar has like... 4 vehicles for whole of LA). Thanks for any advice!! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 88.109.101.4 (talk) 21:17, 13 April 2007 (UTC).

One thing to be aware of is that LA and suburbs are very spread out. It can take about two hours to go from one edge to the opposite side, even without any traffic. So, unless you only need to drive around a very small portion of LA, you should expect to burn a lot of gas. Gas prices there tend to run a bit above the national average, but not too bad (San Francisco is really bad). StuRat 22:19, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

As for how long it takes to learn to drive, it very much varies from individual to individual. I don't know what the rules are in the US, but here you can practice driving in any car as long as you've got a fully licenced person with you. To keep the costs down, I'd recommend practicing with a friend or a parent as much as possible, and only go to a professional driving school when you want some pointers, and to polish up before you go for your licence.

My younger sisters are all currently learning to drive, and one figure that gets quoted a lot is you should have at least 120 hours practice before you go for your test. So as a ballpark figure, I'd say you should expect to take at least 6 months to learn to drive an automatic, and considerably longer to learn to drive a manual. The hardest things to learn - especially in city driving - are spatial awareness and reading what other traffic is going to do, and you can only get that from experience. FiggyBee 01:16, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

Quite honestly, pretty much *everyone* drives everywhere in LA in their own car, which is why the roads are so busy. A friend of mine recently moved here. She couldn't drive either (though has had lessons previously in Europe). She spent about $500 on lessons over about 2 months and then passed her test. The good news is that, compared to the UK (where it looks like you are from), passing your driving test in California is very easy indeed. I mean really easy, especially if you use an automatic. The bad news is that driving in LA is scary experience. The drivers are awful (which is probably because its so easy to past the test).

When I moved here I bought a decent second hand car for $7000, though I know plenty of other people who paid between $2000 and $5000 for a one, without any problems. Because of the temperate weather here cars tend to last longer than places with cold and wet conditions. You should try and get air-conditioning as you'll be spending a long time sitting in traffic jams. Petrol (or gas) is very cheap compared to the UK, but relatively expernsive in US terms. It currently costs around $3 to $3.50 per gallon (though it fluctuates on a daily basis and between stations [3]). My car runs on about $40 worth of gas a week. Thats just for a 20 min daily commute and then moderate use at weekends. You may expect to pay a little more than that, as my commute is short by LA standards. I would think it is unlikely you would have much success with Zipcar, though some workplaces do have car-pooling programs (which are very useful, as you can use special car-pool lanes to avoid the jams). If you have more specific questions, or would like more details on neighbourhoods or anything, feel free to drop me a line at my talkpage or you can email me. Rockpocket 01:19, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

In the UK it's standard to have between 20 and 25 hours of instructed driving before your test. I recently passed my test after 22 hours, having paid a total of £575. That's just over $1000. Also, remember you'll need insurance. If you're young, this is expensive. JoshHolloway 01:22, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

I got my first driver's license in Massachusetts at the age of 39. I had had maybe 6 hours of instruction from my parents when I was a teenager but hadn't driven since (long story). However, I had had many years of experience bicycling in city traffic, so I understood the basics of traffic flow. I had just 6 90-minute paid driving lessons before I took, and passed, the road test for a license. The lessons were $50 each, or $300 total. If you are starting from scratch and have individual instruction, it might be more like $500. I bought a decent used car for just over $6,000 in 2001. Used-car prices have, if anything, dropped since then. If you want to save money, aim for a compact car with good gas mileage. At $3.50 a gallon with good mileage, you will spend about 10 cents a mile on gas. You should figure around $100 to $150 a month for maintenance and repairs. The killer for you as a new driver in a big city will be the insurance. I paid around $300 a month the first year that I drove. Marco polo 02:07, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

Ah yes, I forgot about insurance. The insurance rules in California are particularly frustrating. Its very difficult to get reasonably priced car insurance if you don't have a credit record in the US. Its also near impossible to get insurance for a car you haven't bought yet (if you are not a US citizen). Its illegal to drive a purchased car off a lot without insurance, but (because its uninsured) dealers will not let you leave the car on their lot once purchased. Its a perfectly constructed Catch-22. One way around this is to buy privately, or persuade someone who is individually insured to drive your car for you, or else you prety much have no choice but to break the law for a short period. One thing you will learn very quickly is that most US rules and regulations don't take non-US citizens into account (indeed, you'll be lucky if you are allowed to take a piss without a social security number). Anyway, depending on a number of factors, insurance might cost another $20 to $100 per week. Try AAA - their agents at least seem to understand that UK is not the abbreviation for a hitherto undiscovered Midwestern state. Rockpocket 02:10, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

Rockpocket, if you think LA drivers are bad, you should try practically any other large American city. The scariest place I've ever driven is Houston (and just for comparison, I have driven in Italy). Texas drivers seem to have no notion of allowing incoming traffic to merge, and they seem to feel that the best place to drive is about a foot behind the car in front of them, even on an otherwise practically empty highway. No doubt they're just being environmentally conscious, saving fuel by letting the lead car break the wind. --Trovatore 03:18, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

I have driven in a good number of US cities (though not Houston) and in cities on three other continents. I find many large US cities to be bad in the way you describe, but I (personally) find LA to the the worst for sheer driver idiocy and selfishness. But that may simply be because the LA sprawl results in a large volume of cars, making the number of idiot drivers greater, but the frequency unchanged. Rockpocket 03:42, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

My sister - who is an ex-driving instructor - says that it typically takes one hour for every year of your age. Older people have a much harder time of it. SteveBaker 16:11, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

Thanks very much to everyone for their really helpful replies, especially Rockpocket's detailed thoughts. While I'm to going to learn to drive definitely, I think I'm also going to have to learn to ride a bike!

What part of LA will you live in? I cycled on the Westside (Palms, Westwood, Brentwood) for many years; that's probably the least bad part of town to do it, but urban cycling carries its own set of challenges. You have to be at least as attentive to other drivers as you would be if you were driving a car. (Please, no one say you don't "drive" a bike; you do drive it, quite literally.) In some situations you'll be able to move faster than the cars, but these are actually kind of dangerous situations because the motorists aren't expecting it and may make sudden turns without correctly checking. --Trovatore 20:02, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

There are buses and a light rail system in parts of the Los Angeles area, but they're only good if you live and/or work where they run. Corvus cornix 23:43, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the extra responses... I will be at USC... living on campus hopefully first year. not sure after that. what do people think about mopeds?

I guess a moped would be all right for local trips around campus and in University Park, but I wouldn't, personally, recommend one for getting around the larger LA area. Consider what Trovatore said about biking then add on the additional concerns of doing it at double or treble the speeds. Rockpocket 07:34, 16 April 2007 (UTC)