Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2007 June 19

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June 19

Sharp FO-765

Hello. Whenever I copy an 8 1/2" by 11" original on my Sharp FO-765, this fax machine copies the original on a letter sized page and asks for another blank page and for me to press the Start button. When I feed another blank page, the fax machine copies a tiny bit of the lowest portion of the original. (That part is useless.) How can I fix this problem instead of not feeding a sheet of paper and pressing the Start button? --Mayfare 00:06, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Not sure I'm going to be of a lot of help, but if you don't have the instruction manual, you can get it from the Sharp Canada website at http://www.sharp.ca/manuals/, and then searching for FO765 (it's also called the UX-320). The manual is a PDF file inside of a self-extracting zip. It didn't seem to be very forthcoming unfortunately. –Pakman044 00:51, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Possible solution: the manual documents a feature called "copy cut-off" that suppresses printing of a second page when copying a document longer than the paper size. To turn it on: press the keys Function, 6, *, 1, Stop in that order. Please let us know if that fixes it.--Martinship 07:00, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Thanks Pakman044 and Martinship. It works. --Mayfare 00:19, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Effectiveness of language immersion?

I checked the article we have on Language Immersion, and it seems to be rather biased towards the Canadian definition. I'm referring more to things such as home stays or foreign exchange programs, basically, how much have these sort of things helped? Like, how long does the average student take to become fluent in a classroom environment, compared to a student who resides in the country? How long does it take for someone who barely knows the language to start to pick up enough to survive (Such as demonstrated in The Crepes of Wrath)? And what are some reliable companies (outside of academic institutions, I'm looking at doing something like this between high school and college) that offer this? I've seen FirstStayWorld, but something about them makes me uneasy, like they're looking to take advantage of traveling students. -- Phoeba Wright^OBJECTION! 00:56, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

I don't know about studies that give ratios for learning times, but I can tell you from personal experience that within five months of non-classroom immersion (i.e. living in another country) I was able to carry on hours-long conversations in Spanish, without resorting to my dictionary and without ever having had any classes in the language. My pocket dictionary and a willingness to be corrected were my best learning aids to help me reach that point. My best friend studied Mandarin and went from struggling to learn 30 words a week (non-immersion) to easily learning, and retaining, over 70 words a day with school-based immersion. I don't remember which company ran the school he attended. When you must learn in order to communicate, it is amazing what the mind is capable of, and how quickly you can learn. Just learn a few important phrases and jump into the other culture. Know your numbers and how to say "Thank you," "You're welcome," "How do you say... (point to object)?" "How much does that cost?" and "Where is the bathroom?" You'll be surprised how quickly you learn the rest. 152.16.188.111 04:02, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

My experiences are of immersion courses in French - and I am also resident in France. Firstly, no immersion course will make one fluent. To achieve fluency takes a long time of residency. But they can provide sufficient underpinning to make it possible to achieve all one needs in a "normal" life. (i.e. Much more than being able to ask for a glass of wine.) Total beginners who went on the best course I attended (I was Intermediate level) were able to keep an end up in basic conversation within two weeks. BUT they had achieved an invaluable underpinning, and a high degree of self-confidence. That, I believe, is what you are paying for. BUT (again) be very careful for which course you sign up. There are a lot of truly awful set-ups out there. Avoid in particular those who offer half-and-half. i.e. Morning in class, afternoons free to "soak up the culture". These become holidays! Go for the 24/7 option. They are TOUGH, exhausting, but they get you there quickly.90.9.87.220 14:17, 19 June 2007 (UTC)petitmichel

Between 1988-1992, my mom and I hosted eight exchange students from Brasil. Each student had varying levels of English fluency, but half of them were very basic speakers. After 6 months of immersion (in the Southern US, no less) all of them were not only speaking near-fluent English, they also acquired a strong command of American slang and jargon. Their writing was not as perfect, however, but aside from their accents, most people couldn't tell they weren't native English speakers. 68.119.223.51 21:02, 19 June 2007 (UTC) kelnaiz

Jackie Robinson

On April 15, 1947 when he played is first major league game, who was the opposing team and who won by what score?

Brooklyn Dodgers 5, Boston Braves 3. [1] -- Mwalcoff 02:16, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Blockbuster bluray

Will blockbuster charge more to rent a bluray than a DVD? Because I'd rent bluray if theyre the same price but I don't care if its slightly worse quality if it costs less for DVD.--71.185.137.94 02:07, 19 June 2007 (UTC) What if it was only 50c more expensive- I bet you would hire the bluray.

Are you sure you have a blu-ray compatible player? Unless you have a playstation 3, it's very unlikely --froth^t 13:42, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Thats what have I am the op but I don't think I would spend 50c more --71.175.122.71 13:43, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

20c. Would you spend 20c more?

Song in Simon

In the 2004 movie Simon, in the first movie that the protagonist produced with the virtual Simon, where Simon is standing on a pier talking to her lover, what is the name of the song that was playing in the background? It sounded remarkably similar to a piece from the video game Halo. Thanks. 74.111.82.91 03:56, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

project hammer

what happened to project hammer? ive been looking forward to it and now i hear that its getting cancelled. wat happened??!!?

the article seems to cover most (if not all) of what is known. you could try to email Nintendo directly (here) and see what they say. Jon513 12:01, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Crossing China by car

203.147.0.44 04:17, 19 June 2007 (UTC)Dave

Can anybody tell me if China will let you take your car in from Laos and out into Russia and what paper work is needed for this trip

I would speculate that that would be quite difficult to arrange, as China generally only allows tourists in specific tourist areas, where they can keep them away from people living in poverty and from protesters, which might give the impression that there are massive inequalities in China. StuRat 05:37, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Not necessarily, they won't stop you just because you're a tourist; we aren't THAT totalitarian. I don't know what you would need other than visas, but be warned though: It is potentially dangerous to travel long distance by car, especially if you're on less-populated roads. Also, after all the toll and hours wasted driving, it's cheaper and better to fly than drive for 5000km. --antilived^{T | C | G} 06:22, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Just as an idea; could the car be taken by freighter? Google Freighter Travel or similar wording.--88.109.177.178 10:10, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

That's assuming that the OP just wants to move the car from one place to another. He may actually want to drive it to see the scenery or to be able to say that he's done it. Dismas|^(talk) 10:25, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

This source and this source suggest that it is not easy or cheap to enter China driving a motor vehicle. Apparently, the vehicle has to be formally imported into China, including payment of a sizable customs duty, then it must be registered and insured in China, and apparently, an approved guide must be hired and must accompany you for your entire trip through China. You must arrange to have your guide meet you at your entry point into China. All of this has to be arranged in advance in China. Possibly you can hire an agent to make the arrangements. Marco polo 18:14, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Another potential difficulty, according to Driver's license, is that China doesn't recognise foreign driving licences and you would have to obtain a Chinese driving licence. -- Arwel (talk) 18:21, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Yes, you would need to sit an exam to "convert" your foreign driver's license to a Chinese driver's license (Chinese) or apply for a temporary license (Chinese). It would be best to talk to your local Chinese embassy and ask them as they should know the procedure on how to do this. --antilived^{T | C | G} 05:23, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

"Fairness doctrine"

WHAT is this ? Conservatives say it is liberals trying to supress Conservative Radio/Talk Radio. Seen this on "Hannity and Combs/H&C". Trent Lott blames Talk Radio for the Immigration stalemate, wants it GONE. Show is on now, and it incl. a assault of border agents by "hostiles". I've been a news junkie since the 9-11 attacks. 205.240.144.168 04:39, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

This is a legitimate question. 205.240.144.168 04:40, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Hi ML. Have a look at this Fairness Doctrine Mhicaoidh 05:24, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

The article could do with an update (see talk page and google "fairness doctrine") to see Democrats in Congress are pushing to bring back legislation that they say would bring more balance to the media, but critics say would muzzle conservative voices. Mhicaoidh 05:52, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Funny how all of a sudden the Conservatives want to muzzle Conservative talk radio when the talk shows disagree with the administration's pet project. Corvus cornix 17:42, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

airplane charter

does anyone happen to know who the baltimore orioles use as their airplane service. To travel around the nation to the different MLB baseball teams.--logger 06:46, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Unknown car

Whats that?

Does anybody know, what car it is? I'm sure it must be older than 100 years, but I've absolutly no idea who build it. --Marcl1984 14:40, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

It looks to be from a very early time, as shown by the chain drive going to the rear wheel rather than a drive shaft with a differential gear. Seeing the very short hood (little room for an engine) and the big box behind the cab, I am reminded of pre-WW1 electric delivery trucks. Edison 14:56, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Do you mean with WW1 the First World War? This shortcut isn't usually in Germany. --Marcl1984 15:39, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

It's called an abbreviation, not a shortcut, and yes, he does.

Furthermore the shortened hood has no openings for ventilation, necessary in an internal combustion engine, to allow the radiator to function. The vehicles I am thinking of had a large number of lead acid or even nickel-iron batteries. The Detroit Electric car has a similar hood. Electric utilities in large cities used them in the early 20th century because the distances a work crew travelled were not great, and recharging the batteries at night was done with very cheap off-peak power. Edison 19:49, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Heres an old brochurce showing some electric trucks, not identical with your photo but note similar hood on one and similar overall comformation. [2] Edison 20:49, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

There is one clue here. The logo on the front of the truck belongs to the Werder Bremen soccer club. The truck is painted in their team colours and haw Werder Bremen painted on the side. Maybe shoot an email to their fan club with the photo attached? SteveBaker 14:23, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Using your credit card to transfer money into a bank account

I have a rather odd question - and none of the customer care people from banks etc have any idea of what I'm actually asking.
Thus have come to the intellectua and (hopefully) literate people at Wikipedia to see if they're familiar with this...

I have a bank account in South Africa. It is empty. It is in fact in arrears.
I have a credit card issued in Australia, it is a VISA credit card, and it currently has credit.
I want to transfer money from my Australian credit card account into my South African account.
Are you with me so far?

Ordinarily the process you use is to do an EFT wire international transfer. In Australia this incurs a surcharge of $28-00 (regardless of the amount) and takes 3 days.
Now all over the world, there are thousands and thousands of merchants that accept credit cards that end up getting money.
Surely there is a way that my South African bank can take my VISA credit card details, put through whatever amount (e.g. $100) and have this credited to my South African account?

I mean if I'm in Australia I can log onto amazon.com and use my credit card. I can My question is, what do you call this process, or do you know if such a facility exists?

Rfwoolf 14:52, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

This shows all the steps it takes for merchants to accept Visa. They don't seem to have a name for it really, except "accepting Visa." I bet they have to pay some kind of surcharge or processing fee as well, though. Recury 16:11, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Banks do not consider themselves "merchants" and may not be able or willing to charge your card as a merchant does. In fact, Visa may not allow it, as Visa banks typically charge a different (higher) interest rate for "cash advances" processed through banks than they do for other purchases. What you are really seeking is after all cash. South Africa may have regulations requiring cash advances to be claimed in person, in part to avoid fraudulent use of the cash advance feature, which could more easily be used to finance illegal transactions than could a purchase from a merchant. Your only recourse may be to collect the cash advance in Australia and send a wire transfer, as you describe. Marco polo 17:23, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Hmmm, seems like I thought. But by the way, the "credit card" I have is actually a Visa Credit-Card Debit card, i.e. it functions as a "VISA" card, but doesn't actually have any credit. I can only spend whatever money is actually in my account. In that sense it isn't a "cash advance". But it seems like the banks aren't merchants at all. Which is very frustrating. How easy it would then be to transfer cash. ... Rfwoolf 17:29, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

If you were in South Africa, you could maybe use a cash machine to draw money on your Australian account and pay it into your South African account... But If you are in Australia, that is no help. SaundersW 18:49, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

PS3

How long can I run it before it's considered unsafe or bad for the system? I want to run folding@home on it when I'm not using it, but I remember if your left the PS2 on for too long it broke it... Яussiaп F 16:36, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

I assume the only issue of concern is heat? Does the owner's manual say anything about not leaving it on? My understanding is that it's got quite a lot of fans, so maybe this isn't much of an issue. Friday (talk) 16:38, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

What about electricity? Does the PS3 consume much? If I ran it constantly, would it crank up the electric bill by a lot? Яussiaп F 16:58, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

That depends on what you mean by a lot... But yes, due to a PS3's (massive) 380 watt power drainage (and Fold@Home using 100% of CPU), it'll cost just short of $1.00 a day at $0.10 a KWh. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 19:10, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

It won't be using anything like that much power for this task. It needs 380 watts only when the disk drive(s) are working hard, the fans are all running, the graphics are running at maximum rates and all of the CPU cores are maxed out whilst simultaneously doing lots of transfers into and out of main memory. Unless it's doing a lot of graphics, (which I doubt) the folding@home projects probably only uses the CPU cores - and maybe a little memory transfer time. I would be surprised if the PS3 was consuming even 50 watts while it was running it. The PS3 ought to run reasonably cool with that little power drain - I don't recall whether it shuts off the fans when it doesn't need them - if so and if it's not spinning the disk drives - then it's not really going to 'wear out' because no moving parts are operating. Solid state electronics don't really wear out - their lifespan is about the same whether turned on or off, so long as they aren't running hot. SteveBaker 11:50, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Does anyone know anything about President Steyn?

I am researching into President Steyn who I presume was a state President of Bloemfontein ? Is this correct? Also I would like to know dates when he was President. Please help many thanks Alec Lockwood ~email removed~

Our article Martinus Theunis Steyn provides all of the information you seek. He was president of the Orange Free State, whose capital was at Bloemfontein. Marco polo 17:17, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Genealogy

Do you have a geneology section that can be used for research for information on family. Regina Floyd 19:41, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

No. We have the article Genealogy, but it does not contain information on specific families. Some of the external links at the bottom of the article might help. Marco polo 20:03, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

It occurred to me that we do have articles on various royal and aristocratic families that might be useful genealogically to members of those families. For example, there is the House of Bourbon. However, we do not have articles on ordinary families. Marco polo 20:07, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Ancestry.com at [www.ancestry.com] is a subscription online service with many thousands of family trees, as well as access to census information, social security death records, military service records, etc. Wikipedia has some articles on members of a few families such as the Arbuthnot family [3] and many members thereof, likewise the Kennedy family and the Bush family and political families in the US in general List of United States political families as well as world political families List of political families. There are a great many biographical articles in Wikipedia, with widely varying qualities of referencing, but it is not supposed to be a genealogical site for persons who are otherwise not notable. Edison 17:57, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

WP:NOT a genaological database, but you could try a website like Genes Reunited, or the Mormon Church if you had specifc enquires. 62.56.86.251 23:45, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

art advice

what does a horse look like from the front. What should I do if I want to draw a horse from this position. And would it still look like a horse enough to be easily recognisable?

Try a google image search for "horse"? Like this? Bound to be able to find something useful. Pfly 20:56, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

(after edit conflict) To see images of horses, try this link. To draw a horse or any other object, you need some knowledge of drawing. You might take a look at our article Perspective (graphical), but a drawing class would be more helpful. Whether your drawing would be recognizable would depend on your skill. Marco polo 21:01, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Sarah Jessica Parker: [4] ? StuRat 03:37, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

I almost spit out some of my zhongzi reading that.... You can also try fish eye lens pictures of horses, which would be a more exaggerated frontal view of the horse, which can help you see the prominent features more easily. --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 04:41, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

How do I dry a chair?

[5] I have a fabric, upholstered desk chair that was accidentally left in the rain. How can I go about drying it out, without letting mold/mildew form inside the fabric? --69.212.0.37 21:37, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

I'm not a chair drying expert but i think it depends where you live, I assume you don't live in balmy sunny conditions, if you did I'd suggest leaving it out in the sun for a day would probably be enough. So have you got a heater of some sort? The trick is since the chair is thick and dense so it will take a while and you want only very very 'slow' heat, like a radiator or something, don't leave it too close to a gas or bar heater for any length of time. This probably doesn't really say anything you didn't think already, but I can't imagine there's much more to it.. Vespine 22:32, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

You can try wringing the loose cushions (if any) and compressing the attached cushions (if any). Then, try blotting the chair with towels to absorb as much water as possible. Put the chair in a dry place, like a garage, up on milk crates or pallets to allow good air flow underneath, with fans pointed at the chair from all directions. You could use an electrical heater, which will dry it quicker, but will also make a more hospitable environment for mold and mildew (moist and warm) in the meantime. Avoid using a propane heater, as that creates moisture in the combustion process. Incidentally, since it's already wet, this would be a good time to shampoo it, if it needs it. This would be especially good if the shampoo contains an anti-mold, anti-mildew agent. StuRat 03:27, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Hi, your IP suggests you live near the windy city which shouldnt be toooooo chilly at this time of year. I would suggest leaving it under cover but getting plenty of breeze to dry out slowly. I do know that second hand cars are cleaned by waterblasting the interior and seats, then hanging the seats in an airing shed with sun and breeze but no artificial heating. Mhicaoidh 08:39, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

A wet/dry vacuum or carpet shampooer could suck water out of it. The paper towels or cloth towels under pressure can blot a great deal of the remaining moisture out of it. Then a hairdryer, used carefully to avoid starting a fire or overheating the chair material, might be able to dry the thing until it is dry enough not to mildew. Of course, for a valuable artifact like a book, if there is a large enough freezer, it can be put in the freezer and freeze-dried, with no chance of mold occurring. As a substitute, it could be put in a small room with a dehumidifier to accelerate the drying. Edison 17:49, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

It would need to be a rather heavy-duty dehumidifier, as a wet chair is going to give off a lot of moisture. Still, if it's rainy or humid out, this might be a good option. StuRat 19:45, 20 June 2007 (UTC)