Wikipedia:Reference Desk archive 3

This is a archive of old talk. See Wikipedia:Reference Desk

I need help from Chinese speakers on some info I have here: Talk:Japanese language. It is about the influence of Chinese on Japanese. I would also like info from Korean, etc. --User:Juuitchan

See Talk:Japanese language

I am an amateur computer fanatic. I have recently had a genuineintel x 86 family 15 model 11.6 stepping 2 (256 omb ram) installed in my computer, sold as a pentium 4. Can anyone tell me if I have been cheated?

What was the relationship between the Far East Air Force, USAFFE, and the Philippine Army Air Corps? Likewise, what was the relationship between the Philippine Department and USAFFE Headquarters. Where can we get a good OOB and composition figures? Was the Offshore Patrol part of USAFFE or not? What are some good books on this topic? Vera Cruz

looks like you've found some duplicate articles - I'll add them to the list

Shouldn't the saying "You'll be the first to know" actually be "You'll be the second to know". Usually I'll find out before you do and therefore I will know first.

Many sayings and proverbs don't make a lot of sense. For example, as a character in Carl Sagan's Contact points out, the phrase "head over heels in love" should be "heels over head in love" because one's head is normally over one's heels. However, if I actually used the phrase "you'll be the second to know" I am quite certain that I would receive an incredulous stare and be asked the identity of the first person to know. Therefore, I think it is safe to say that the phrase implies that "the first to know" is actually the first person to know besides me. So the expression should actually be rephrased as "You'll be the first person I tell." In addition, I advance that the point of language is to communicate, and if you understood the point of the phrase, does it really matter if it makes sense? -Misfit

See idiom. --Ryguasu

Andover, Massachusetts is excluded from the very complete list of town with demographic census data. How can this be fixed?

see North Andover, Massachusetts Martin

Now that there is Chinese New Year this weekend, it would be nice to have a more extensive article abut it. I mean, this holiday is the most important holiday for about 1 billion people and celebrated in dozens of countries all over the world. So are there any people with enough knowledge to enhance the article? I have no background in Chinese culture, so I can only name some customs, but not there meanings: lion dance/dragon dance, mandarines, cakes & sweets, special music (like xmas music in europe & anglo-saxon countries), fire crackers ...

--zeno 07:31 Jan 30, 2003 (UTC)

When there are enough people with an interest in and knowledge of the Chinese New Year, one of them will write an article about it. Even someone with your minimal knowledge knows enough to write a stub and even if it's only a short stub to begin with, it will grow if people are interested in the subject. -- Derek Ross

Tet. Tet. I applaud your comprehensive anticipatory library design science. It will certainly improve use and useability of the Wikipedia. User:Two16

In film, there's a kind of zoom effect whereby the foreground gets larger and the background appears to recede. It's often used humorously now, eg Wayne's World, Malcolm in the Middle, as a shorthand for a character suddenly realising something devastating (but funny to the audience). What is the technical term for this effect, and how is it achieved? -- Tarquin 11:05 Feb 17, 2003 (UTC)

It's the Hitchcock zoom or "contrazoom". -- Anon.

Thank you, anon. :-) -- Tarquin 13:22 Feb 19, 2003 (UTC)

Does anyone know (or know of a page that might help) what, if any, were the more humane approaches taken towards slaves in Rome between 2BC and 2AD? For example any legislation or general attitudes... Thank you for any assistance. Paul, 15:15 April 10, 2003

you could start by looking at slavery, which has a section on "Slavery in the Mediterranean World". Try asking at talk:slavery, if you haven't already.

Hi Paul. Are you studying Classics? ;-) Swing by your library and borrow An Introduction to Roman Law by Barry Nicolas. It's an excellent overview of Roman law, and has some good bits on the legal and social rights of slaves. -- Stephen Gilbert

What are the consequences of taking the Truth Drug with alcohol and in a party environment?

Many thanks in advance for your feedback on this.

[email protected]

"The" truth drug? I thought there were lots... anyway, isn't alcohol a truth drug as well? In vino veritas and all that. :) Martin

Does anyone know a Japanse local government unit, 郡 should be translated either county or district. My Japanese-English dictionary shows both. -- Taku 05:23 Mar 22, 2003 (UTC)

You may find your answer on this page. It has a lot of information about the Japanese address system, with English equivalents. kwertii

Thanks. The page helps a lot. -- Taku 01:24 Apr 24, 2003 (UTC)

Can someone with good knowledge of electrochemistry please help with the vague fuzziness in electrode about anodes and cathodes, reduction and oxidation, and the fuzziness in related articles about anions, cations and their relationship with electrodes? The Anome 07:58 Mar 27, 2003 (UTC)

I think these articles have all been sorted out. I removed the self-contradictory bits from electrode and made the definitions explicit. The article has been stable for a couple of months. (One user disputed it but I convinced him that the article was right.) Anode and cathode are now just redirects to electrode. Anion and cation are redirects to ion, which has a correct definition. -- Heron 20:59 10 Jun 2003 (UTC)

Hello! I'm new to Wikipedia but so far it seems very useful. My question is for someone with Ancient Historical knowlege. Could the Spartan foriegn policy in the Classical Period be described as 'consistent' and if so how far you would judge it to have been a success. I realise that this is a broad question but any help would be much appreciated (perhaps even just a further website). Many thanks in advance, [email protected]

Whether Sparta's foreign policy was consistent or not is really a matter of interpretation, so you'll have to draw your own conclusions. Take a look at History of Sparta. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that's the best Wikipedia can give you; our coverage of Greek civilization is a bit spotty. -- Stephen Gilbert

Could somebody tell me the origin of the phrase "I'm verklempt. Talk amongst yourselves."? I know it's from a movie, and is now a catchphrase on bulletin boards. Also, does "verklempt" actually mean anything in any language? If so, what and in which? ThirdParty

Someone has given an answer at http://pub122.ezboard.com/fwordoriginsorgfrm7.showMessage?topicID=493.topic - Brettz9 20:34 May 2, 2003 (UTC)

Verklemmt is an actual German word that is still in use, and means shy, self-conscious, repressed. Verklempt sounds Yiddish to me, and probably has a similar meaning. Here's a page about the SNL feature that seems to have popularized the phrase. --Eloquence 01:16 May 6, 2003 (UTC)

Does anyone come up with a good translation word for a Japanese word 支庁 or 庁 as administrative units? It seems usually

• Branch office
• Branch of the Prefectural Government
• Subprefecture

are used. To me subprefecture sounds fine but I am not sure it is a common usage. Thanks in advance. -- Taku 21:38 May 4, 2003 (UTC)

There are two distinct meanings to 庁:

1. When referring to a political division, Chinese use "subprefecture" for 庁 (traditional: 廳; simplified: 厅) as well.
2. The first two definitions are used to describe another meaning of 庁, namely, a government branch. The usual Chinese translation is "department." --Menchi 21:30 May 5, 2003 (UTC)

Thanks a lot. Subprefecture seems fine. -- Taku 00:57 May 6, 2003 (UTC)

i was searching the web for specific info related to fully automatic gun laws in the US. i was particularly trying to find info as to when "machine guns" were banned in the US, but i keep finding info only about the 1994 semi-auto ban. on one of Wikipedia's pages, i found "Assault weapons ban (USA)" which stated that fully auto weapons were banned in 1933. however, when i click on the link for 1933, i didn't find any further data on the subject. perhaps i missed it? can someone please help me find out more detail about this gun ban? please email me at [email protected] when you find an answer. thanks a bunch! 8-)

There's a reason you couldn't find it; the date is wrong. You're looking for the National Firearms Act of 1934. See <http://www.gunrunner.com/NFA.html>.

I am doing a research project on the downfalls and problems of the stock market (business and investor side), can anyone help me? It'll add a source for me :)

Well, stock market has a little, but it's pretty rough and only covers the United States. Small articles exist for stock market crash and stock market bubble, both of which are generally considered problems. Stock market downturn of 2002 provides a recent example. You can also find some related material in Great Depression and Efficient markets theory. Finally, see the Wikipedia:Readers' FAQ for info on how to cite Wikipedia in a paper. -- Stephen Gilbert 23:23 May 8, 2003 (UTC)

Thanks a lot