DR

I know of many enduringly famous popular songs with lyrics sung in English. But what about other languages?

What is the local-language equivalent to The Beatles in the Arab world, the French speaking countries, or other places that have a band as highly regarded as the Beatles?

As another example, do some parts of the world have their own R&B songs that are as highly regarded as the best English language ones? I'm interested in knowing the names of some songs like that.

Is there a band like Led Zeppelin that sings in a different language?

Or like The Cure, The Smiths, or Morrissey?

Thanks in advance for any leads you can provide!

What might be good practical arguments for Quebec to become a separate nation?

For example: Are there any things about Canadian law and public policy that frustrate Canadians? Would Quebec's exit from Canada offer the perfect opportunity to rewrite constitutions, so government would work more effectively and so intractable problems could be solved finally?

Or does it store only text transcripts of your incoming messages? I've looked at their website, and I still don't understand.

I want to do my telephone service (including a traditional phone number) via internet, but one thing I would need is a virtual "answering machine" that stores actual voice messages. Transcripts are no good.

If you know of a better way to do that, please tell me. Thanks!

When you were given permission to come the the USA, did the immigration officials encourage you to speak a particular language?

For example, did they suggest that you should speak your native languages to your own children, so that your kids would learn that language in addition to English?

Or maybe they said that Americans expect you to speak English fluently to them, so you should practice by speaking English at home?

I know nothing about the immigration process, and I'm curious about the government's recommendations for language, if there are any.

At least here in America, some people (especially women) seem to find French to be a romantic and beautiful language.

Do people still think that way when they are immersed in the language all of the time? Or do other foreign languages seem more appealing and intriguing to you?

For example, when being introduced to a person for the first time, you would not want to:

wink or bat eyelids

itch

inspect the person's clothes

wipe your hand before or after shaking hands

look away during the introduction

reject a compliment

find their name to be strange or funny

say "I've heard about you" without elaborating

laugh unprompted

be silent

among other things.

Please don't be shy about sharing a faux pas you've either seen or done!

Did you feel like you did not get adequate hands-on training in school or from employers?

I have an idea that might really help engineers get that. Please let me know how helpful it would be.

Implementing this idea would greatly enhance employers' ability to find qualified engineering talent, and help the world economy in general, I hope.

My idea essentially is to create one of the conditions that exist in the American software industry: ease of market entry and innovation. Having low barriers to entry has worked reasonably well for the US in software. I'm guessing that it would also work well for small scale manufacturing.

My idea would reduce barriers to innovation and quality for companies.

We need a national program that walks mechanical and manufacturing engineering university graduates through design and manufacturing case studies, with hands-on experience with a variety of manufacturing processes.

I wish I could have participated in such a program when I graduated college. My mechanical engineering university education was much too theoretical. Frankly, my ability to do real-world design engineering is limited.

Undergraduate engineering degrees are professional degrees in reality, if not officially. Other professional schools (e.g. law, business) use case studies, but engineers are expected to function without the benefit of a similar collection of experience. This must change.

Unlike software engineering university programs, mechanical engineering curricula typically offer inadequate chances for hands-on learning. I'm guessing that's due to the cost of equipment, energy, materials, and liability insurance.

There is a TV show on the Discovery Channel called How It's Made. Have you seen it? If so, imagine actually visiting the factories they show, instead of watching it on TV. Imagine being coached and doing each step of the process, singlehandedly manufacturing the product as much as possible. That's basically what I'm looking for, for the manufacturing part of the training anyway. A discussion of the history and evolution of that process would be a really helpful addition, to understand why the process is set up the way it is.

It seems unlikely that private enterprise factory owners would permit students to actually handle their equipment. They sometimes will allow factory tours, but that's not enough. Also, I suspect that few, if any, universities could afford to maintain their own set of factories. If I'm right, then this makes it very difficult for people to get the broad experience that would make them highly effective innovators.

We need one separate educational organization, funded by the U.S. government. That organization should purchase appropriate factories or equipment, and move them to suitable locations. It then would take American graduates and students from any U.S. university, and let students visit the factories that interest them. Each student would be trained to do each step of the manufacturing process.

Beyond that, the ideal institution I'm envisioning would also have physical specimens of various devices or parts, some being exceptionally well designed and some having flawed design. Each item would be accompanied by discussion of its history and the decisions that led to the design.

Likewise, describing examples of exceptionally good and bad manufacturing processes would be very enlightening.

Where applicable, students should also see examples of finished products that are very easy to maintain, as well as some that are difficult to maintain.

I don't believe anything like this exists. I've been searching, and I haven't found anything remotely like it.

Would this really help?

Many thanks for any replies you give here.

For example:

Once, when I was younger, I was watching my grandmother talk with a landscaping contractor in the back yard. He told her how he would fix the lawn.

I was maybe 10 feet (3 meters) away, and I had not spoken with the contractor. Even so, I asked about an alternative method. He said something like "Why, do you have a college degree?" with an obviously annoyed tone and expression.

I was not part of the transaction, so I was interrupting and butting in, And my question seemed to him like questioning his judgement, and interfering with his plans, I assume.

So that's my example. Your turn: Can you describe the specifics of a time when you or someone else entered a conversation when you/they should not have?

I want to start a blog where I analyze actual conversations that involve conflict and faux pas. In the blog, I would suggest what I believe the people's errors were, or suggest alternate strategies for relating to the other person.

What are some good websites where I could ask for transcripts or recordings of those conversations?

How else could I get them?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Do you ever think about certain bits of knowledge and wisdom, and how valuable it would have been to know those things early in life? Do you wonder why your parents never sold you on the value of those things?

If so, what are those things? How will you make sure your own kids know those things, without annoying/alienating them by lecturing at length to them?

In the past, was there less surplus labor available to the construction industry, because there were fewer illegal immigrants? I wonder if that somewhat limited how extreme the past housing booms could get.

I wonder if the availability of so much cheap labor made over-building possible to a greater extent this latest time.

I did a search:

http://www.google.com/search?q=multilingual+childr...

I came across a variety of web pages that don't totally agree about the details of how best to teach languages.

There's a widespread belief that kids learn languages well only when exposed from a very early age.

This is highly desirable for many practical reasons.

What languages are you going to teach your child, or have taught by someone else? When?

When I visit secure Navy web pages like https://chart.donhr.navy.mil/ I get an error web page.

My browser gives the message:

"Secure Connection Failed

chart.donhr.navy.mil uses an invalid security certificate.

The certificate is not trusted because the issuer certificate is unknown.

(Error code: sec_error_unknown_issuer)

* This could be a problem with the server's configuration, or it could be someone trying to impersonate the server.

* If you have connected to this server successfully in the past, the error may be temporary, and you can try again later."

I've searched the web about this message. Some Navy websites suggested downloading "DoD Root Certificates". But why would I trust this advice from the very web pages (anything navy.mil) whose authenticity is in doubt?

It seems unlikely that someone on the internet would intercept my requests for navy.mil web pages and reply with their own fake Navy pages. But it is possible, I guess.

I know that the Navy web pages I want to reach will ask for lots of my personal identity information. Identity thieves or other crooks might really like that info. That's the reason the security warning bothers me.

Is the Navy too cheap/lazy to use a trusted Certificate Authority? I'm no security expert, so I'm not sure if that is the issue.

Why would an organization as well funded as the U.S. Navy allow a problem like this to persist? Other organizations usually don't have certificate warnings block access to their secure https pages.

I might switch to a health plan that has less expensive premiums. The new plan would make me pay more out of pocket (deductible, copay, etc) when I use doctors who are not in the insurer's network of preferred providers.

That led me to ask: "How likely is it that I will want an out of network doctor? When would I want or need one?"

I am hoping to hear from anyone with insight, but I am especially hoping to hear from those of you who are covered by Blue Shield of California. I also hope to hear from medical professionals who have dealt with Blue Shield of California. That is my insurer.

Thank you in advance for any guidance.