Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2008 August 16

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August 16

Wikipede

Why is Wikipe-tan (I am a fan of her :D ) more used than Wikipede? (IF I am not mistaken, he has not been used at all) Narutolovehinata5 ^tccsdnew 03:15, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

He (or it) doesn't appear unused. See links I know he has been used in the Picture tutorial for a long time. Rmhermen (talk) 05:17, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Perhaps there are more otakus than insect-phile on Wikipedia :p? --antilived^{T | C | G} 05:17, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Maybe to promote both of them, Kasuga would have to draw both of them along with Jimbo :D Narutolovehinata5 ^tccsdnew 05:58, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Maybe because a large percentage of wikipedians are young males (this includes me, but I've never used either)? Nil Einne (talk) 10:14, 17 August 2008 (UTC)

Huhuhuh. You ever jacked off to a centipede? Bradley10 (talk) 16:52, 18 August 2008 (UTC)

How can i upload picture while ask question in reference desk.

i need to upload picture from my pc to ask a technical question in the reference desk. How can i do it ? The is a link named "embedded file", when i click on it; "Image:Example.jpg" appears in the editing field. That's confusing. Can any one explain me how can i upload a picture from my pc.

Wikipedia:Upload. bibliomaniac15 04:59, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

However, you have to be an established editor (4 days old and have made at least 10 edits) to upload images. Dostioffski (talk) 05:03, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

If the image is your own copyright, you can save 4 days and upload it to Wikimedia Commons. Algebraist 11:43, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Or, since you just want to illustrate a question, upload it to flickr, photobucket, or one of dozens of free photo sites, and link to it in your question. 81.187.153.189 (talk) 16:00, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

food science

Why does liver of meats especially of chicken turns green while cooking? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Gnanesh123 (talk • contribs) 06:06, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

This question was also asked on the Science Desk, where it belongs. If you have any answer to give, I suggest posting it there. --Anon, 06:25 UTC, August 16, 2008.

Indian Air Force

The Indian Air Force has 1,430 combat aircraft, but there are more than 125 MiG-21 in service. Su-30MKI in the Indian Air Force numbers 116. My questions are:

• Why the Indian Air Force still maintains MiG-21?
• What will be the future of Su-30MKI in Indian Air Force. Will the number expected to increase?
• It is very much possible Indian Air Force will replace its MiG-21 fleet with HAL Tejas. My question is when HAL Tejas will enter production stage, will there any possibility of import version of this aircraft to other Asian countries? How many HAL Tejas are expected to be in service in the Indian Air Force?
• The Indian Armed Forces only use 0.5% of GDP, while Israel Defense Forces use more than 9% of GDP, British Armed Forces uses more than 2% of GDP, Military of Pakistan uses more than 4% of GDP. Why India expends so little for military? Otolemur crassicaudatus (talk) 14:57, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

This link seems to imply that Mig21s are still (in 2002) in service as front line combat aircraft, and are also used for training; our article MiG-21 indicates that they perform well against more modern aircraft in combat. DJ Clayworth (talk) 17:41, 18 August 2008 (UTC)

How can I get kicked out of the Olympics?

I realize I could simply fail a drug test, not show up for scheduled event, etc. But what I'm looking for here is is something that would get me headlines. Something that would help my career! Long term is what I'm reaching for here. Bad publicity is often good publicity (see Vanessa Williams). In light of that -if I ever make it to the Olympics, I wanna get forcefully evicted! How can I then parlay that into a endorsement filled, well rounded, big payday kinda life? Hey, I'm Just Curious (talk) 16:49, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

I can't think of anybody whose career was boosted by getting kicked out. You're better off going the Eddie the Eagle route - do something absurdly memorable in competition. Clarityfiend (talk) 17:05, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Getting kicked out of the Olympics is not that difficult. It's qualifying in the first place that's going to be your challenge. - Eron^Talk 18:12, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

From the three above-mentioned methods, I would think that Tommie Smith's political protest expulsion is the only one that might possibly lead to some further notability and success. I can imagine an Olympian making a pro-Tibet statement on the medal stand this year - and working a public speaking career out of it. Rmhermen (talk) 18:19, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Agreed, the Eddie the Eagle stunt would work best, but remember that you would gain some renown if you did something really dumb sneaking into an event. For instance, Morganna had much renown for some time in the 1980s in the United States as the "Kissing Bandit" for running onto ballfields kissing players at various times. And, American baseball fans remember Eddie Gaedel fondly as the midget sent up to bat once.

Of course, security is tighter than you can imagine and going up to athletes and kissing them is not a good idea. Rather, you should try the Gaedel route - perhaps you could sneak into an event with a neon green outfit and day-glo hair, and do something bizarre that won't hurt anyone, but will draw laughts. Throw a beach ball onto the field at a soccer match, or sneak into the beach volleyball venue and build a big sandcastle. Put a non-toxic green dye into the water for some water event, like what Chicago does to Lake Michigan during St. Patrick's Day. Sneak into the Olympics in an event where it's not just a bunch of people in starting blocks, like the Marathon, and wear a really weird uniform with a strange flag. Or, if you're talking Winter Games, some weird stuff that's fitting for them.

In other words, stuff that David Letterman or Jay Leno will be able to use for years. Sure, you'll eventually get kicked out and be personal non grata for any future Games, but that is your whole point, isn't it, to be kicked out? And, if you change appearances, you might be able to do 2-3 of those before getting tossed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.244.187.155 (talk) 19:15, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Be aware that at least in the USA, it is universal television policy not to put a camera on anyone disrupting a sporting event, be it a streaker or just an ordinary nuissance, just for the reason that they're doing it for attention. Even if you somehow get on the world feed, since a lot of coverage that airs on TV is pre-recorded, if you do something stupid at the Olympic games, you're very likely to get edited out, which doesn't promote your cause of getting famous out of it. Plus think about it: How is someone just making a spectacle going to get companies to back him/her for endorsement? If you do something political, like mention Tibet, you might get a news blurb on TV, which will doubtfully include your name, and you won't be thought of as a famous "national hero" anywhere outside of Tibet, and you're basically risking your life.--El aprendelenguas (talk) 21:45, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

And that is exactly why you need to do something not just stupid, but rather politically motivated and stupid. :) A huge stunt to protest some world event (Tibet for instance) would be perfect. Ideally it would be something highly visible and difficult to immediately hush-up. Suspending dozens of people in climbing gear from some high location, like Green Peace does to shut down a harbor, would be good. Recruiting thousands of volunteers for some stunt would be ideal. In other words look at what Improv Everywhere and The Chaser's War on Everything do, and try for something like that on a huge scale. If the disruption is severe enough you’re practically guaranteed to make international news (and probably get arrested to boot if they can find you!). I assume you have some common sense though. This kind of stuff does happen and the people do become famous, but the people who do it know the risks and usually are aware of the legal and physical dangers. --S.dedalus (talk) 23:15, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Just think - you could become the Corey Worthington of the Olympics. What a wonderful goal to aim for. The stupid media made him famous, and wealthy overnight ($200,000 at least, not bad for a 16-year old), and now apparently he has a budding movie career - all because he held a party at his parents' house while they were away, invited 500 of his closest personal friends, and it went wrong, and he refused to show any remorse when questioned by current affairs TV. What a hero. (not) -- JackofOz (talk) 23:33, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, that was a strange incident. It’s true though, if you’re thick and lucky you can become an instant sensation overnight for no reason at all. --S.dedalus (talk) 23:49, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Becoming a sensation for no reason at all is far preferable to being handsomely rewarded for bad behaviour. -- JackofOz (talk) 22:50, 17 August 2008 (UTC)

Dawn Fraser made a pretty good attempt at getting herself kicked out in 1964. Steewi (talk) 12:46, 17 August 2008 (UTC)

I think you're going down the wrong road here. Pretty much everyone in Canada knows who Ben Johnson is, but he isn't getting many advertising endorsements. DJ Clayworth (talk) 17:34, 18 August 2008 (UTC)

Run amok during an event killing off several other athletes? You'd be notable,but your career(and future life expectancy) may take a severe plummet Lemon martini (talk) 00:08, 19 August 2008 (UTC)

Dorando Pietri did rather well out of being disqualified from the 1908 Olympics. Warofdreams talk 14:46, 19 August 2008 (UTC)

I wouldn't exactly call that being forcibly evicted though. He broke the rules and was disqualified but I don't think he would have been removed from the games and at least in the modern day would probably not have been penalised further and would still be welcome to participate in the games and closing ceremony etc. It's not greatly different from that American who went out of his lane and was disqualified from the 200m run or all those baton droppers in the relays. Embarassing perhaps and could be considered to have failed but not in disgrace. Not like a drug cheat, or a poor sport who throws away his medal, or someone who kicks the referee or whatever. Nil Einne (talk) 16:38, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Another example of a way to get kicked out, but again I don't think this is going to help him greatly in the future. Nil Einne (talk) 15:03, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Being Chased

When you're being chased by something, i.e. a shark, a crocodile, etc. and there's another person with you, would it be safer to split up? Cause there's a chance it'll go for the other person, but if it doesn't you're screwed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.179.52.204 (talk) 19:22, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Depends. Are you faster than the other person? --Ye Olde Luke (talk) 19:25, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Hence the old joke - two guys encounter a grizzly bear - one says "RUN!" the other one says "We can't outrun a grizzly bear!" the first one says "No - but I don't have to, I only have to outrun you!". SteveBaker (talk) 19:36, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, if you think about this logically, your chances may improve with splitting up if you're slower than the other guy: there's at least some chance that the bear, bigfoot or vampire is more interested in the other guy, even if he is faster. If you don't split up and the other guy's ahead of you when the diabolical minion of the Great Old One reaches you, you're a goner anyway. Of course, that's assuming that the terrible and merciless hellbeast is just going to stop in its tracks and start eating or mauling the poor bastard who got caught. If it just bites the victim's head off and continues to run after the other one, it probably doesn't make that much practical difference whether Dick Cheney kills you right away or two minutes later. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 11:17, 17 August 2008 (UTC)

OK. so I have split up and the bear has gone after my (ex?) partner. What should I do ? Chase both in the hope of distracting the bear ? Hurtle off for a first aid kit/assistance, etc. ? Just hurtle off ?86.197.20.225 (talk) 15:23, 17 August 2008 (UTC)DT

"chase both in the hope of distracting the bear?" Hell no! The reason you split off was that so you'd live. Personally, I'd go for the latter option. The other dude's pretty much toast already. --Ye Olde Luke (talk) 18:45, 17 August 2008 (UTC)

So - to summarize: If you think you're faster than the other guy - "stick together" (although you actually plan to keep you, him and the critter in a dead straight line with the other guy in the middle) so that the bear grabs him and gives you more time to escape...er...go for help. If you think you might be slower than the other guy - then splitting up makes more sense because (at least initially) the critter might not notice that he's moving slightly faster than you are - so it's a 50/50 chance that you'll get away. SteveBaker (talk) 00:31, 19 August 2008 (UTC)

And hope the other guy hasn't read this Reference Desk. --Ye Olde Luke (talk) 02:27, 19 August 2008 (UTC)

operating systems

Note:Deleted double-posted question --Ye Olde Luke (talk) 21:00, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

switched from windows xp to linux OS 2007? Have Asus desktop looking for downloads to update my linux system, not getting antwhere at Asus website. Any suggestions, please. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jerry Snider (talk • contribs) 20:07, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Which distro? Is it Ubuntu, Redhat...? Do you know what the computer model name is, and which software you want to update?78.150.238.131 (talk) 18:04, 17 August 2008 (UTC)

Wikidefcon Level 1?

Forgive me if this is a naïve question, but I've only recently obtained WP:Huggle and Rollback, so I don't have that much experience (yet). :)

Has there been any time in recent history when WikiDefcon was at Level 1 (highest)? —LaPianista! «talk» 23:30, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

I remember an established user jokingly vandalized it with the message "ZOMG VANDALISM," but other than that I can't remember when it was actually a 1. bibliomaniac15 00:18, 17 August 2008 (UTC)

When rollback was down a couple of weeks ago an overzealous editor put it at one; I'm glad I got to experience that in my lifetime :) CL — 00:21, 17 August 2008 (UTC)