Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2009 July 19

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July 19

Chilis and Tom Yam

I'm growing some ornamental Thai Bird's-Eye Chilis (the ones that grow upwards) and I'm wondering if they can be used while green or if I should wait for them to be red. Also, I'm thinking of making some oxtail Tom Yam and I've never cooked with them before, so about how long would they need to be simmered (2 pounds) to be tender and their flavor extracted, while still being edible?72.219.136.28 (talk) 01:06, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

Personally I think it depends on your taste: red chilis definitely taste different to green chilis. As for oxtail, the joints need to be separated (if they've not been already) and then simmered for 3 hours. The meat will then fall off the bone. The best part of an oxtail is sucking the cartilage on the bone! --TammyMoet (talk) 08:33, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

When to eat Olive in Martini

Traditionally, does one eat the olive before taking a sip, after taking a sip, after finishing the drink or at another point during the drink? Acceptable (talk) 05:10, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

Generally towards the end of the drink, but before you have actually finished it. Shower of Jagged Steel (talk) 12:46, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

In my experience there's no rule about it. Some eat the olive right away, some wait until the end of the drink, and others don't eat the olive at all. Like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, there's no wrong way to eat one. —D. Monack ^talk 05:52, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

Odd Mucha Banknote

This item on eBay claims to be a 'scarce promotional note' and features the Czech artist Mucha. Where would an item like this have come from or been for? It doesn't look like actual tender. What would it be promoting?91.109.251.183 (talk) 09:06, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

It may be tender but I can't see a denomination so it may not be. Not sure exactly what it is promoting, but Mucha was involved in designs for the Czech Koruna, so it is probably just a limited edition in his honour. Shower of Jagged Steel (talk) 12:53, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

It's just what it says. Státní Tiskárna Cenin is a banknote printer, and this is a promotional item showing off their work. --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 04:43, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

Cycling

How does a cyclist in a road race "reel in" a front running cyclist? —Preceding unsigned comment added by DanteO (talk • contribs) 13:38, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

Not sure if you are looking for actual techniques and tactics that the cyclist who is behind would use, but "reel in" really just means that they close the gap between them and the cyclist in front, regardless of exactly how they do it. Shower of Jagged Steel (talk) 13:59, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

You may be interested in our article on bicycle racing. Generally, the "reeling in" is a function of the trailing group of riders cooperating more than the front runner. During the middle of a stage, the extra work of being the lead rider of a group can be shared by more riders in the trailing group, meaning that on average each rider uses less energy. Near the end of a stage, cooperation among front-runners tends to break down further -- rather than sharing the load as best they can, many adopt positions that maximize their personal chances at the expense of group efficiency. — Lomn 14:02, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

Harry Potter world's Protego charm and it's efficiency against a Rheinmetall 120 mm gun HEAT round

I have been harboring this question for about half a year now and I can't figure it out, would the protego charm which defends against minor to major offensive spells (and arrows once) defend against "muggle" weaponry (not including nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, eg weapons of mass destruction), example for weapon listed above, also is the M163 VADS defendable with protego? Gsmgm (talk) 16:14, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

The reference desk is really meant to be for questions that can be answered with references. I don't see any useful way to answer your question. Maybe try a chat room or something if you just want to chat about it. Friday (talk) 16:19, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

Nope, I would prefer someone with some real knowledge about it and not some ordinary chatter. Gsmgm (talk) 16:21, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

No-one has real knowledge on this matter. There is no real knowledge of it to have. Algebraist 16:26, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

It's a question about a fictional world, so the only person who knows for sure would be J.K. Rowling herself. And to the best of my knowledge, she doesn't hang around the refdesk, so I imagine you're out of luck here. Sorry. Cherry Red Toenails (talk) 16:30, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

I meant some useful knowledge, not real knowledge, I can very well sort out real and fiction by myself. Gsmgm (talk) 21:18, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

Sure, why not. It's magic. Stop bothering us. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 17:47, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

Don't be so rude, guys, just because it's not real doesn't mean it's not a valid question. There are lots of questions about works of fiction (perhaps more on the Ent. Desk). Spells_in_Harry_Potter#P mentions that it can cause "minor to strong jinxes, curses, and hexes to rebound upon the attacker", and also arrows as you mention. It is not completely impenetrable though, as it can't block unforgivable curses. So it just depends on how strong it is as to whether it can block a given gun - you may get hints by carefully inspecting the video footage of arrows impacting against the shield. Aaadddaaammm (talk) 20:01, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

Regarding 98.217.14.211:s response, please see WP:NPA as I was personally offended by the "stop bothering us", do you refer us to wikipedia? If so consider that I am also a part of this project and your use of us in this occasion can been seen as a effort to alienate me. Please Bitte calm down, it's a damn question I harbored for over half a year before coming here and I have throughly considered the appropriateness. Regarding Aaadddaaammm's answer, thank you very much for an honest answer, I see them very seldom here amongst editors. Gsmgm (talk) 21:08, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

Try not to insult the other refdesk contributors. This is of course a valid question, but (with all respect to Aaadddaaammm) the correct answer is that it doesn't have an answer. At no point in any canonical work does anyone use protego against such weaponry, and to try to extrapolate from effects on arrows is to apply too much logic to a magic system which is as fuzzy and incoherent as Rowling's. Algebraist 21:35, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

We have an Entertainment Desk which is where this sort of inquiry should be relegated, if anywhere. By "us" I mean the core group of a dozen or so people who actually answer the questions here. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 01:00, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

As a question about a series of books, this would have been more appropriate on Humanities. But that's no excuse for insulting the questioner. Algebraist 01:05, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

Who insulted who? I'm sorry, but suggesting a given question is not germane to this forum is not an insult. --98.217.14.211 (talk) 01:22, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

No, but telling someone to stop bothering us is. Algebraist 02:35, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

It is 3x more likely to work against a Rheinmetall 120 mm gun HEAT round then a photon torpedo fired by Capt Kirk. Googlemeister (talk) 20:14, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

It seems to me that the interaction between the magic and and non magic was handled with a lot of hand-waving in the HP series, or simply avoided wherever possible. I doubt there's even a good reference point that could be used to even begin to start thinking about the question. APL (talk) 20:24, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

I would say, as with most works of fiction, the results would be whatever the plot requires. If it serves the plot to have it work the interesting question would be whether the spell would return the round to inside the barrel of the gun and thus destroy it or whether some magical or physical influence on the round would redirect it elsewhere. Many writers put a lot of effort into weaving plausible and logical story-lines. Eventually, though most run into someone who found some flaw and have to resort to Deus ex machina or Unobtainium to resolve the perceived inconsistency. 71.236.26.74 (talk) 23:04, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

Altitude call-outs

I was watching this video on YouTube and there was a female voice doing the altitude call-out; I have noticed there is usually an automated male voice. Is there a technical term for this? Also, is the call-out is in meters or feet? I assume it would be in meters for commonality with airlines across the world that use metric. --Blue387 (talk) 22:46, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

I noticed the decision height was called at 200. A bit of Googling turned up the Turkish Air Force Command guidelines, which indicate that decision height is either at 30 meters (100 ft) or 60 meters (200 ft). Antalya is listed as belonging to a Category 1 approach, which specifies a decision height of 60m (200ft). The units were in feet. I'm not sure what technical term you're asking for. "Altitude callout" is a common term (434,000 ghits). Some systems use male voices and some female (see pg 63 of this guide for an example of a female-voice system). 152.16.59.190 (talk) 02:09, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

I can't view the video from where I am but... I've never heard of altitudes being called out, designated, assigned, or any other such thing in meters. FWIW, I learned how to fly in the US and earned a commercial pilot's license. Dismas|^(talk) 09:24, 20 July 2009 (UTC)

As far as I know all airlines in the world use feet, whether the metric (or any other) system is commonly used in their countries or not.--Zoppp (talk) 23:18, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

Don't aircraft built and operated in the area of the former Eastern Bloc operate in meters? — QuantumEleven 08:54, 22 July 2009 (UTC)