Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2008 August 11

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.

August 11

Grilled/toasted cheese

What is it about grilled or toasted cheese that make it so absolutely yummy? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.76.242.64 (talk) 00:19, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Heating can enhance flavours: the good old Maillard reaction that caramelises sugars, flavour carrying fats (cheese/butter), salt content, soft texture contrast with crunchy, and a dairy-based eating culture = comfort food. Yum! Julia Rossi (talk) 00:37, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

If you're a big fan of toasted cheese, I'd also recommend a southern New Zealand delicacy, the cheese roll. Grutness...wha? 01:32, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

We have a restaurant around where I live that's surprisingly famous for it's age that specializes in grilled cheese. They've elevated it to a gourmet dish. Here's the menu for your inspiration. -LambaJan (talk) 12:02, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

The main culprit for grilled cheese deliciousness is the Maillard reaction. —D. Monack ^talk 23:15, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

purpose of a toast rack

What is the purpose of a toast rack that makes it better than just piling the stuff on a plate? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.76.242.64 (talk) 00:23, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

The main reason Toast racks are used is to stop toast going soggy. The secondary reason they are used predominantly in hotels and other establishments is because these people hate us and want us to have cold toast. Nanonic (talk) 00:27, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

MMM. Shouldn't the article mention their purpose? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.76.242.64 (talk) 02:11, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Does now. 81.187.153.189 (talk) 07:37, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Huh. I thought they were decorative. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 02:12, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

If that were their purpose, that would make them the ugliest table decorations in the history of the world. -- JackofOz (talk) 21:07, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

I have rather a nice pewter toast rack which I use for letters. DuncanHill (talk) 11:45, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

They are used to allow toast to stand and cool before butter is spread onto them - the idea being that toast is supposed to be crisp on the outside and slightly 'fluffy' inside. Personally I like the butter on as soon as possible (ideally having it applied by the toaster as it 'pops up' thus being instantly buttered and saving me time as well). 194.221.133.226 (talk) 15:43, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

Can you actually get pop up toasters that will butter it as soon as it emerges?--79.76.229.54 (talk) 21:49, 13 August 2008 (UTC)

Maybe it's just me, but I think our use of toast rack in the article is backwards; it's supposed to be used before the bread has been toasted. To make french toast you need to have stale bread and evenly stale bread will absorb the egg mixture more evenly, resulting in a better final form. Let the bread sit in the toast rack over night so it's ready for french toast in the morning. Matt Deres (talk) 10:42, 15 August 2008 (UTC)

Speedfight 2

Can anyone tell me the max speed (preferably in km/h) of a Peageout Speedfight 2? --212.120.246.239 (talk) 01:38, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

It seems that the top speed of a Peugeot Speedfight 2 is around 100 km/h. [1] Fribbler (talk) 12:34, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Sorry I forgot to mention I meant the 50cc version --212.120.246.239 (talk) 20:10, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

[Link] The 50cc version appears to get up to about 60-65 km/h (restricted) and about 80-90 de-restricted. Fribbler (talk) 12:40, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

In the UK it would be restricted to 30mph, to qualify as a moped. DuncanHill (talk) 12:43, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

Safe Digital Cameras

With the advancement of digital cameras these days are these types of cameras safe to pass through baggage equipment to put on aircraft??. With film cameras i do know it will damage any undeveloped film. I need some good advice if possible.--logger (talk) 02:07, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Digital cameras are more or less tiny computers with lenses in them. I don't see any reason why magnetic baggage checkers would mess up the memory. Paragon¹²³²¹ 02:14, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

They should be fine. There will be a sign up in the airport saying what things can't be put through the x-ray, just check that to make sure. --Tango (talk) 02:29, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Why not ask the airport ?86.197.45.20 (talk) 06:51, 11 August 2008 (UTC)DT

I have passed my digital camera through airport x-ray scanners more times than I can count, and have never had an issue. I think it's pretty safe. — QuantumEleven 13:03, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

"Our screening equipment will not affect digital cameras and electronic image storage cards." -- Coneslayer (talk) 16:58, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

And I think it's safe to add that although I no longer use camera film, preferring instead the much cheaper and more convenient use of digital cameras that I have carried through airport x-ray machines without any rsultant problems, I was always assured and always found that any exposed or unexposed film rolls would not be adversely affected either. 92.17.93.127 (talk) 19:53, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

How do you buy football (soccer) team?

My dream. Is to buy heroic people. One that can bring home the World Cup! I dont know how to start this. Endevors hard to start? I expect a sad inheratance soon that will greatly enrich me! If you can tell me WHO to start with, I can thank you.--PedroEnriqueGonzalezDelRio (talk) 04:28, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Any sufficiently wealthy person can buy a football club. For example: Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea, and Thaksin Shinawatra bought Manchester City. However, no single football club can "bring home the World Cup" because it is contested between national teams which cannot be "owned" by a private individual. If you wish to persue a dream of owning a football club, the best approach is to find a club that needs the money and find out if the current owner wishes to sell to you. It is an expensive business, a top club in the Premier League would cost hundreds of millions of pounds, the weekly wage will be huge (with top players earning tens of thousands of pounds every week, the weekly wage bill could easily exceed £1,000,000), and buying new talent can cost millions per player. Astronaut (talk) 06:18, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

But, once bought, your revenues from ticket sales and promotional deals will easily cover that, and then some, provided you maintain a loyal fanbase by winning. -LambaJan (talk) 11:57, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

It should cover it if things go well - it's not uncommon for football teams to get into financial difficulties, though. --Tango (talk) 21:15, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Possibly the easiest way to own or in this case part-own a football club is to join a subscription group such as MyFootballClub who recently purchased Ebbsfleet United F.C.. Nanonic (talk) 21:40, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

To get the world cup your team will need to be a national team. That means you will need to lead a nation. There are two routes you can take: Start a nation (not as hard as you might think, but supremely lame) or command an existing nation (harder, but infinitely more satisfying). Assuming that you choose the later, you will need to establish your unambiguous control over the country. Again, there are two routes you can take: Woo them like a little girl, or take charge like a man. It's up to you. Then you'll want to start assembling the finest football team in the world—no sense taking second best because with only one cup every four years you can't afford to waste any chances. So yeah, seize control of a medium-sized nation, recruit some footballers, sit back and enjoy your well-earned trophy. Plasticup ^T/C 12:55, 13 August 2008 (UTC)

Rash after Febrile Convulsion

Hi my 18 month old nephew had a Febrile Convulsion last Saturday night. Around 4 days after he came up in a rash. The Doctors called this Rosalee and said it is not uncommon for a rash to appear after this convulsion. Is this correct and do i have the right name for it? --Osf21 (talk) 08:03, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Usual comment, we don't offer medical advice, but I think that the word you want is rosacea.--Artjo (talk) 09:02, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Or roseola ... this illustrates why you should ask not us, but your doctors. Ask them to explain it and spell out the word for you, when in doubt. We really can't comment on whether it's not uncommon when talking about a specific case (your nephew) whom we can't see or examine (unlike your doctor) for which we aren't qualified anyway (unlike your doctor). Thank you for understanding that we really cannot comment any further. See Wikipedia:Reference desk/Guidelines/Medical advice and Why not. ---Sluzzelin talk 09:14, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Graffiti

Is there any sorta database of graffiti out there ? I mean we're all pretty anti it i guess, but i remember seeing in Beirut some 19th century stuff and thinking wow, we all like to mark... and i'm sure likewise people in 100+ years will think wow, looky there at that photo of that dodgy Otara dairy wall... I wish they'd preserved that. I guess its so prevalent and socially abhorrent and logistically challenging that actual examples or otherwise aren't kept... ? Boomshanka (talk) 09:45, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

...and i don't mean the 'flash' stuff (bombing) as seen on the wiki page - just ordinary, everyday, tagging - John Hohepa stuff —Preceding unsigned comment added by Boomshanka (talk • contribs) 09:48, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Yes. You found it here! Its just that some twat decides to erase some of the more interesting writings from time to time. They will be stored in the archives somewhere though. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.76.155.64 (talk) 11:54, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Search for it on Google Images. Useight (talk) 22:36, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

I love graffiti -- it's calligraphy and endlessly brilliant. Even the tags are inventive and clever. It's only socially abhorrent to people who like beige and non-artist types and people who don't want people risking themselves on railway tracks (fair enough). Unfortunately part of the culture is transgressive and ephemerality is part of the game: the right to "write" over the last guy/girl in one upsmanship. Someone I'd heard of tagged my recycle bin and I felt so honoured. Sorry, I'm carried away... Okay Boomshanka, when's your book on enZed-affiti coming out? Julia Rossi (talk) 23:07, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Random tagging can be pretty dull and pointless, but if it's pretty creative and has something to say, like the work of Banksy, Blek le Rat and others, then I'm all for it. Astronaut (talk) 11:37, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

Visit your local museum of modern art and you may be able to pick up a few books on graffiti. You cn find plenty online if you'd prefer to order. --Shaggorama (talk) 22:33, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

I too love graffiti. There is a place under a bridge in Kassel, Germany that has some of the most amazing graffiti I have ever seen. --S.dedalus (talk) 01:00, 13 August 2008 (UTC)

Kilroy was here Plasticup ^T/C 12:43, 13 August 2008 (UTC)

Greece

What do Greeks do for entertainment and recreation? 220.233.83.26 (talk) 09:50, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

watch the Olympics . Boomshanka (talk) 09:51, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Complain? — Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 22:28, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Drink ouzo? Dance? Break things? DuncanHill (talk) 22:31, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

The same as everyone else? --Masamage ♫ 22:35, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

OOPAH! -LambaJan (talk) 00:27, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

There's a reason why Greek style is so named. On those long languid balmy aromatic evenings, you have to do something to while away the time.  :) -- JackofOz (talk) 22:57, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

Even Mykonos has DJs and glittering bars these days[2] ; ) Julia Rossi (talk) 00:42, 13 August 2008 (UTC)

BED BUG BEETLE

Blood-fed bedbugs.

Hi Everybody, I recentle got woken up at 2:22a.m. with a bite or bites from what looked like a small beetle. When squished with a piece of toilet roll,or placed between a piece of clear tape and squished,it is full of blood. Some seem to have a black liquid also,maybe older beetles. They only seem to come out in the very early hours of the morning,and I have washed and turned the bedding upside down to find any more. Any advice?? Fluter,with calomine lotion all over! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 170.86.15.15 (talk) 14:50, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Sorry, we don't give medical advice (as it says at the top). If you have a question about what sort of beetle eats people when they go to bed, that is OK - but we can't tell you what is wrong with you or what you need to do about it. A doctor will. (If you pay her.) 89.242.136.83 (talk) 16:24, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

I wish to second the no medical advice answer above, and add, thats disgusting! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.115.175.247 (talk) 16:42, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

I'm not seeing a request for medical advice. Anyway, check out the article on bedbugs. - Eron^Talk 16:50, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Er, how exactly is this medical advice?? Anyway, they might be fleas (do you have pets?). It would also help if you could describe what part of the world you're in, so we can try and I identify the bugs. Best thing to do is throw out your mattress, bedding etc and buy new ones. Also, be hygienic and change and wash your sheets daily, if you can. Of course, if you're in the forest them you should be used to being bitten by all manor of things by now... 79.75.153.179 (talk) 17:49, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Throwing all that out and buying new stuff is an expensive proposition, and might not work. I would say, call a professional first. If you're going to throw out your mattresses, you want to do it only once. The good news is that bedbugs, while disturbing, are not known to be particularly harmful -- I did a little web searching on this a few years ago when I was concerned that they might be around, and it seems that they are not (or were not at the time) seriously implicated as disease vectors. --Trovatore (talk) 09:24, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

(Although, of course, if you or some visitor to your home is allergic, that could be bad -- our bedbug article mentions the possibility of an anaphylactic reaction.) --Trovatore (talk) 18:07, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

Do they look anything like the blood-fed bedbugs in the image? — Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 22:24, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Hi Fluteralomine, sounds like it's breeding season for bugs. Pest bombs might work if you strip the bed, and wash the sheets in hot water. Personal insect repellent could tide you over. Next step, the exterminator. Julia Rossi (talk) 23:01, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Beijing 2008

Can one compete in more than one event, say Bob plays Hockey, but is also entered in the swimming, and gymnastics? if there is a limit, what is is? 2 5 20, all events? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.115.175.247 (talk) 16:41, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

People often compete in more than one event, although it's usually multiple events in the same area (100m sprint and 200m sprint, say). I don't know if you can compete in events in completely different areas - there would be issues with schedules if you can. --Tango (talk) 17:00, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Historically there have been people who have competed in multiple events. Teddy Flack competed in Tennis and Athletics in 1896 for Australia. Steewi (talk) 01:25, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

There are some competitors who have switched sports between olympics. Only this morning, I was watching the archery and the commentator remarked that the chinese archer currently 'shooting' had previously played different sports. The commentator was possibly talking about Zhang Juanjuan, though other sports are not mentioned in her article. Astronaut (talk) 11:41, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

Rebecca Romero (UK) won a silver in rowing in Athens 2004, and a gold in cycling at Beijing. Gwinva (talk) 22:45, 17 August 2008 (UTC)

Hair straightening

Hi, this is a follow up to a question I asked earlier, but the archive seems to have a problem. Anyway, the link was this.

Ok, so I have long hair but it's all curly and such, and I want to straighten it. I have a standard straightening iron thing, but I'm clueless on how to use it, or if I need some gel or something. Special technique? Any advice, experiences etc would be welcome. Thanks. 79.75.153.179 (talk) 17:46, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Heat up tongs first. Hair is best slightly damp so when almost dry or spray water into hair, use comb or brush to select some and run the tongs down it a piece at a time until you've done it to all your hair. I thought gadgets had instruction leaflets, no? Needs practice I believe. Julia Rossi (talk) 22:56, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Straightening hair by ironing it or by "konking" it with lye can be quite destructive of the hair. Perhaps you could find frineds who value you for who you are. Edison (talk) 03:11, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

Why the nasty assumption about the poster's friends? Perhaps he just wants to try a different look. Some people find very curly hair inconvenient – keeping long, aggressively curly hair neat and orderly can require a lot of time and effort – but they don't like the look of short hair. In this particular case, the guy just seems interested in growing it long just because he can, so why not help him out, without the helping of attitude? TenOfAllTrades(talk) 14:38, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

Incidentally, here's a link to the previous discussion]. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 14:38, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

I know a girl with wavy hair whose straight-haired friends very strongly encouraged her to iron her hair so it would be like theirs, to the point it was severly damaged from the constant straightening. Eventually she made new friends who were accepting of her as she is. Hence the response. It was a response from experience, not from theory. Edison (talk) 16:20, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

For all the people that tell me to straighten my hair just so I can look like them there are just as many people that compliment my curly hair. Any random person on the street can have straight hair but curls are much more rare and special. --124.254.77.148 (talk) 10:17, 13 August 2008 (UTC)

Career Rut

I work for a large corporation in finance. Im am very bored with my job yet I found that no other careers interest me. However, whenever I am asked to research something, I get excited about the project and try to find whatever I could find then somehow "put it all together" so that it makes sense and in some ways answers the question of the requestor. Are there any careers that are similar to this? --Anilmanohar (talk) 19:10, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

You may wish to consider becoming a pure researcher, such as those employed within Government Departments (I speak here of the UK). Their role is to carry out research into many previously unresearched areas of public and administrative policy and practice, and to produce reports based on their findings, together with statistics, case histories, official sources of reference material etc., etc. In most cases, the researcher/team will close out the report with options/recommendations that will be helpful to the decision makers who commissioned the study in the first place. Subsequently, any decisions, proposals, or policy changes adopted by Heads of Department and/or Ministers that are based partly or wholly on the report's recommendations will have a better chance of being accepted by any scrutinisng body, or even the opposing political parties who may be called upon to vote the proposal into law, than if such proposals were simply put to the floor for debate without any evidence having been sought to justify them. 92.17.93.127 (talk) 19:47, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

If you like doing research, esp. economic research, there are a large number of think-tanks that do work in that area. It helps if you have statistical chops but even if you don't, you might look into that arena if you enjoy doing research of that sort. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 21:24, 11 August 2008 (UTC)

Why not check out www.marketresearch.org.uk/86.211.110.89 (talk) 13:29, 12 August 2008 (UTC)DT

Black holes in the solar system?

moved to more appropriate science desk here -->[3] Julia Rossi (talk) 22:52, 11 August 2008 (UTC)