Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2007 October 30

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October 30

Wikipedia Reference Desk Stats

Does anybody know where/if the statistic of questions asked and answered are on Wikipedia reference desk? If you do know the stats please provide the link to them, if they are online. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.162.71.99 (talk) 02:14, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

I don't believe such stats are available. Sorry Rockpocket 02:16, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

If these stats are not compiled would experienced Wikipedia reference askers and answerers provide best estimates for amount of questions asked and answered for a day, week, or whatever time period you are most comfortable with. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.162.71.99 (talk) 02:19, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Sort of unfortunate that none of our statisticians seem interested in the Ref Desk. The graphs always have to be about edit count and page creation. bibliomaniac15 A straw poll on straw polls 02:21, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

I am in the midst of researching a paper on online answer sites, very little information on Wikipedia Reference desk... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.162.71.99 (talk) 02:25, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps, as an experiment, I will track the total number of questions, and those with good faith attempts at answers, on each desk for 4 consecutive weeks in October. I'll report the findings and analysis at User:Rockpocket/Ref desk stats and post a link on the talk page when I'm done. It may take me a few days. Rockpocket 02:31, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

I have already added it to my del.icio.us account. Anything you can do to help is much appreciated, I am going to go through the archives when I have a little more time. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.162.71.99 (talk) 02:33, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Ok, I've done the analysis, i'll write up a brief report this evening. Rockpocket 01:21, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

Estonian Translator

Can anyone help me find an Estonian-English translator? I dont mean a Dictionary or paying someone to translate but a machine. Joneleth 01:23, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Try googling "Free estonia translator" ForeverDEAD 01:49, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

I did and I can only find dictionaries that give me 68 interpretation suggestions at every word I type in or proffesional translation servics of humans. Joneleth 02:15, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Try the language reference desk. SteveBaker 17:17, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Important Question

What is the date of the english wikipedia site? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.121.130.41 (talk) 01:47, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

The English Wikipedia was launched at wikipedia.com on January 15, 2001. At that point, it was an English-language only site. Xn4 04:56, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

That would be "Wikipedia Day". January 15th 2001. SteveBaker 04:58, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

• Your question wasn't entirely clear. You didn't specify exactly what date you were looking for. I suspect you're asking for the date because you want to cite wikipedia. If that is the case, please follow the link. - Mgm|^(talk) 09:00, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Hey, Wikipedia day is one of the Wikipedia holidays. Tomorrow is one of them. Aren't we allowed to work here then? DirkvdM 10:34, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

No, no, no! Tim Starling Day is a day for Wikipedians everywhere to work twice as hard during the day - then in the evening to put on silly costumes and bum candy off their neighbours. During the night "The Great Parser Rewriter" will visit your pumpkin patch - but only if it's sincere. Well, something like that. SteveBaker 11:55, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

I wonder if he or she is asking time zone, UTC Wikipedia follows for its daily schedules? Rockpocket 19:13, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

girls

why do girls wear tights, the just seem uncomfortable to me Phat Carl 03:06, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

See Pantyhose#Advantages of pantyhose. —Keenan Pepper 03:54, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Wow, we've got an article for everything! --Psud 11:34, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

well, unless your gay or a girl i think you should understand why.--Dlo2012 00:56, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Bulk of articles on Volapük Wikipedia

What fraction of the articles on Vükiped (the Wikipedia in the constructed language Volapük) are geographic articles created by vo:Geban:SmeiraBot? I was surprised to see Volapük in the 100,000+ articles category, but it seems like they're mostly these automatically generated ones. Where did the text for these articles come from? —Keenan Pepper 04:00, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

All of the articles about US cities in English Wikipedia were initially auto-generated - they are gradually diverging from that initial state as people hand-edit them. Compare (for example) Cedar Hill, Tennessee and Cedar Hill, Missouri - both of which are obviously auto-generated because their wording is almost identical - but then look at Cedar Hill, Texas - which has had a bunch of hand-editing - but still bears a lot of the original auto-generated wording. Now look at the edit histories of those three articles - in each case, the first edit is by someone called 'Ram-Man' with an edit comment "(geography and demographics)". This is not a coincidence! In fact, the first five or six edits of almost every article about a US city are by the same set of 'bots over a period of a few months in late 2002. Unsuprisingly, the Vükiped articles on those three cities have exactly the same numbers for populations, etc as the English Wikipedia articles.

There are plenty of sources for that kind of thing out there - probably the US census data would be the starting point.

SteveBaker 04:47, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

• Ram-Man ran a bot program on the English Wikipedia that automatically added geographical articles based on US census data. I wouldn't be surprised if someone is running a copy of that bot in another language. - Mgm|^(talk) 08:58, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, but where is the actual text coming from? It's not machine translation, is it? Is there a giant Volapük-language geographical database? —Keenan Pepper 11:19, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

The RamBot articles had a very consistent wording - strings of text attached to statistics. Volapük has followed the same pattern, by the simple expedient of translating the text strings into Volapük. Compare Bronson, Florida with vu:Bronson (Florida). The translation required to predicate the thousands of articles amounts to a half page of text. --Tagishsimon (talk) 11:26, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Yeah - the bot isn't really writing the words, it's filling in some template with numbers from the statistical data. So it's given all of the words with gaps left in there for it to insert the numbers. Hence someone only had to translate the template once - and the articles could then be generated automatically from some gigantic table of numbers - which are probably downloaded from the US census office. SteveBaker 17:16, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

will someone change this article?

this isnt really a question but i'm too lazy to get a wikipeaid account and think that someone should fix the Minnetonka High School article that someone posted a rude, innapropriet comment on. If someone gets a chance, I would appreciate it being removed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.183.232.161 (talk) 05:25, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Done. You can usually fix something like that without an account. Zagalejo^^^ 05:29, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Also, getting an account would have taken you considerably less time than that it took you to type in your question here! SteveBaker 11:43, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

An island of 7 million consuming 1/4 of the world's diamonds?

The United States is the biggest consumer of diamonds in the world. The U.S. accounts for 35% of diamond sales, Hong Kong 26%, Belgium 15% (Antwerp is the world's diamond-trading centre), Japan 6%, and Israel 4%.

From our diamonds as an investment article. Explanations? 67.121.209.202 09:27, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

I imagine HK is a centre of the jewellery trade, and re-exports the diamonds it has imported. Also that it has a very active diamond-trading centre, despite puny Antwerp's claims. File under blinkered western viewpoint / inertia fails to recognise that what was true a century ago is no longer true. --Tagishsimon (talk) 09:31, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

The reason Antwerp has long been a centre for diamond trade is that a lot of Jews fled there over the centuries. Same for Amsterdam. Why specifically Jews were diamond traders, I don't know, but even though life in the Nether Regions was better for them, there were still serious restrictions to what businesses they were allowed to run. Just happens that some of those were good businesses to become filthy rich. And I suppose that had something to do with it. Especially money lending was considered to be a dirty business. Just happens it can also be very profitable. DirkvdM 10:47, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Away from the OP, what is the point of diamonds?? I mean, really, what is the point?? I must be absent a diamond gene or something but I really do not see the point in owning a ridiculously expensive stone that costs lives to mine, hours and hours to polish and set, and fortunes to purchase and own, when, if glittery pendants MUST be worn so as to impress the lower orders with one's external adornments, then equally attractive synthetic bauble-subtitutes can be worn such that the casual observer, sin loupe, cannot, nay absolutely cannot, tell the difference. And why Amsterdam??? A city bult on stinking foetid canals filled with vandalised bikes and decorated with graffiti, and its streets awash with legalised drugs and prostitution (all 3 genders). Dear me - it must be me. 81.145.241.236 23:50, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

See Conspicuous consumption, Veblen good and Handicap principle (the latter being why people spend all their money on engagement rings). FiggyBee 20:34, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

Theoretical Powers of the Queen in Australia

I often hear that the Queen of Australia (and also her representative - the Governer-General), although exercising little to no power in practise, actually do (theoretically) have a lot of power. What are these theoretical powers? Could the Queen (or the Governer-General) just make up and pass their own laws if they suddenly decide to break convention? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.208.110.207 (talk) 10:50, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

The powers of the GG are specified in the Constitution. They do not include making up new laws. FiggyBee 11:37, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

The Commonwealth governments that still operate under the Westminster system (loosely, a Parliament and Prime Minister under a Queen and/or Governor General) are constitutional monarchies. This means that the powers of the Queen are delineated by the Constitution; she cannot arbitrarily create or change law.

However, the Queen or Governor General often holds significant reserve powers, including the ability to dismiss Prime Ministers, dissolve (or refuse to dissolve) Parliament, and to refuse to grant Royal Assent to new legislation (effectively, a veto power). In practice, these powers are very seldom used, and only in accordance with long-established ritual and tradition. (To do otherwise has a nasty side effect of prompting what are known as constitutional crises.) A metaphor I've seen some Canadian scholars use describes the Governor General as keeper of the 'constitutional fire extinguishers': extraordinary powers intended for use only in dire emergency. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 13:35, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Also, the Governor-General is constitutionally Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and he could, theoretically, unilaterally mobilise the army to go and attack New Zealand, for instance. If he did so, though, I think the head of the army would just laugh in his face and go and tell the Prime Minister what the G-G is getting up to, and the G-G would be instantly dismissed. -- JackofOz 13:56, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Exactly. Ultimately, the one thing that prevents the GG from declaring himself Lord High Emperor is the same thing that prevents me declaring myself Lord High Emperor - no-one would play along. FiggyBee 14:37, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Unless you're in San Francisco, maybe. Algebraist 15:45, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

It's a bit different in the UK though. There is no written constitution - and the police and the armed forces swear allegience to the Queen - not to the government. So theoretically, there are no limits to her powers. (Except maybe Kryptonite) SteveBaker 17:11, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Check out Australian constitutional crisis of 1975. Had a big effect in Australia.Polypipe Wrangler 09:55, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Sharad Purnima in 1960

what was the date of Sharad Purnima in 1960? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.99.19.199 (talk) 11:22, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

If I understand this, it was 5 October. Sharad Purnima is celebrated on the full moon of Ashwin or September–October. The full moon in October 1960 was on the 5th,[1] and in September it was on the 5th. --— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 11:50, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Links for calendar of vikram samvat...

Can someone send me link for the calenders of vikram samwats......? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.99.19.199 (talk) 11:29, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Samvat (calendar eras) and Vikram era may be helpful. hydnjo talk 02:35, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Tangled telephone handset cords

At work this morning, my boss was grappling with his telephone receiver, which is attached to the base by one of those coiled plastic cord things (as shown on the left of this pic). He commented that they always seem to get into an awful tangle, and that he has to rotate the handset in his hand several times to straighten it out again — only for it to get twisted and tangled again immediately! I noticed the same thing happens to mine as well ... and having decided we couldn't work out why it happens (we're not spinning around on our chairs when on the phone), I decided to throw the question open to a wider audience. Does anybody know why this irritating thing happens...?! Hassocks5489 12:56, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

When you pick the phone up you may rotate the receiver once in you hand, or pass from hand to hand then set down again. All these half rotations add up to one big tightening tangle. If you look at where the cord joins the bottom of the handset you may be able to unplug and straighten the cord. It's one of my little semi-OCD bugbears too. Lanfear's Bane | t 13:21, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Not exactly on topic, but this post on boingboing throws some light on the matter. --Tagishsimon (talk) 13:23, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

I believe Lanfear's Bane has it right, and we have found a way to help prevent the cord tangling when you hang up. By putting a couple of ballpoint pens (hexagonal ones with separate lids) inside the coil, you hold the loop straight and stop it winding around itself. SaundersW 16:24, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

If you are looking for solutions, then there are cord detanglers: [2] and there are wireless headsets. --— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 16:27, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

(←Unindent...) Thanks for all the suggestions. We'll try the ballpoint pen trick tomorrow (plenty of those in the stationery cupboard!). Lanfear's Bane's point was useful: I unplugged the cord from the handset on my phone (which wasn't nearly as badly tangled as my boss's), and it snaked around for several seconds straightening itself out. A headset would be nice, but they're in short supply in the office — our client-facing colleagues get them, but we use our phones relatively little _{(not complaining!)} Hassocks5489 20:19, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

After losing a game

In a football, baseball, or basketball game, the losing team sits around for about five minutes after the game, looking dejected. Why do they sit around several minutes after losing instead of leaving? Bubba73 (talk), 13:44, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

There's no possible objective answer for this, but there are lots of possibilities. Congratulate the other team? Think about the game? Postpone the disappointment of trudging off the field/court? Avoid the stinky locker room? Tradition? Take your pick or invent your own reason. — Lomn 14:03, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

They are obviously not congratulating the other team - they are just sitting there. But one thing I considered is that they are showing respect for the other team. On the other hand, it may be to make a photo opertunity for the cameras. Bubba73 (talk), 14:39, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

This sounds likely - just walking out would be unsporting. FiggyBee 14:47, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

I watch poker a lot, and when someone loses, they get up and leave. Bubba73 (talk), 16:08, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

They are often waiting for their coach or captain, who is congratulating his counterpart or being restrained by security guards for trying to kill a referee or something. Teams do everything as a team, even slink away in disgrace. Often, the two teams will each form a line and file past each other saying "Good game" and "You watch out next time" and stuff like that, and they do that on command. --Milkbreath 15:27, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

There seems to be some stragglers just sitting there after just about all the rest of the team has left. Bubba73 (talk), 16:10, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

From my own experiences in major games the pressures leading into and through the game are considerable. The winners have the boost of adreneline to sustain them. The losers have given their all. My only need was to rest and recover for a time, and that meant squatting down where I was while I recovered my breath.86.219.165.15 15:58, 30 October 2007 (UTC)DT

Because when 'bad' things happen we often sit and reflect on them? Why do people who find out someone close to them has died often slump to the floor wherever they may be? Because they aren't thinking about X or Y they are fixed on one thought. Obviously losing at sport is nothing like the same feeling but ultimately the mind is thinking things through. You could also consider it to be 'learned behaviour' as certain sports have it and others don't. Certainly in England's Premier League the players will often be dejected on the pitch after big games and the supporters will be cheering their name/chanting for the team, such a thing may prove to be a huge boost to the dejected feeling the players feel. Poker-wise it is because only active players remain on the table. If the game continued after a sports-team lost then the players would leave, but at the end of the event there is no rush to leave the pitch. ny156uk 00:02, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Maybe just to postpone the tantrum that their coach is going to have after the game.--Dlo2012 00:58, 31 October 2007 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dlo2012 (talk • contribs) 00:57, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

I've often wondered about this. In most competitions in life, the loser is expected to be happy for and congratulate the winner. You don't see the runner up in Miss America sit there and mope when they announce the winner. The funny thing is when the losers in a sporting event do go back to the locker room and talk to the media, they always talk about how great the other team was and how much they deserve to be champions. But they never acknowledge that on the field -- except in hockey. One thing I like about the NHL is how the players on the two teams line up and shake hands at the end of a playoff series. -- Mwalcoff 01:40, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

In rugby union, teams applaud each other off the field after the match (albeit sometimes rather halfheartedly). Often, in soccer, players will put in a huge effort towards the end of the game in an effort to win. If it is successful, your tiredness is forgotten in the adrenalin rush. However, if you lose the feeling of despair can be overwhelming and all your energy deserts you, hence the urge to collapse in a heap. Rockpocket 01:48, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

I have always thought that it was to demonstrate how 'dejected' they all feel after losing. I think it's a relatively recent phenomenon which was first seen after World Cups finals matches (soccer) by certain individuals who wanted to show the world by means of tears and prostration that they can hardly bear to go on with life. Who do they think they are kidding!!??Richard Avery 08:37, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

I've always thought the NFL particularly good about voluntary post-game sportsmanship. It's quite common to see two players on opposing teams meet at midfield and exchange words -- say, the quarterback and the safety who intercepted him, or the running back and the linebacker who have been smashing into each other all game. Unlike the coaches' handshake, or the NHL glove-bump thing (which I don't dislike, don't get me wrong), these are the sort of encounters that can easily be skipped, since they're neither mandatory nor traditionally expected, and they happen anyway. On the other hand, I find baseball rather lousy for codifying in the rules that teams may not congratulate each other or fraternize in any other way (Rule 3.09, available in PDF). There was a petition a few years back (maybe just after 9/11, but not sure) from New York and Boston schoolchildren asking the Yankees and Red Sox to shake hands after a series and dispel some of the irrational hatred that brews in that rivalry. The petition was rolling along pretty well, gaining media attention, until the commissioner quashed it by saying it was against the rules. Sportsmanship! Against the rules! Unbelievable. — Lomn 13:20, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Mortgage

How would one go about buying a house in the UK. I know how to buy a house, but more specifically the hard part is getting the deposit. Which is well nigh impossible for the average young person, earning minimum wage or there abouts. What I would like to know about is 100% Mortgages, how would one get one, and/or how would I as a low earner manage to get his/her own property. Secondly, surely the government should address this issue? Thanks 12.191.136.2 14:49, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

The government is attempting to address the issue, particularly through Housing associations, which provide part-buy, part-rent housing. But there is probably a limited ability to interfere with a market characterised by greater demand than supply. After the recent Northern Rock and the US sub-prime mortgage meltdowns, there's considerably less likelihood that 100% mortgages will be easily available, not least since such a mortgage represents an increased risk to the lender. And despite the general demand > supply argument, in the short term there must be some fear about the possibility of negative equity, which again mitigates against 100% mortgages. I recommend you try asking the question of building societies and housing associations. Good luck. --Tagishsimon (talk) 14:59, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Speak with a mortgage adviser who can help you understand what is within your budget. It may be that your financial outlook is best served by renting a property and investing the 'difference' (between rent and mortgage costs) into a medium-term investment until you can pull together a viable deposit/your wages begin to increase. Within the Uk we have a phobia about renting (referring to it as 'dead money') but it provides a large number of benefits over a mortgage such as... reduced risk, more attainable, stable costs (leases are commonly 1 or 2 years at a guaranteed price regardless of increases to interest rate), more flexibility etc. Anyhoo if you are in favour of home ownership then simply book an appointment with your local bank's branch mortgage advisor and they will be able to review what can be afforded. Additionally look online for mortgage calculators such as these from the bbc (http://www.bbc.co.uk/homes/property/mortgagecalculator.shtml). ny156uk 23:56, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

You might want to wait and see what will happen to prices. They have been rising faster than incomes for some time now. Some people think that house prices are likely to drop. See this article, for instance. Many people in the UK and elsewhere have stretched themselves to the limit and spend huge portions of their incomes on mortgage payments. If prices drop, some will owe more than their house is worth. You don't want to be in that situation. In the United States, where I live, prices soared from 2001 to 2005, but now they are falling. I'm glad that I did not buy near the peak. Instead, I have been renting. My monthly rent is less than half what my monthly mortgage payment would be for a similar flat. I have been saving the difference. My savings are much greater than my housing equity would be if I had bought when I started saving three years ago, because I have been earning interest on my savings, whereas if I had bought I would have mainly been paying interest and gaining little real equity. Meanwhile, price drops have just about wiped out the gains I would have had in the first year. Save, wait, and see is my suggestion. Marco polo 01:57, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

Speaking generally, are you sure you can afford the house? Payments are typically twice what you would pay in rent. So you should be able to save at least that much for a deposit. The government probably won't help because that will just bring more buyers into the market and driver prices higher anyway. You should be able to get a loan with just 5% deposit.--Dacium 04:29, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

Structure of The Indian Judicial system

I need to undersatnd the basic structure of the Indian judiciary (The Number of judges in various courts, their tenuer of work etc). Not much of information is available on the basics of Indian legal system. Kind interference from an authority would be of great help.

Regards Ritesh Pal —Preceding unsigned comment added by Myactmail (talk • contribs) 15:40, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

I'm not an authority on any aspect of India, but for a start try District Courts of India, High Courts of India, Indian law, and Law enforcement in India. Xn4 22:34, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

McDonalds "Go active" fitness watch without the manual... anybody know about this watch?

Recently purchased the aforementioned watch as second hand. It has 3 buttons - mode and reset on bottom and one stop button on top and a sensor (infrared?) on top right. Using the watch as a stop watch or as an exercise timer is quite intuitive. Without the manual, however, I could not change the time, set the alarm, measure heart rate or even change the date. I have tried several combinations of the 3 buttons and none of them changes anything. Please tell me how to change the settings?. Or do I need another device that communicates with the sensor which does all this?. Please have a look at the watch : http://img3.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/3bca6857b8.jpg If you have a manual and if you could post it on the web, I would be more than grateful. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.220.46.26 (talk) 16:20, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

If you pop the back cover it may show the original manufacturer. --— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk - 16:29, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Have you tried holding some of the buttons down rather than just pressing them? Lanfear's Bane | t 16:50, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Lanfear's Bane: Thank you very much for your suggestion. Based on it, I have changed the time and date settings. This must be the most unintuitive watch ever. Please allow me to post this small howto. This might be helpful to others who own such a watch.

To change time/calender: 1.Press reset for several seconds and the watch goes to settings and seconds display starts to blink. 2.Press st/sp button to increase the seconds. 3.Press mode to go to alter the next setting - let us say minutes. Minutes starts to blink and you can increase it by the st/sp button. 4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to change date or anything you want. To change the alarm: press mode to go to alarm mode. Display shows AL above the time. change the alarm time as above. Press reset to exit settings mode (the watch is still in AL mode). Press st/sp to activate the alarm (you see a small bell and a chime above the seconds in normal mode. One would expect the alarm to work if it displays only the small bell, but it doesn't. Please ensure you see both the small bell and a chime or the alarm will not work).

I tried using the heart rate monitor in a similar vain but without sucess. I enter HR mode, do the same procedures, the heart starts to blink, I press my finger against the sensor but nothing happens. Anybody knows why?.

You are more than welcome, I used to have a Casio, back in the day, where you had to do roughly the same thing. As for the HRM, no clue I am afraid. Lanfear's Bane | t 21:18, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Largest ski area in Canada

What is the largest ski area in Canada.

Whistler Blackcomb in B.C. Canada. has the largest total ski area, however technically it is two mountains that have been integrated into one resort.

Lake Louise, Alberta, claims that they have the largest ski area in Canada?

FcaberFcaber 17:09, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Heisman Trophy Winners

Other than Steve Spurrier, has any Heisman Trophy winner made a career in coaching?70.153.86.51 21:18, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Pat Sullivan has, as did John David Crow for a time. Rockpocket 21:37, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Bruce Lee vs Jet Li

Suppose if Bruce Lee was to get into a fight (a street fight with the intent of killing one another) with Jet Li with the both of them in their respective primes, who would likely win? Since Jet Li came after Bruce, he was probably able to study Bruce's techniques and learn from them. However, Bruce, the "pound-for-pound strongest man in the world", possess a distinct physical advantage over Jet Li. Thanks. Acceptable 21:38, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Two words. Chuck Norris. Incomparable or incommensurable as the apples and oranges article states. Although we do know that Jet Li vs. Jet Li vs. Jet Li vs. Jet Li vs. Jet Li and so on and so forth makes for a reasonable movie. Lanfear's Bane | t 22:02, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

I think Bruce Lee would win, he is huge (muscularly), and has been practicing since he was very young. What a tragedy he died. Cheers,JetLover (Report a mistake) 22:29, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Do you even know anything about Bruce? Have a read of the article, there should be no doubt in your mind who would win after reading about Bruce's life and training. Don't get me wrong, I love Jet and his films, he's a really great guy, but Bruce is in a different league all together.Vespine 23:58, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

Jet li would put up a good fight, but i think we all know who would be snapping whose neck in the end...--Dlo2012 01:00, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

The winner would be whoever landed the first blow. When you get two expert fighters (any style, with or without weapons) going at each other with intent to kill, the fight will almost never last more than one blow, and the first blow to land will kill or disable the person hit. --Carnildo 22:24, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Far out, what "fights to the death" have you been watching? I've seen a bit of UFC and PRIDE and granted they aren't "to the deat" and do have some rules, but they are pretty close to mano a mano who can destroy the other guy, and it is not uncommon for someone to take a hit but end up beating his opponent. Vespine 01:45, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

If every UFC fighter ganged up on bruce lee he would kill them all.--MKnight9989 14:47, 5 November 2007 (UTC)

buying from the US

i've found a pair of shoes i like online, but they're only sold in the US and i live in the UK. it seems most US sites/shops won't ship outside of the US because of some banking verification thing, so my question is: is there a way to buy US products and have them shipped over here? is there a company that does this? thanks 81.96.160.171 22:27, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

the only thing i can think of is to get someone you know in the US to buy the shoes for you and then have them mail them to you Cryo921 03:12, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

I don't know what "banking verification thing" there would be. If you have a credit card, that should be all you need as far as banking goes. The problem most likely lies in the taxes and duties that the company who ships the shoes to you would have to pay. I used to work customer service at a gift company and we had a list of countries that we could not ship to because the taxes that the company had to pay in order to get them into whatever foreign country were too high. Even to ship something to Canada (I'm in the U.S.) was $40 just for the shipping. Dismas|^(talk) 03:18, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Can you find a pair on eBay.com (not eBay.co.uk)? If so, you can pay with PayPal and 99% of sellers will ship overseas. I've bought lots of stuff on the UK eBay and had them shipped over to the US. It's hard to believe things wouldn't work just as smoothly in the reverse direction...and with the dollar being spectacularly weak right now, there could hardly be a better time to do it. But shipping won't be cheap - sad, but inevitable. SteveBaker 03:47, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

I have the exact same problem, and it's incredibly hard to get the exact shoes on ebay. After all, you need them in the right size too. 79.65.100.239 01:43, 1 November 2007 (UTC)

True - and whatever you do - don't forget that shoe sizes are different in the US compared to the UK! When I lived in the UK, I took a business trip to Texas and bought my wife a really good pair of cowboy-style boots. When I got home, I hid them for about six months and gave them to her for Xmas. Sadly, US shoe sizes being different from UK sizes, the boots didn't fit - and I could hardly take them back! So they got stuffed down the back of a wardrobe and (almost) forgotten about. It was nearly two years later when I had another business trip that I was able to go back to the store and (amazingly!) they were quite happy to exchange the boots for a pair that were the correct size. Shortly after that trip, we moved here permenantly - but the boots were REALLY well travelled! SteveBaker 22:56, 1 November 2007 (UTC)