Miscellaneous desk
< May 10	<< Apr \| May \| Jun >>	May 12 >

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.

May 11[edit]

Storm Chasing car[edit]

What car would be a good car to storm chase in?Accdude92 (talk) 02:28, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

One of these. --Jayron32 03:59, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I'll tell you, from listening to the police scanner, where the authorities here in central Mississippi basically "chase" tornadoes to update the headquarters, a Crown-Victoria or Dodge Charger seems to do just fine in tornadic weather. Something low to the ground, heavy, and with a wide wheel base, seems to do the job. Quinn ^{✩ STARRY NIGHT} 04:08, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I'd think 4WD or AWD would be important, in case you need to drive over debris to escape an approaching twister. Run-flat tires might be important, as there's no time to change a tire when you run over storm debris and get a flat. SUVs also have more room for equipment. A fully opening sunroof might be useful, as one person could stick his head up to look for funnel clouds while another drives. StuRat (talk) 06:45, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Is this a "drive around and check out cool storms" sort of thing or a gathering of weather data sort of thing? It's the first, I would go with a low, heavy, fast car like the Crown Vic or Charger that was suggested. If you're going to be carrying equipment, you'll need something with some space. Dismas|^(talk) 07:12, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Have you seen the trunk of a Crown Vic? Cavernous is one word I would use. Googlemeister (talk) 20:45, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

If you want to carry a portable Doppler radar station, that might be a bit much for the trunk to hold. StuRat (talk) 07:25, 12 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Why I can see Better through pinhole?[edit]

I am short-sighted. When I take a piece of paper and poke a tiny hole in it with a pin and put my eye directly against the paper and squint through the whole, objects in the distance suddenly become sharper. Why does this happen? Is it because of diffraction? Decreased aperture? Thanks Acceptable (talk) 07:26, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Our article on Pinhole glasses gives an explanation, though perhaps someone could expand on it. Dbfirs 07:48, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

See also Pinhole camera. Alansplodge (talk) 12:32, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

depth of a river[edit]

How deep is the deepest part of Muskegon River in Michigan?50.36.184.49 (talk) 07:32, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

There are four major dams on the Muskegon River (and another 28 registered dams on its tributaries). It is possible that the greatest depth occurs in one of the impoundments for these dams, but that may not be the answer you are looking for. For the greatest depth in the free-running sections of the river, likely you need to talk to local fishermen about deep holes. The depth at the Bear Creek measuring station seems to range from around 10 feet most of the year up to 15 feet in the spring.[1] 75.41.110.200 (talk) 13:21, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Muskegon Lake has a maximum depth of 79 feet with 25 feet being the dredged depth of the shipping canal at the mouth of the river at Lake Michigan[2] - although the Muskegon River immediately upstream is only 1-2 foot deep. 75.41.110.200 (talk) 21:15, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

What makes Skype worth $8.5B to Microsoft?[edit]

The news have it that Microsoft is spending $8.5B to acquire Skype. There must be some rather compelling vision about what Skype can do for Microsoft to deserve the valuation. What is it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.49.78.23 (talk) 07:56, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Here is one guess: BizInsider that basically says the per-user price paid is relatively low, and that Microsoft has piles of cash. I've seen other people speculate that it was a defensive move - they bought it so Google et al could not. We'll all find out soon enough, I'm sure. The Masked Booby (talk) 09:22, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Here's a New York Times article that is critical of the buy. They note that Microsoft stock took a moderate hit with the news. This article points out Microsoft's spotty track record with acquisitions, and again notes that Microsoft likely paid a premium to keep Skype out of Google's hands. Microsoft's stated reason for the buy is so that they can integrate Skype into their smartphones, Xbox, and Office e-mail and document software. Buddy431 (talk) 13:19, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

You are not the only one wondering. "There's no doubt that Microsoft overpaid", "Whether it's all worth $8.5bn, of course, is a different matter", "Analysts questioned the price", etc. One article yesterday called this the "dot com 2.0 event". Comet Tuttle (talk) 18:04, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Anyone have any info on whether they plan to continue Linux support? Although I have to say it would make me nervous anyway to install something from MSFT on my Linux systems. --Trovatore (talk) 00:14, 12 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

"We will continue to support non-Microsoft platforms, because it’s fundamental to the value proposition of communications.", said Balmer. -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 13:22, 12 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

How quickly does Google process new Street View images[edit]

I think I saw the Google Street View car today. How long will it be before I can find myself online? Astronaut (talk) 11:18, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Probably never, because they've taken to using dynamic image processing to remove visible people from street view. i kan reed (talk) 13:11, 11 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I think you've missed the point. I'm not looking for my image to be recognisable to others, but I do know exactly where I was, what I was wearing and what I was doing (driving my car - the only one of that make, model and colour on that section of road at that time). When the image appears in Street View, I just need to go to that location an