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

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March 19

photography

how to take moon pictures with quataray manual —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.10.153.198 (talk) 01:32, 19 March 2007 (UTC).

The reference desk isn't Google; without complete sentences it's hard for us to figure out exactly what you want to know. I'd suggest starting by attaching the lens to a camera, pointing the glass part at the moon, and pressing the button. Seriously, though, rule #1 for any night photography is to use a tripod, and a remote. If you don't have a remote, digital cameras usually have a timer mode; the 2 second timer is great for taking the photo without camera shake. Any general set of instructions on moon photography, like any of these should be helpful, regardless of your specific gear; and generally the manufacturer of the camera body matters much more than the lens manufacturer (which is spelled 'Quantaray', by the way) anyhow. The specific properties of the lens matter as well; the difference between a 50mm f8 and a 800mm f1.4 are much more significant than who made them. --ByeByeBaby 07:25, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Actually, there's a good chance (particularly if you have a zoom or telephoto lens) that you won't need a tripod if you're taking pictures of the moon in isolation -- it's easily a bright enough object to do hand-held photos if it fills an appreciable fraction of the frame. My non-eclipse moon photos are usually shot around 1/200 second exposures. — Lomn 13:43, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Use a telephoto lens or set the zoom lens on its longest setting, since the image of the moon will be tiny with a normal lens, and if it is a film camera use high speed (400 or 800 speed) film. A tripod would help, but if you don't have one steady the camera on something like a railing or a car to minimize blur. Use the automatic setting or try a variety of time exposures (1/25 second, 1/10, 1/5, 1/2, 1, 2, 5 seconds) PLEASE turn off the flash, since it will in no way make the moon brighter. See [1] and [2] for suggestions. Edison 05:15, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

For any exposure over about 1/30 second with a telephoto lens there will be unacceptable blurring if the camera moves at all. So use a tripod, or if you dont have one, use a beanbag to rest the camera on, or prop it up with books or some such to keep it steady during the exposure. If the exposure is longer that a very few seconds, the image will be blurred by the movement of the moon. Edison 14:44, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

IP addresses

Can people tell where I live just by my IP address? Is there a list on Wikipedia that shows the IP addresses for different countries? --124.180.64.158 02:53, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

An IP address can narrow down where you're editing from to a city but not to exactly where you are working/living. Dismas|^(talk) 02:56, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Near the bottom of the page User_talk:124.180.64.15 there are links that let you research IPs. There are databases of IPs and their corresponging locations, but probably only your ISP can connect your exact location to an IP address. -- Diletante 02:59, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

It is actually an audit requirement that your ISP log IP information and be able provide that information to authorities under applicable warrants. Mainly thanks to patriot act.. Vespine 04:14, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

You are in, or near, Melbourne Australia does that answer your question?--ChesterMarcol 04:19, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Yes! It does! Thanks! :) How could you tell? Is 124 the number for Melbourne or something? --Candy-Panda 04:30, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

You might be interested in our article on WHOIS, or if you're interesting in tinkering with templates, {{IPvandal}} has some useful external links--VectorPotential^Talk 04:35, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Typing in an IP on [3] , or another website like it, will give you the city.--ChesterMarcol 04:40, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

I can't find any links that let you research IPs at the bottom of the User_talk:124.180.64.15 page Think outside the box 12:56, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

That's because the page hasn't been created yet. If you edit and save the talk page, some bit of the wiki software automagically puts WHOIS lookup links at the bottom. Dismas|^(talk) 14:16, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

It's not BELOW the edit box - it's just above it. There is a box labelled with a blue 'i' in a circle. Look at the last line of text in that box and click on 'IPinfo'. Right there, it says 'Melbourne Australia'. SteveBaker 15:14, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Voltage and Amperage in AC adapters, or: Why the wide variety in consumer electronics DC power requirements?

Anyone who is knowledgeable in electronics or electrical engineering will find this question incredibly stupid, but for the initiate, this is really a mystery. I have a box filled with close to 100 electronic devices with varying degrees of functionality. This box also contains a similar number of AC-DC adapters for those devices. Almost every single adapter's supplied power is different, and to a lesser extent, the plugs.

What I need to know is: How is it determined what voltage and amperage these adapters need to supply? Also, why are all these devices power requirements so vastly different when their design is so similar?

To further clarify my question, let me list are a few examples:

Example #1: Identical Items. I have two Linksys WRT54G consumer routers, exact same model, different revisions (1.0 and 1.1, I think) The v1.0 router's AC adapter outputs 5V, 2.0A, while the v1.1 adapter is 12V, 1000mA. Why did the later model jump to 12V, while the supplied Amps dropped by half?

Example #2, Rechargeable items. First is a rechargeable toothbrush. Its charging adapter outputs 1.45V, 120mA. Compare that to a much smaller Sanyo cell phone AC adapter that outputs a (relatively) much higher 5.4V 900mA! Both use the same type of battery (Ni-Cd), and the cell phone's battery is 1/4 the size of the toothbrush's battery. Why does this cell phone require more power to charge than the previously mentioned router?

Example #3. Seemingly Backward Power Usage. First is a Sony digital answering machine, with lots of LEDs and a bright screen. Its AC adapter outputs 12V, 200mA. Second is a Panasonic of similar size with no LEDs and no screen. Its adapter outputs 12V, 1200mA - Why so different? I've taken them apart, and aside from the LEDs and screen, the components are practically identical in size and quantity.

I just don't get why one item would require 4.5V, 1500mA, and another would use 12V, 200mA. Why couldn't it use 6V, 400mA, or any other combination of the two?

Thanks in advance for any non-ridiculing answers. This has bothered me for years. I've read tons of material on electronics, and so far, haven't found an answer that made sense to me yet. Kelaniz 10:05, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Let's first address the voltage issue. Different components, for various reasons, often require different voltages to operate at. There are many ways to accommodate this. You could use passive voltage dividers with a single common voltage rail, but this is terribly wasteful since all the power dissipated by those resistors is more or less wasted energy. You could also use several DC to DC converters, which are fairly efficient, but add additional parts cost. This is a simplistic explanation, but basically it behooves you to set the main DC power supply voltage somewhere that is close to the voltage most of your components operate at. The less conversion hardware you need the better, since extra hardware carries additional components (cost and reliability concerns) and uses more energy.

Now to the current issue, which is a little simpler. If two devices use power adapters that output the same voltage, but one with a higher current rating, then the one using the adapter with the higher current rating probably requires more power (electrical power = voltage drop * current draw). Note that the current rating on these adapters is usually a maximum sustainable current output; it's unlikely the connected device will always be drawing that much current. In your last example it's quite possible that the larger adapter can deliver much more power than the device actually needs, but was packaged with that device for economics reasons (perhaps it was cheaper to include over-rated adapters from a large stock already on hand rather than purchase a new stock).

Rechargable cells often use chemistry that is very particular about proper charging rate and voltage, but batteries usually contain multiple cells in some series/parallel combination. This partially explains the variance in charger voltage/current you observed between two batteries using the same chemistry (there are often additional charging electronics to consider, as well). Also, cells with different characteristics can often be attained even within the same family of electrochemistry. Someone else might chime in on the specific issue of rechargable battery chemistry, since I can offer little by way of explanation.

So in recap, adapter voltage is usually chosen to suit the operating voltages of components in order to reduce power losses and device complexity. Current rating needs to be chosen such that the adapter can supply more power than the device should ever draw under normal conditions (there is usually a margin of error built in, too). -- mattb @ 2007-03-19T07:00Z

Follow-up question: Thanks for the detailed, concise answer to a question that most people would easily over-respond or just ignore. If I understood you correctly, two devices having identical power requirements, (say 60W) could be designed to supply that power using 120V 500mA, 60V 1A, 9V 6.67A or any other combination of voltage, amperage and resistance, as long as the power supplied = 60W? Kelaniz 10:05, 23 March 2007 (UTC)

Philadelphia, MS

Hello I hope you can help me. I am doing research and I am having a problem. I hope you can help. Can you tell me if Philadelphia, MS is in the "Delta Region" (Mississippi Delta U.S.A.)? If not, can you tell me about how far it is away from the region?. Iwould appreciate any help you can offer. Thanks and take care. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 72.142.24.69 (talk) 08:15, 19 March 2007 (UTC).

No, it's on the other side of the state. alteripse 10:50, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

The Mississippi Delta is the region between the Yazoo and Mississippi Rivers. It is about 75 miles (120 km) east of the closest part of the Delta, measured along a straight line. If you were to drive to the Delta along Mississippi Highway 16, you would reach the Delta at Jonestown, Yazoo County, Mississippi, after driving about 90 miles (144 km). Considering that the roads between Philadelphia and the Delta are simple two-lane country roads, it would probably take you close to two hours. Marco polo 15:00, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Weather

can you tell me what will the swell and sea level be at Sydney, Australia tomorrow (20/03/07)? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 220.239.241.139 (talk) 09:07, 19 March 2007 (UTC). –220.239.241.139 09:43, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

It says in the article on tides that in southern Australia the tidal range is pretty small, so I think the sea level at Sydney will be sea level. Since there is bound to be some variation, the tide will be highest when the moon is above Sydney, or above the part of the Earth opposite Sydney, and the tide will be lowest when the moon is perpendicular to the line formed from the Earth's centre to Sydney. Let's say ± 2m above/below sea level. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 11:27, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

This surf forecasting site provides most of what you're looking for. Swells are forecast to be close to two feet tomorrow morning, a few inches lower in the afternoon. Apparently weather conditions will keep swells mostly low all week. High tides tomorrow in Sydney are at 9:00 a.m. and 9:27 p.m. Tides will be higher than usual, at around 1.8 m. Low tide will be at 3:15 p.m. Marco polo 15:10, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

I'm sure Twas tried to do his level best, but I think Marco's answer was just swell. StuRat 00:48, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

D'you think Wikipedian editing skills are related to the moon? - AMP'd 01:26, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

That would be lunacy, and wouldn't tide well for any of us. I'm sure anyone surfing the net would gibbous the chance to wax their surfboard, anyway. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by V-Man737 (talk • contribs) 02:57, 20 March 2007 (UTC).

Some of us have too much time on our hands. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 08:22, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

"Some?" Heh. V-Man - ^T/_C 17:42, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

AC/DC contest funny sound clip?

Quite a while back I heard the (in my opinion classic) clip of a Australian(?) radio contest where a man had to spell AC/DC. I can't find this now, but I have a great desire to find it again. Could someone please point me in the right direction? Thanks Clq 09:31, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

This website provides a link to an mp3 of what you are asking about. Quite interesting! V-Man - ^T/_C 00:13, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

atom bomb

Can any one tell me what was the actual size of the atom bomb which was dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. and what is the regular size of an atom bomb or nuclear bomb. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.145.188.131 (talk) 13:21, 19 March 2007 (UTC).

Are you wanting physical size or TNT-equivalent tonnage explosive "size"? Anyway, you can start with Little Boy and Fat Man for the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs, respectively. There are a wide range of modern nuclear weapon sizes (by either of the criteria), but at the time, those bombs were exactly the "regular" size -- seeing as how they were the only two nuclear weapons in the world (when they were dropped, the Trinity bomb was so much radioactive dust). — Lomn 13:38, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

From the articles - Little boy was 10 feet (3 m) in length, 28 inches (71 cm) in diameter and weighed 8,900 lb (4000 kg). Fat Man was 10 feet 8 inches (3.25 m) long, five feet (1.52 m) in diameter, and weighed 10,200 pounds (4,630 kg). Modern nuclear weapons are much smaller and can be fitted into artillery shells. Even by the 1960's, the W48 nuclear artillery shell was about six inches in diameter and eighteen inches long - although the yeild of those things would be pretty small. SteveBaker 14:43, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Missles can carry several nuclear warheads at once; I believe the number was over a dozen. · AO ^Talk 14:47, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Depends on the missile, but you are referring to MIRVs. I believe the maximum number is something like ten (which is what the LGM-118A Peacekeeper carries, each one 25 times the power of the Hiroshima/Nagasaki bombs). I think the Trident II can technically carry 12 though they only carry 8 on account of treaties. --24.147.86.187 00:29, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Would it be possible to work out how big a nuke was after it had exploded? If you look at a crater, can you find out either how big it was, or how big the explosion was, if you couldn't measure it before the explosion, such as the 1908 disaster :? HS7 19:38, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

You could estimate its TNT equivalent (e.g. "15 megatons"), but it is very unlikely that you could estimate the actual physical size of the bomb. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 19:44, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

How might I go about doing that :] HS7 19:46, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

I think it would be very difficult for a non-specialist to do this. You would have to take into account the terrain where the bomb exploded (sand? concrete? forest?), the weather (rainy? windy? sunny?), and so forth. If you only want a rough approximation, then look at the blast marks left at atomic test sites, and based on the TNT equivalent used at those sites, gauge the unknown blast mark from that. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 20:36, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

It does seem like it would be very complicated :( Of course if you were actually there at the time there is that thing with the paper you can do, but I expect you would have to be some sort of genius to do that too :( I think it would be best to just say they are all huge, above a few megatons you don't really need to be accurate, unless you are actually studying them :] HS7 20:50, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

• Take a look at the article on nuclear weapons yield — it describes some of the ways this is done. After the fact, though, you'd need to know, among other things, the height at which the bomb was detonated to make any sense of the crater. If you knew that, though, you could come up a with a rough estimate just by comparing crater sizes of detonations of known yields. --24.147.86.187 00:29, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

homer simpson kung fu gif

i saw this really funny homer simpson gif a while ago on gifdump.com where he is doing martial arts and whacking snake targets, but gifdump.com is closed for some reason does anybody know when its open again or where i can get this gif? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 80.42.113.97 (talk) 15:44, 19 March 2007 (UTC).

Never heard of the site, but I can tell you that the image you're looking for comes from the episode Whacking Day. Unfortunately, we don't seem to have a copy of the same image on Wikipedia. --Maelwys 15:56, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Is this it (http://ytmnd.com/sites/profile/528343) you have to click the 'site title' link to see it. ny156uk 17:43, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Recording Contract

So, my band and I have played a few gigs and have a demo CD, the next stp is for us to get sponsored, and have a five album deal. How would one go about this? Send our demo to EMI/Sony/Geffen, and say what? Give us money? Thanks. Oh and further more, how would one go about copyrighting our songs so the record company doesn't steal em thanks81.144.161.223 16:20, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

It depends on what your ambitions are. If you contact a record company, though it can't hurt, odds are against you of actually getting a contract. An other way to go about it would be to get people listening to your music through free services online. Myspace would be an alternative, of course it is the worst website ever, but quite some bands got popular through it. Another option would be the podsafe music network ( http://music.podshow.com/ ), allowing people to play your music on their podcasts. If your music is good and a lot of people start playing it people will start reccomending it to others and so the ball starts rolling. The Podsafe music network also allows you to put your music up for sale, and you retain full ownership of your music. The iTunes music store would perhaps also be an option, but I have never used it myself. Clq 19:58, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

You won't get signed telling them to send you money. These days it is much better to learn about the music business first hand. Try running your own label and organizing shows in your city. Anyway, your songs are already copyrighted! However, you might want to look into copyright registration to ensure that you have proof of your copyright. Your IP address tells me you are in the UK, so read copyright law of the United Kingdom and try this site for registration. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 19:51, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

I agree with others that are suggesting your band is thinking too big, too fast -- unless you're already a product of the machine (a performer made BY the mass production machine, like Jusitn Timberlake and Britney came from the mouseketeers), why should a label spend their hard earned money on one of a million unknowns?

So the trick is to start by becoming less unknown. Myspace alone is no good -- how will people know to seek out your page among the millions of others? You need promotion! One way several bands have "won" record contracts recently is to send mp3s to the usual round of mp3blogs. Though most such blogs get far too many unsolicited emails to post them all, if your band is a good fit for any of the bloggers out there, those bloggers MAY post your songs, with a small blurb describing what they like about your sound. They will usually also promote tour dates, and provide a link to your myspace or other account, as part of their promotion.

Okay, now you've got someone out there touting your band, and they're sending their usual readers to you, and those readers are listening to your tuneage on their iPods and what have you, and shoving their earbuds into their friends' ears to help spread the word. But you're still not popular enough for a big label to take a chance on you. So (the indie route goes), once you have created the buzz, the next step is to contact a SMALL recording company and offer to pay your OWN money to record a CD (or you could find a patron...). Start small and lowscale on the recording end -- low-fi sells, these days. Then, when you've finished the CD, you can send it to those blogs again, and they'll remind people about it... (and let THEM pick which is to be your first indie single)...but, more importantly, they'll promote the new CD itself, and send people to your CDBaby page to buy it.

If you're REALLY lucky, having this buzz will allow to you book even MORE shows, this time slightly bigger -- after all, your listening public is growing, and there's fans in every city across the reach of the internet. Finally, when you've sold all your CDs but ONE copy, and your tour is stil growing, and venues are willing to give you Saturday next time, instead of Tuesday night slots...THEN you take that last copy of the CD, and you send it to a promoter who's got bigger record company contacts, and you invite them to your BIG show -- they'll know it's serious, because, after all, it's Saturday night in the hottest venue in town, and that speaks for itself. If you're REALLY, really lucky, they'll show up. If you're even luckier, they'll like the show enough to take your CD to a major label -- you just can't get in the door there without being the bigshot promoter, who the label trusts because they brought them the last big thing.

Then, if you're really, truly, one in a million, the label will either offer you a ONE ALBUM contract...or, more likely, they'll save their dough and rerelease your indie album on their own label, but this time, they'll spend some money making sure radio stations play the song. That will cause a whole new audience to appear, who will buy your record, and clamor for new shows...and then, if the sales are good enough, and the shows are selling out, the label will pay for you to record.

Look, there's many ways here -- this is the INDIE route, and I offer it because most folks above were still offering the more traditional way...or the "come to me" way, which seems a bit limited. But the bottom line stands: You will NOT be able to get a five record contract if you have no way to show you can even sell one record; you will NOT be able to convince a record company to pay their own money towards the cost of recording even one SONG if you cannot demonstrate FIRST that you have a listening audience ready to buy your CDs and come to your shows -- many bands spend years on the road before they are deemed to have enough of a following for a record company to take a chance on them. Jfarber 01:10, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

One more thing. Anyone seriously contemplating signing with a record label simply has to read Steve Albini's magisterial essay The Problem With Music. You can access it here. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 18:04, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

You could try getting your music played by a college radio station. Lots of groups have started by word-of-mouth. If the students like your songs, they might start asking other stations to play it, and those stations could get in touch with you for copies, and things can snowball from there. Corvus cornix 18:09, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Family Matters

Where in Chicago was the Exterior of the Winslow's house from Family Matters Shot? 75.54.61.158 17:03, 19 March 2007 (UTC)Chicago tourist

British Highway Code - Update - For Those interested

Higher up in the Reference desk is a question about the Highway code and how to deal with crossroads when 2 people are on opposing sides. This is the somewhat cryptic reply to the email I sent to the highways authority...

"Rules 85 and 86 of the Highway Code deal with signals. In particular, you should see the short introduction to that section of the Code immediately before Rule 85 - the rules of the Code do not give anyone right of way in any circumstance. Available on-line at http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/06.htm"

To summarize they seem to be pointing out that "the highway code do not give you the right of way in any circumstance, but they advise you when you should give way to others. Always give way if it can help avoid an accident". I think this basically means there is no hard-fast rule. It would seem most sensible to me that the user 'crossing' the road is given priority from a 'safety' point of view as theirs is the most dangerous of manouveres, whilst the person turning onto the main-road is at least joining the flow of traffic. Entirely personal interpretation but there you go. Kinda hoped the answer from the highway code would be more final but that's the official advice. ny156uk 17:57, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Thanks ny156uk. I really appreciate your re-response and want to say "Thanks again". I haven't yet asked at my local Police Station but fully intend to and will let you know their interpretation in due course. I also used to work as an Administrator (not a Secretary!!!!!!!!!!!) in this country's Supreme Courts and have a few contacts there amongst the Practitioners, though from experience, every time they are asked a question as basic as "Good Morning, how are you?", they send a fee-note for £2000 for replying, "Very well thank you - and you?" So I don't expect to get any change from there. But thanks again.CasualWikiUser 20:28, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Thanks from me, too. I was following that discussion, but I didn't have a 100% positive answer. I thought the opposite; I always give the car turning in front of me priority, just in case. Adrian M. H. 22:42, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

Heart

I can't feel my heart or my pulse. What should I do?

Relax. Either you are dead, in which case it doesn't matter anymore, or you are alive and are simply unable to detect it. If you have concerns about your heart rate, either get a pulse monitor [4] or see a health professional. Rockpocket 18:48, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Have you tried feeling it in your throat? I can't feel my pulse in my wrist, but find it easily in other places :) Also you could try running a lot before you try to find it :) Or maybe you just have very low blood pressure :( You can find out by running up lots of stairs- if it feels like your head is spinning in three directions at the same time as is about to explode, you might have low blood pressure :( HS7 18:49, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

If I want to take my own pulse, the place I usually feel for it is just in front of my ear. That's easiest for me. --Anonymous, March 20, 2007, 22:24 (UTC).

Also you shouldn't be able to feel your heart :) I can sometimes, but then I might have Green Sickness, so if you can't feel your actual heart beating that is usually a good thing :) HS7 18:51, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Call a mortician.--ChesterMarcol 19:15, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

And they'll want cash in advance.... --Zeizmic 20:22, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

If you have two new puncture wounds on your neck, stay out of the sun, throw out your mirrors, and don't go to church. Clarityfiend 22:09, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Nice one, Clarityfiend :D -Dixie48 23:40, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

I have the same problem. Also, automatic doors don't open for me, automatic sinks don't turn on, and automatic toilets don't flush for me. It really sucks to be a vampire these days. StuRat 00:34, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

And when you walk along the beach and there's no footprints behind you, that is rather disconcerting too —Preceding unsigned comment added by [[User:{{{1}}}|{{{1}}}]] ([[User talk:{{{1}}}|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/{{{1}}}|contribs]])

That's funny -- I can't feel your heart or your pulse either. In all probability, and armed with nothing but logic, brash confidence, and a netfull of biases, I am forced to conclude that one of us is dead. - Jfarber 01:18, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

You could ask someone with first aid or medical training how to find your pulse. It can be difficult to find it in the wrist, and much easier to find it in the neck. Cardio monitor are cheap and work pretty well. Edison 04:57, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

How can you have an automatic toilet, that doesn't make any sense to me :] HS7 12:57, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

An automatic toilet has a proximity sensor (typically infrared, I believe) and flushes when you walk away from it. Public facilities in some places often use this technology for urinals and it can be done for toilets too. For sinks it's done in reverse, you get water when you put your hand under it (usually in not quite the right place for actual washing). --Anonymous, March 20, 2007, 22:28 (UTC).

You feel your pulse by touching the artery with your finger, so maybe you have Hansens Disease, and can't feel anything with your hands :] HS7 13:27, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

...not to be confused with Hanson's disease, which is an uncontrollable urge to sing complex song lyrics like "MMMBop". StuRat 16:34, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

This question reminds me of the dialogue on House, where the highschool/college-age kid was asked to count his heartbeats or something, and said some extraordinary large number. House goes, "Either you're going to die in three seconds, or you're an idiot.". Three seconds later, he says, "you're an idiot." and walks out. -Wooty Woot? contribs 21:48, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

There's no always something wrong with a very high number :) One time I counted nearly 500 beats per minuite, but it turned out, since I was counting the number of times my heart was beating instead of my pulse it was only about 230 :) HS7 12:04, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

HS7

This is probably not a good place to ask this, but I will anyway. I suppose i could just delete it if everyone complains, but anyway... What I wanted to ask was what people here thought I should do. Do you think I should go away and give up answering questions here? Or do you want me to make less rubbish jokes? Of course this should probably go on my talk page or somewhere, but does anyone ever read them? Thanks for any help: HS7 19:20, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

And try to be honest, I don't mind :) HS7 19:21, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

I don't visit the reference desk much and haven't seen any of your replies or jokes, but as far as I'm concerned people in this area are never a bad thing. The more people, higher the possibility of people getting an answer. I don't think people mind jokes, as long as any information presented as facts is backed up with sources. Clq 19:44, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

I thought the purpose of the reference desk was to facetiously practice our wit. (Or, alternatively, to demonstrate our lack thereof.) − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 19:55, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

I've always gone with the wit! Too be sure, you can look at my talk page, and see the complaints from 'serious' people, but they always seem to die sooner or later, of their own intensity... --Zeizmic 20:17, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

No, the purpose of the reference desk is to see who can Google and present the answers fastest. -- mattb @ 2007-03-19T22:05Z

I win! -- and with a site that even my middle school students note is primarily made of cut-and-pastes from Wikipedia! Jfarber 01:15, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Cut-and-paste sites suck. HS7, stick around. I enjoy your personality. V-Man - ^T/_C 03:02, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

answers.com is not a cut and paste site, but a legit Wikipedia fork. Sites like them are why Wikipedia uses the GFDL license. Corvus cornix 18:11, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

I don't have a personallity :( HS7 10:43, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Doesn't matter, as long as someone's enjoying it... 惑乱 分からん * \)/ (\ (< \) (2 /) /)/ * 11:37, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Who says you don't have a personality? You said just above you joke a lot. Contradictory no? · AO ^Talk 12:31, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

It says it at the bottom of this section

Well, I doubt you can leave. You've been here for a while, and both you and us will feel something's missing. · AO ^Talk 14:42, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

I can leave any time I want, I just don't want to :] HS7 15:33, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

No offence people, you are all lovely I'm sure, but this really should be on HS7's user page. Vespine 21:45, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

I was going to, but noone ever reads my usernamepage, or my talk page :( HS7 12:12, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

Boro

Was looking for Boro Park, Brooklyn parking/no parking data, but came across your article that says the orthodox Jewish population there may total 250,000. Under Community Board 12, which includes most, if not all, of Boro Park, plus, your article shows the total population at 185,000. Recap??

Howard Kleidman <email removed>

There does seem to be a very serious discrepancy. You yourself could look up the relevant census data and correct either or both articles. Incidentally, the Borough Park article does not seem at all balanced. It seems to be less an article about the neighborhood, which is not exclusively Jewish, than an article about Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn. It may be that the 250,000 figure is an estimate for Orthodox Jews in all of Brooklyn. If you do not want to undertake this research and correct the article yourself, you might try posting on this page, where you will find editors dedicated to improving articles on the City of New York. Marco polo 23:51, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Apparel fashion corporate offices in Portland, Oregon

What are the different apparel fashion corporate offices located in Portland Oregon? christi`23:11, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

This site lists clothing wholesalers and manufacturers in Oregon. Note that the list is two pages long and includes companies outside of Portland and companies that may not be in the fashion business. Some of them appear to be retail stores. Here are some other possibilities. Here is one more. Marco polo 00:55, 20 March 2007 (UTC)