Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2008 April 17

Welcome to the Wikipedia Miscellaneous Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

April 17

Motorcycle oil filters

Heeelllp, please! Where is the oil filter in a Honda cb400t Hawk? 138.192.86.254 (talk) 01:35, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

I'm stupid! We already solved that! I meant to ask, what's the oil capacity? 138.192.86.254 (talk) 01:36, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

You could find what oil capacity is required for a Honda CB400T engine that's liquid cooled, 4-stroke, 4 Valve, DOHC inline 4 cylinder. I get 1.55 L. cheers, Julia Rossi (talk) 09:17, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

Thanks! 64.198.112.213 (talk) 19:05, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

You're welcome! Julia Rossi (talk) 23:38, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

Mature

Mentally: How does one mature? What is the process going on inside of maturity?(I'm talking about the mental process of maturity.)

Thank You

Always

Cardinal Raven

Cardinal Raven (talk) 05:16, 17 April 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

There are different, competing ideas about the answer to your question. For one influential perspective, see Theory of cognitive development. See Developmental stage theories for more. --Allen (talk) 06:04, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

Thats not helpful. I need advice now people, I want to mature mentally so I can get a girlfriend and stop asking stupid questions on the reference desk.

" Thank You

Always

Cardinal Raven

Cardinal Raven 09:08, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

I'd say that the understanding that you can't just "flip a switch" and become more mature would be one big step. It's a largely biological and psychological process (see those "unhelpful" links Allen provided). I'm not saying there's nothing you can consciously do; I suppose spending time with older/more mature people (reference desk posters, for example :) ) and comparing their behavior to your own might be a starting point. For the most part, though, it will just come with time. It might help to know how old you are as well. -Elmer Clark (talk) 11:13, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

Do charity work. You'll feel good about your time spent, you'll see that it's not actually you whose life sucks, it will be a sobering experience, and if you were wondering where all the non-hoey beautiful girls are.... --Milkbreath (talk) 12:35, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

I didn't write that about the girlfriend thing. I was just interested in the process one goes through as they mature. I don't ask stupid questions on the reference desk by the way. I ask questions that interest me. Or make me think hmm. I really could care less if they are questions others don't find interesting. I didn't write that sentence above. I already have a girlfriend she is a very wonderful person. Anyway, thank you for all the other stuff though. Wonderful links. Its exactly what I need bulky information. I love bulky information. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cardinal Raven (talk • contribs) 15:14, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

Always

Cardinal Raven

Cardinal Raven (talk) 15:15, 17 April 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

What? Do you have multiple personalities? --Milkbreath (talk) 15:18, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

No. Someone else logged in as me. After I asked the question above. How does one mature? What is the mental process of maturity? I went to bed to sleep. I hadn't been on at that time cause I was asleep. Also you can kinda tell that it isn't me. Even after I had more questions concerning my above question I would never put "thank you". I would just put "always"

Always

Cardinal Raven

Cardinal Raven (talk) 15:25, 17 April 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

Right, here's your imposter. --LarryMac | Talk 15:31, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

Hmm... aren't we supposed to balete the imposters? Where do we report them? --Allen (talk) 16:08, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

So this means I'm in the clear of not posting that ridiculous paragraph above. Right? That is what I want to know. Where would we report imposers?Cardinal Raven (talk) 16:11, 17 April 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

I've requested some admin help, please stand by. --LarryMac | Talk 16:12, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

You can try Admin Noticeboard or the Usernames for Admin Attention... by the way. Queerbubbles | Leave me Some Love 16:16, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

I blocked User:Cərdĭnəl Ŗəven for impersonation. Friday (talk) 16:18, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

In case it matters, I thought you were trying to be funny and get laid, something I do all the time, so I thought not ill o' ye. --Milkbreath (talk) 17:06, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

Well said, Milkbreath! --Allen (talk) 18:05, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

Some of "maturity" may very well just be decreasing hormone levels. If your testosterone level is sky-high, it's difficult to consider solutions to global warming when you're only concerned with the warm body next to you. I've thought about some form of hormone-blockers being used to stop all sorts of undesirable traits, like violence, risk-taking behavior like drugs and alcohol, and random sex leading to teenage pregnancies. Of course, such drugs would first need to be approved for such a use, considering the risk of side effects. StuRat (talk) 18:24, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

See chemical castration and antiandrogen. --Allen (talk) 19:35, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

It might be said that one sign of maturity is thanking all of those who have helped one in a time of distress. --LarryMac | Talk 02:18, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

Though a bonus is that you now know where all the "non-hoey beautiful girls are". Julia Rossi (talk) 02:49, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

Bonus for his eminence, perhaps. I'll take a pass.  :-) --LarryMac | Talk 02:55, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

nowadays, in kid shrinkology, there's a lot of attention being paid to the fact that the actual physical brain is still maturing through adolescence, particularly since the frontal cortex is the portion which is developing, and which also is involved in inhibition of behaviors driven by lower brain functions; and that this relates to mental maturation that happens at the same time. Gzuckier (talk) 18:52, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

lebanese women

Are all Lebanese women really blessed with those natural busty boobs?Is it genetic? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.248.2.51 (talk) 10:00, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

No, not all Lebanese women have large breasts. Yes, breast size is heritable with some portion of that heritability coming from genetic variation.--droptone (talk) 11:42, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

OK, I'll ignore the question but am interested in the answer. What does heritability mean, if not genetically inherited? BrainyBabe (talk) 11:58, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

I've always been taught that heritability (technically) was the fraction of total variation due to genetic variation. This fraction is the interplay between genes and environment, both contributing to the heritability estimate.--droptone (talk) 15:49, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

Internet mechanical engineer, engines

Is there a place on the internet that tells you how to build a turboprop engine from scratch? If not, should Wikipedia? 81.93.102.185 (talk) 14:46, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

I have no idea of whether there is a site, but it is not really suitable for wikipedia. I would imagine that a "from scratch" project would take an entire wiki of its own. -- Q Chris (talk) 14:55, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

Regarding Wikipedia, please see WP:NOT#HOWTO. -- Coneslayer (talk) 18:16, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

As for the net, talk to this guy[1]. Julia Rossi (talk) 23:51, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

Fast of the firstborn

At what age do people start to fast, such as the above mentioned. lets say the first born is today 18 months old, should that child spend the day without food? or does it start later when the person is able to understand why they are doing it, spicifically the above, does it start after a barmitzva (spelling) Hindu culture too has lots of fasting, what about them? are there any days in Christianity where christians are supposed to fast other than lent? Thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.191.136.3 (talk) 16:22, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

I'll skip the discussion of religion, but should point out that denying food to an 18 month old baby could cause serious harm, so don't do it. StuRat (talk) 18:15, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

See the Fasting section of Eastern Orthodox Church for some idea of Orthodox Christian fasting (I can't speak to other traditions). Generally there is a cycle of fasting before a feast, but also abstinence in some form before receiving the Eucharist, receiving unction, getting married, etc., as well as weekly dietary restrictions on Wednesdays and Fridays. 207.148.157.228 (talk) 18:43, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

Ramadan#Fasting says Muslim kids don't have to fast until age 12, and people with special health circumstances are exempt. Babies inflict a powerful psychological rebuke on those who would make them fast, so I'd be shocked if any culture deprives them of food for religious reasons. --Sean 19:15, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

So would the authorities if a child was not fed properly. Julia Rossi (talk) 02:21, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

Hi 12.191. Regarding the Fast of the Firstborn, your intuition is correct. Boys 13 and over are supposed to fast on applicable Jewish fast days. For girls, it's age 12. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 02:15, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

House prices and rent

Hey guys. Apparently house prices in the UK are going to fall, and I'm looking for somewhere to live next year. Does this news mean that rent should be cheaper? Would it be worth holding out for a month or so to see how the property market does? I need a place to live by Augustish, so what should I do? Any ideas? Thanks a lot. Michael Clarke, Esq. (talk) 17:39, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

If all other factors remain the same, then, yes, I would expect rent prices to fall, for two reasons:

1) The cost to landlords of the properties will fall, and eventually competition with other landlords will cause them to pass at least a portion of this savings on to their tenants.

2) Lower house prices could convince more renters to buy, thus leaving a glut of rental flats, which will force landlords to offer special rates to new tenants.

However, counter to this may well be the reason why house prices are falling. If it's because the economy itself is in decline, and people can't afford to buy houses, that could actually force more into rental units and increase prices there. Since your time frame is only a month, though, I doubt if you will see much change in rental unit prices over such a short period. Seasonal differences are likely to have a greater effect over the short term. StuRat (talk) 18:09, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

Living as I do in the UK, I can agree with ALL the points StuRat makes, particularly his last one - BUT - there is a further dimension in that despite the UK being a relatively small island, we have a heavy concentration of people living on it, some 60million at present; and of those, many millions compete for space in the major UK cities, particularly London, Birmingham, Newcastle, Bristol, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, in fact all the university towns. In those cities and towns, it would be more accurate to say that property prices were not in fact falling, or about to fall; instead, their prices are showing signs of increasing more slowly than in the recent past. So there will still be a high demand for property of both kinds, owned and rented, and reduced rental costs in the short term are therefore highly unlikely. But come anyway, and be prepared to shop around, and you will find that prices can vary enormously from street to street, district to district, town to town and region to region. And if you are prepared to share with like-minded people as yourself, the affordability factor increases accordingly. 92.9.33.222 (talk) 22:55, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

Actually, according to this article, house prices are falling in "every region" of the United Kingdom. That would include London and the South East. According to the same article, prices are falling at the fastest rate in at least 30 years. That would mean that they are falling faster than during the last housing slump in the early 1990s. Real estate boosters have been making the argument for years on both sides of the Atlantic that property prices had to continue to rise because of a shortage of land. However, they have risen much faster than population or income, almost certainly because of a real estate bubble. When bubbles deflate, prices tend to overcorrect. That is, they fall below the level where market fundamentals would have put them. So, given that property prices have risen something like 250% over the past decade in Greater London, we could expect them to fall by half or more in the next few years. As credit tightens and economic conditions worsen, the United Kingdom is likely to see a rise in foreclosures, such as is already occurring in the United States. The flood of properties onto the market during an economic contraction would be likely to depress prices further. As incomes fall, particularly in London with the sharp contraction of the financial sector, people will be bidding lower for rents and doubling up to share flats. The result is likely to be both lower house prices and lower rents, at least in real terms. Marco polo (talk) 01:37, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

Generally, I've found that when flat hunting in the London, it is not really worth looking until about a month before you move in. Most places tend to be available to move into quite quickly and estate agents don't tend to have much on offer 3-4 months in advance. I doubt advertised rental prices will drop substantially in the next couple of months, but you can definitely offer them lower than the asking price. Lots of landlords, particularily buy-to-let owners, are worried and would much rather get someone in than lose months without any rent.

If you are a student it is a bit different as the landlords tend to know that the place is going to be available well in advance, so it is worth looking earlier if you are. Franmars (talk) 08:34, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

Tall Trees

I read in a book that some white pine in New England could grow up to 240 feet high. How come they don't grow this tall anymore? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.119.61.7 (talk) 19:32, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

It takes a looooong time for a tree to grow that tall. They probably would grow that tall again if they were allowed to, but I suspect that the early American nation used a LOT of wood to get started. In other words, I suspect that all the tall trees have been chopped down and used as building materials or burned. None of the young trees has gotten that tall, yet. --Mdwyer (talk) 23:12, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

This is coming from everything I've been told since I moved to Vermont, including teachers and those who work in the logging industry.... Pretty much every tree in Vermont was cut down. There aren't any old growth forests in the state. If I remember correctly, there aren't any trees in the Green Mountain National Forest that are older than ~75 years. Dismas|^(talk) 23:43, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

P.S. Found a source that sort of corroborates what I said this says that the GMNF was established in 1932 after lots of reckless cutting was done to clear land for farms, cities, roads, etc. Dismas|^(talk) 23:49, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

I'm not sure that Eastern White Pine could grow to 240 feet in New England. It is possible that these trees grew this high in the southern Appalachians, near the southern end of their range, where the trees would have received more sunlight over a longer growing season. The tallest white pine in New England today is about 170 feet tall. This tree grows in an old-growth forest in Mohawk Trail State Forest in western Massachusetts, not far from the Vermont state line. Because it is the tallest tree in the old-growth forest where it stands, it is not likely that many white pines in New England grew much taller. Possibly a few could have reached 200 feet, or perhaps a little more in southern Connecticut or Rhode Island. Marco polo (talk) 01:22, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

yep, we cut 'em down before they've had a chance to grow

re-training my body

How can I train my body to only hold my urine in the daytime and when the night comes while I'm asleep I wet my bed. I've heard of this before and I want to know how this actually works. I don't want to know about the whereing diapers thing I just want to know how in the world this is possible. I want step by step instructions. So that I can Post it my colleges newspaper. We are doing a section entitled "Wierd Desires and How to Control Them". Thank you.

Percy1957 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Percy1957 (talk • contribs) 20:57, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

I know it's late but if I understand your question correctly, you actually want to train your body to wet the bed?????????????? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.9.33.222 (talk) 22:58, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

I cannot believe this exists, but here you go: http://www.gaybabydiaperhangout.com/guide.pdf Emm (talk) 00:54, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

I thought he wanted to write about controlling such desires, i.e. finding ways of not surrendering to them. -- JackofOz (talk) 01:12, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

No. It sounds to me like he wants to train the body to wet the bed. All I have to say is good luck...wet sheets don't feel to great I thought you would understand that from when you were a kid. Why would you want to regress? I can't imagine someone actually doing that in the above link. Well there are some things you just don't see everyday.Cardinal Raven (talk) 01:54, 18 April 2008 (UTC)Cardinal Raven

As one of my friends says: "Whatever melts your chocolate...". I have no practical advice to give, however, and will not click the link above on a work computer to find out if that has an answer. Steewi (talk) 07:03, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

If your college rag would print this, you might as well make it up and save yourself the trouble of training yourself out of bed wetting at the end of it. Julia Rossi (talk) 08:36, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

you dont understand that what I mean is that I'm not gonna do it. It's an article because I'm studying mental therapy in college. I would like real Answers please though all opinions are appreciated Percy1957 (talk) 01:06, 19 April 2008 (UTC) The person who wrote the question, Percy1957.