General Questions Thread

[Aoie_Emesai]

Originally Posted by Terrestrial Dream

Does anyone here know any other members in real life?

Nope... >.<

[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by Terrestrial Dream

Does anyone here know any other members in real life?

Yes, although we didn't meet here first.

[Daniel E.]

Originally Posted by Terrestrial Dream

Does anyone here know any other members in real life?

Yes, but after the hack attack during 2005, he never felt like joining again. >_<!

[[DOT].L]

Originally Posted by yezhanquan

No, it's fine in my Firefox.

Fixed. Clear my cookies and it's working properly now.

[Aoie_Emesai]

I have a little visual acuity question. While watching my anime, I was waving a knitting needle in front of me, but all you see are the parabola shaped shadows of the knitting needle. Why don't you see the straight lines instead of the curves?

If you wave the needle slower you can see the straight line shadow of the knitting needle. If you wave it back and forth, you get the curved shape of those willow when they are curved like on those hampers.

[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by Aoie_Emesai

I have a little visual acuity question. While watching my anime, I was waving a knitting needle in front of me, but all you see are the parabola shaped shadows of the knitting needle. Why don't you see the straight lines instead of the curves?

If you wave the needle slower you can see the straight line shadow of the knitting needle. If you wave it back and forth, you get the curved shape of those willow when they are curved like on those hampers.

If I understand this correctly, you can get the same effect regularly as well. Take a full-length pencil, hold it at the center so that your hand is not obstructing your view of the entire pencil, and then bounce your hand up and down (it doesn't have to be incredibly fast or moving an incredible distance - one period (up and down motion) per second would be fine enough). It'll eventually start to look as if the pencil is wobbling around, with the two edges bending behind the center.

As for why that happens, the answer probably has to do with where you're focusing, the "refresh rate" of the eyes, and the mind's way of processing visual data. I don't know the exact answer, though.

[xris]

In this case, it's due to the horizontal scan lines on the monitor / TV. Well, it's the combination of the way the eyes work (they can't track the fast moving object perfectly) and the scan lines cause the optical illusion.

Hold a pencil (or a knitting needle) at it's base between finger and thumb so it is vertical. Then wave it so the top oscillates left and right, keeping the base steady. If you do this in front of a monitor (so you are looking at the pencil with the monitor directly behind it) you will notice that the pencil appears to be curved, in fact it looks like it is made of rubber and it produces all sorts of wobbly lines.

Now repeat this but instead of holding the pencil vertically, hold is so it is horizontal in front of the monitor. Wiggle the pencil so that the tip moves up and down (instead of left and right) and you do not get the same effect. Note: The pencil will still appear to "bend" but only at the base where you are holding it between finger and thumb.

The reason for the two different effects is because the monitor / TV uses horizontal scan lines to illuminate the screen. Due to the timing of the scan lines it creates the illusion that the pencil bends and curves. If you try this in front of an LCD screen then it doesn't happen (any more than the effect described by Ledgem in this post above). LCD screens do not have horizontal scan lines as do TVs and monitors.

[Zaku Hyuga]

how do I post a picture directly into an email sent from google's mail service so that it shows up directly into an email. i tried the copy/paste method but my recipiients informed me the the pictures did'nt show up just the dreaded X

[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by Zaku Hyuga

how do I post a picture directly into an email sent from google's mail service so that it shows up directly into an email. i tried the copy/paste method but my recipiients informed me the the pictures did'nt show up just the dreaded X

This will actually depend more on what mail client your recipients are using. Some clients support that, as well as HTML-formatted messages (allowing for in-line images, colored or bolded text, multiple fonts, and so on). If your recipients are using clients with support for that, then you should be able to insert images within the text and have them see the images as you intended. I believe that Apple's "Mail" client would support that. On the other hand, the Opera mail client does not support that, and will see each image as an attachment and show them at the very end of the message.

This sort of leads to the next point, which is probably what you were asking: you need a mail client or service that will allow you to insert messages directly into the email. If your client allows you to draft emails with HTML formattings (even in a what-you-see-is-what-you-get manner), you can probably insert images directly. I don't know whether the GMail interface allows for this, as I haven't used it ever since their servers allows POP3 access

For the short answer: you probably can't do this. Even if your client allows you to do it, the recipient is unlikely to have a client that will let them see it the way you intended.

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by Ledgem

the Opera mail client does not support that, and will see each image as an attachment and show them at the very end of the message.

The default editor in Mozilla Thunderbird uses HTML and allows the placement of inline graphics.

As Ledgem says, how that message is displayed depends on the recipient's mail software. Thunderbird will also correctly render HTML-formatted email with inline graphics.

[Kakashi]

Little confused about the differences in education between the US and the UK, namely the difference between college and University in the US. How long does college last over there? Because I read someone saying that they had been in college for 3 years. In the UK people tend to only study for 2 years in college and then head of to Uni. All a bit confusing so can someone who knows just clarify the differences between them for me?

Thanks.

[NoSanninWa]

That's rather different. In the US, college and university are synonyms and the words are sometimes used interchangeably. After someone graduates high school they go to a college for (usually) 4 years. Then they graduate. If they want to go into post-graduate studies then it can last any number of additional years. There is no level of schooling after college.

In the UK, could you tell me how long University lasts?

[Deathkillz]

This is what's confusing. In the UK, college is the name for the intermediate stage from secondary school to University. So in the Uk secondary school starts from 10(11) - 16 followed by 2 years of college 16(17) - 18 then going to uni (and courses usually lasts for 4 years).

[tripperazn]

Originally Posted by kakashi-san

In the UK people tend to only study for 2 years in college and then head of to Uni.

Well, in the US, there is the "community/middle college" system.

These "colleges" have no admission standards. If you have a GED or high school diploma, you can enroll as a student. At that point, you have several options, you could:

1. Get an Associates' Degree
2. Get a Bachelors' Degree
3. Transfer into a higher level institution (usually a University)

They are almost always public and very very cheap. Most of the "college students" in the US are in these schools statistically.

[Kakashi]

Originally Posted by NoSanninWa

That's rather different. In the US, college and university are synonyms and the words are sometimes used interchangeably. After someone graduates high school they go to a college for (usually) 4 years. Then they graduate. If they want to go into post-graduate studies then it can last any number of additional years. There is no level of schooling after college.

In the UK, could you tell me how long University lasts?

Ahh so that's what it was. I thought of that possibility because I almost never hear Americans say University. They always say college. But since they sometimes do I got curious what they were on about.

It's as Deathkillz says, Uni in UK last around 3-5 years. Medical and Law students have longer courses usually lasting about 5 years but then many stay longer for additional study. It's funny because you end up 23-25 before you even start work, while thinking back to those who dropped out of high school at 17 and started working at the local barbershop or whatever.

Originally Posted by tripperazn

Well, in the US, there is the "community/middle college" system.

These "colleges" have no admission standards. If you have a GED or high school diploma, you can enroll as a student. At that point, you have several options, you could:

1. Get an Associates' Degree
2. Get a Bachelors' Degree
3. Transfer into a higher level institution (usually a University)

They are almost always public and very very cheap. Most of the "college students" in the US are in these schools statistically.

I see so you're saying the majority of students with lower grades end up going to these colleges. In the UK there's something called 6th form which is attatched to a specific high school and there's college which is entirely seperate. Usually 6th forms are considered more acadamic because they have children of the same age so it's more competitive, whereas colleges have lower admission standards and allow people of any age. Though that's a generalistion and there are quite a few colleges which are tough to get into and are equally academic. Bare in mind both 6th form and college serve as 2 years of advanced study between high school and uni. Just slight differences.

Thanks for help! Such a helpful forum nowadays

[SeijiSensei]

The "official" distinction between colleges and universities in US parlance is whether the institution has graduate programs. Strictly speaking, a "college" only offers two- or four-year undergraduate studies, while a "university" has graduate programs as well.

In reality, there are some schools that were formerly colleges that have since added graduate programs yet maintain their former names. Smith College in Northampton, MA, for instance, has graduate programs in areas like social work, while Simmons College in Boston offers an MBA. Both started as four-year, women's colleges.

I don't know of any universities that have chosen to "downgrade" their names to colleges. Usually the pressure is to "upgrade" to university status by adding a graduate program or two.

Most of the graduate programs I'm discussing here are aimed at professional degrees in law, medicine, business, and the like. There are obviously also graduate programs in the arts and sciences that grant MA/MS/Ph.D degrees as well. Professional programs aren't always housed in universities in other parts of the world.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by kakashi-san

It's as Deathkillz says, Uni in UK last around 3-5 years. Medical and Law students have longer courses usually lasting about 5 years but then many stay longer for additional study. It's funny because you end up 23-25 before you even start work, while thinking back to those who dropped out of high school at 17 and started working at the local barbershop or whatever.

Silly question: what's so funny about starting work at around 23- to 25-years-old?

That happens to be the usual age for many Singaporeean guys to join the workforce, because of our two-year National Service (ie, the Armed Forces) liability. Like the UK, we also have a college system, but these institutions are called "junior colleges" in Singapore.

Typically, most Singaporeans graduate from secondary school (ie, high school) while they are around 16- to 18-years-old. We then decide whether to go straight to polytechnics or enter junior colleges. Polytechnics (where courses last from three to four years) are tertiary institutions that award diplomas. Diploma graduates can start work immediately after graduation.

On the other hand, students who join junior colleges spend two years preparing for the Cambridge 'A' Level exams, the admissions exams for all Singaporean and UK universities. However, 'A' Level qualifications do not qualify us for full-time work - they are considered pre-tertiary qualifications. Mickey mouse qualifications that are useless if you're not intending to proceed to university.

Singaporean males join the Armed Forces immediately after graduating from junior college or polytechnic. As a result, we end up entering the workforce two years later than our female ex-classmates. Based on overwhelming anecdotal evidence, this is the leading cause of break-ups between teenage couples - the girls meet dashing older guys while their (soon-to-be-ex) boyfriends languish in combat fatigues.

*shakes fist at my government*

[tripperazn]

Originally Posted by kakashi-san

Medical and Law students have longer courses usually lasting about 5 years but then many stay longer for additional study. It's funny because you end up 23-25 before you even start work, while thinking back to those who dropped out of high school at 17 and started working at the local barbershop or whatever.

Well, in comparison to the US, that's nothing. It's total of 8 years including undergraduate study, which is required to apply for med/law school. After that, you're not really a full-fledged lawyer/doctor in the field, and end up interning for several years.

The "standard" age for full surgeons is 33 in the US. 18 when entering uni + 4 years university + 4 years medical school + 7 years surgical residency.

[Terrestrial Dream]

I am trying to start a campaign for under appreciated animes using sigs and I was wondering, is it ok to make a thread in general anime section to inform other members?

[xris]

Originally Posted by Terrestrial Dream

I am trying to start a campaign for under appreciated animes using sigs and I was wondering, is it ok to make a thread in general anime section to inform other members?

You already have a thread located in the Fan Creations forum and that would seem the best location for it since you are looking for people who create sigs. Or are you saying that you don't want to reach out to just the artists, that you want to bring under appreciated anime to the masses.

I would suggest you PM one of the Mods who deals with the Fan Creations forum (since you are going to need the help of artists) and explain to them just what it is you want to achieve.