Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2011 August 29

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August 29

US Navy ships named after places and their relationship with those places.

I have just read USS New York (LPD-21), it struck me that there appears to be a special relationship between the ship (and its crew) and the city of New York. Is there an official policy or even an informal tradition that USN ships named after places should have a relationship with the place? The USN seems to have a well established tradition of naming ships after cities and states. Roger (talk) 06:37, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

...and after presidents. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 08:52, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

I couldn't find much about the US Navy, but certainly Royal Navy ships are "adopted" by a town or city. Ships named after cities develop a strong attachment to the place they're named after.[1] Ports and coastal towns will often adopt a ship without an associated place name[2][3]. Alansplodge (talk) 12:06, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

The USS North Carolina (BB-55) is, right now, in North Carolina. --Jayron32 12:11, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

Thanks Alansplodge, I am familiar with the British tradition, I just wish someone who knows something about the US tradition (whether any such tradition exists) would post an answer here. Cuddlyable3's post is an Epic fail - totally off topic, and Jayron32's reply relates to a museum ship, not currently in-service ships. My question is: is there any kind of special relationship between the ship and the place it is named after - for example would the ship's captain be invited to address the state congress or would the mayor be invited to ceremonies on the ship, and so on? I am South African I know that the SA Navy has at various times had ships named after cities and the cities would invariably bestow the freedom of the city on the ship's company.

I think the Mayor of Chicago took part in the christening ceremony for the USS Chicago submarine, but I can't find details and don't know if other mayors did the same thing for the USS Memphis, or other Los Angeles attack submarines. Googlemeister (talk) 13:21, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

Our article Harold Washington#Mayor of Chicago (1983–1987) includes a photo of the mayor speaking at the speaking at the commissioning. -- 110.49.242.117 (talk) 20:16, 3 September 2011 (UTC)

Articles about the commissioning of a WW2 "USS Chicago" indicated that said city bought a silver service for several thousand dollars for the ship, and that it was a custom to do so. The airship USS Macon similarly received a silver service from the city of Macon in 1923. The Macon crashed 19 months later, partially due to overloading. I would personally worry more about the excess weight of a silver service on an airship than on a cruiser. Edison (talk) 21:00, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

Spinoff question

I was imagining the USS Iowa sailing around the cornfields, and then I wondered whether there are any US states that are totally landlocked, i.e. that are not on a coast, nor have any river that leads ultimately to a coast? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:37, 31 August 2011 (UTC)

See Great Basin, though none of the states which contain the Great Basin are completely devoid of river access to the sea, even though the Great Basin itself is. --Jayron32 01:56, 31 August 2011 (UTC)

Toilet seat falls forward

The toilet seat in our house will not stay up when you put it up, it just topples forward. This is not a problem for the women in the house but it is for the men. I haven't looked at the hinges to see what the problem is. What could be causing it, and how can it be fixed? --Viennese Waltz 07:50, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

Is there a fluffy cover on the top seat (the cover bit without the hole in the middle)? That is sometimes too thick and keeps the seat from opening far enough. Another possibility is that the toilet itself is leaning slightly forward, i.e. towards you as you stand in front of it, and the seat never goes past the vertical position. Find a level and check to see if the toilet is leaning. Dismas|^(talk) 07:58, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

Some toilet seats have an adjustment at the hinge so that the pivot point can be adjusted forward to cure this fault. Dbfirs 08:03, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

We can't look at your seat hinges so maybe you should do so. Often the holes in the ceramic basin are larger than the seat mounting bolts so there is some adjustment play that will allow the hinges to be moved forwards. You might also cut a piece out of the cover if that is preventing the seat from going fully up. For further study Wikipedia has an article about Toilet seat. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 08:43, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

I had the same problem. In my case, the problem is that it's a padded seat, and they also felt the need to pad the cover, making the total too thick to stay upright. I found two workarounds:

1) Remove the lid from the tank, which protruded about an inch forward. Looked ugly, so I put it back on.

2) Remove the seat cover. This is ultimately what I did. Note that you could just set the cover on top, if you wanted to, and move it aside when you want to use it. However, since guests won't know this, it may go flying when they try to flip it up. I just put my seat cover in storage. You might think this looks bad, but many office toilets lack seat covers, so I consider it more of an "industrial" look, and it has the benefit of not making anyone touch the toilet seat cover.

It's also possible that even with the seat cover removed, your actual seat still will be too thick to stay up. If so, I'd say you need to buy a flatter seat. StuRat (talk) 21:53, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

Fluffy covers on toilet seats often push them forward passed the tipping point, endangering the wee-wees of four year old boys, per: the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, 1974. Edison (talk) 00:28, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

Don't pass out when I tell you I couldn't go past and take a pass on letting you know you're obviously past it for using "passed" where "past" has always been used, in the past. :-) StuRat (talk) 06:59, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

Neither the words "passed" nor "past" are visible in previous posts. StuRat is a creative speller. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 08:11, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

Well, it "passed" the tipping point. Not really a misspelling or a typo, just a brain fart. Just goes to show that "A mind is a terrible thing to lose," to quote Dan Quayle. Edison (talk) 20:46, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

If you have any woodworking skills, consider building your own tank cover, one that doesn't have a lip on the front. Nice polished wook would be both functional ("Doh, there goes my toothbrush again!") and attractive. DOR (HK) (talk) 06:14, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

What does "Class of ... " mean?

If a student refers to himself as "Class of 2007", is 2007 the year he started or the year he finished? JohnCD (talk) 09:13, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

Finished. The idea being that that's the year in which he stepped fully formed into the world.... --Viennese Waltz 09:23, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

Graduation year. Roger (talk) 09:53, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

It always seemed awkward to me for people to refer to their class by their future graduation date, since, of course, that's subject to change. StuRat (talk) 21:44, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

help (Africaans drive shaft question)

Hi,

Ek wonder of julle my kan help my dogter moet more 'n skool taak inhandig oor hoe voertuie aangedryf word nou sy moet self 'n aandrywing as maak, maar ek het nie 'n idee waar om te begin soek nie.

Kan julle my asb so gou as moontlik help.

Dankie

Sonja de Bruyn — Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.145.86.240 (talk) 09:14, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

Comment: this is Afrikaans, not Dutch. Google translation:

Hi,

I wonder if you could help me my daughter should be more a school assignment to hand over the vehicles are driven her to own a drive axis, but I have no idea where to start looking.

Can you please me as soon as possible to help.

Thanks

Sonja, can you explain your question in more detail? If possible, in English? If not, you could try the Help desk at the

• Afrikaans Wikipedia: http://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Hulp
• Nederlands Wikipedia: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Helpdesk

JohnCD (talk) 09:27, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

Sonja jy kan gerus die Afrikaanse Wikipedia se Hulp bladsy gebruik.

BTW that Google translation isn't bad even though the grammar is horribly scrambled! Roger (talk) 09:41, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

The actual question seems to be what kind of drive shafts her vehicles have. Is this correct ? To answer that, of course, we would need a list of the vehicles. StuRat (talk) 21:35, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

Close but not quite - the question is about vehicles in general, not specific ones. The wording used by the OP is a bit ambigious but my best guess is that her daughter needs information on how a differential works, she is also required to construct a model. (I am fluent in Afrikaans.) Roger (talk) 07:03, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

OK, I added that to the title, but what was that "her to own" bit about in the Google translation, which I took to mean "her own" vehicle(s) ? StuRat (talk) 07:06, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

I think it's a translation of "sy moet self", meaning "she must herself (build the model)".

Sonja, as jy nog steeds op soek is, kan jy dalk 'n antwoord vind in een van hierdie artikels: af:motor (Afrikaans), nl:aandrijving, nl:aandrijflijn, nl:differentieel (werktuigbouwkunde) (Nederlands). Lesgles (talk) 05:13, 1 September 2011 (UTC)

Mosts (fics, words by an author, etc.) on fanfiction.net

After running across this author on fanfiction.net with over 800 fics, I ws curious to find what the most fics and then the most of some other things were on that site.

Now, there are some good stories on that site, some with several hundred thousand words, along with the beginning, preteen or early teen authors who I love to encourage and see genuinely improve on their writing. (Then, of course, there are the ones who never seem to improve - but some do very well.) The site's search function does let one find stories with the most words, though it takes a while. And, a Google search revealed a few fics with over 10,000 reviews (!), though I question how many would fit the normal meaning of "review," which it to compliment the things done well and give ideas for making the other parts better.

However, I can't seem to find an answer to who has writtent he most words on ff.net, who has published the most stories on ff.net, etc.; is there a way to find this out?--99.18.177.233 (talk) 12:33, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

Getting red-run out of a blue and white crocheted kippa

So my ima accidentally put my blue and white crocheted kippa (my favourite kippa) in the wash with something red after I got back from Israel. The white bits of it unfortunately took on a slight pink tinge (The blue is too dark for anything to be noticeable). It is made of a glossy material, not sure which though. So, how do you go about removing the stain and turning it fully white again (without ruining the material of course)? Hope this doesn't qualify as advice. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | Say Shalom! 15:37, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

If you go to any large store selling cleaning products, you should find near the laundry powder something called "color run remover" or "color remover" or similar.[4][5] Follow the directions on the packet. --Colapeninsula (talk) 16:38, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

Hmm, I'll try that and see how it works, thanks! {{=)}

(after ec):If you were in the UK I'd be recommending washing your kippa (is that a tie?) with Dylon Colour Run Remover. No doubt the US has similar products. --TammyMoet (talk) 16:40, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

Ya, but then it would be a white kippa, I like the blue that's supposed to be on it. :p Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | Say Shalom! 22:22, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

The thing about Colour Run is it only removes the colour that leached onto the garment during the last wash, not colours that are supposed to be there. For that, you will need some form of bleach. It's worth a try, surely. --TammyMoet (talk) 08:20, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

Tammy! please!. thisis a kippah. Richard Avery (talk) 17:11, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

Not her fault. The owner of said object didn't spell it correctly. All I knew for sure was that it wasn't a fish. -- Jack of Oz ^{[your turn]} 19:34, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

Meh, H is optional and often omitted. You don't spell the name Tamara with one for instance, it just indicates a sound is there. :p If you want proper spelling I can say כיפה, but then you couldn't read it, hehe. Oy, this is America (on my computer at least), we fought two wars to be free from the kipper (I'm fairly certain that's what those wars were for.) ;) Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | Say Shalom! 22:22, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

Our article indicates that spelling is in use. Anyway, she didn't make any outrageous assumptions, I don't see the problem. Grandiose (me, talk, contribs) 21:20, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

There is no problem with what TammyMoet said, I thought it was funny, I meant my remark to be equally light, maybe I omitted the ;-)) Richard Avery (talk) 21:29, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

I didn't know it as a kippah, either. I've always called it a yarmulke, and suspected that a Jewish man with a bald spot started the tradition. :-) StuRat (talk) 21:31, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

Most people pronounce it like "Yom-uh-kuh", but many also call it a kippa. Either name works really. It's like calling a dog a dog or a hound. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | Say Shalom! 22:22, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

Slight nit pick here. All hounds are dogs but not all dogs are hounds. Dismas|^(talk) 23:24, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

"Yom-uh-kuh"? That must be in the same hallowed tradition as "dubya" or "noo-kyu-lar". -- Jack of Oz ^{[your turn]} 22:55, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

In the United States, the "yamukkah-like-Hanukkah" pronunciation is very common and not at all stigmatized. Indeed, I can't recall having ever heard it pronounced differently. As Google attests, many even write "yamukkah" or some variant. To carefully articulate every consonant would probably mark you as someone who had first encountered the word in print. LANTZY^TALK 00:48, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

If a passing Goy can make an observation, our own Kippah article seems to be slightly confused over spelling too. It starts: "A kippa or kipa ... also known as a yarmulke...". The 'h' seems to 'ave hescaped some'ow, though it seems to 'ave found its way back in the remainder of the harticle ;-) AndyTheGrump (talk) 23:06, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

A moot question is whether yarmulka cow. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 07:53, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

It is not Moo at all: Here is one in blue and white. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 11:35, 1 September 2011 (UTC)

File:Milkacow.JPG

"Ye Milka Cow"

It is udderly amazing how far some will go to milk a cow joke. I think the trademark image cannot stay here because it is non-free. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 20:55, 1 September 2011 (UTC)

A new article about my company

I am a business owner that has been asked many times what is it exactly that my business does. I figured an easy way for everyone to have access to that question is to write an article on wikipedia, however this presents a conflict of interest. You can learn more about my business at www.roco4x4.com, how do I find a wiki editor to write an article about my business? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.67.79.30 (talk) 19:57, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

You should consider asking your webpage programmer to put some useful information on your webpage, in place of the flashy glitz that will only annoy visitors. Wikipedia articles are only appropriate for businesses that have received substantial coverage by independent press sources. Looie496 (talk) 20:48, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

That's a bit unfair. I suspect that the business owner's customers like the images on the web site. However, it was a little difficult for me to figure out whether the business just sells parts or also installs them. I came to the conclusion that it just sells parts. The confusing thing is the "Services/Servicios" tab. Another issue on that website is that there isn't a clear separation of the Spanish language and English-language pages. I clicked on the page for Honduras and found text in a mixture of Spanish and English. I understand both to some extent, and maybe so do most customers, but it would be better if the links for Spanish-speaking countries led to Spanish pages (perhaps with a US flag in the upper right corner for an English translation if you wish), just as the link for the US page lead to a page in English. (Though in Miami, many of your customers will be more comfortable in Spanish, so you might put a medley of Latin American flags in the upper right corner so that those customers can click through to a Spanish translation.) As for an article on Wikipedia, it will be deleted unless it can be supported by several reliable sources. (See Wikipedia:Notability.) If your business is meets the requirements listed in our guidelines on notability, you can request an article by clicking the link to the appropriate category on the Wikipedia:Requested articles page. Marco polo (talk) 21:06, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

You might want to promote the "About Us" section to a higher level. I had to pick the American flag, then find and click that tab to find out what your company does. You should give that info right off, perhaps in Spanish and English, since the user hasn't yet specified a language. Alternatively, you could get their location from their I/P address, and make an assumption about their language from that, but also provide links to switch the language, just in case. I could also do without the animation, as that slows down my computer without providing any useful info.

Also, what does "...we offer general mechanic for all vehicles" mean ? You have a general mechanic (person) who can work on all vehicles ?

I noticed you placed the US flag in the center. You might want to swap it with Peru, so they're in alphabetical order. The reason is that people from the other countries might resent the US getting placed in the center.StuRat (talk) 21:19, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

In regard to a Wikipedia article, the WP:FAQ/Organizations is a good starting point. All this discussion of his website should not lead the enquirer into thinking he can just copy it into Wikipedia: a website is promotional by its nature, but an encyclopedia article is quite a different thing. JohnCD (talk) 22:07, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

Since this thread has developed into comments on your web site I add that your first "welcome" page is not very welcoming. The page should at least say that your business is Service, Parts and Installations for 4-wheel drive vehicles. It looks like the site is under construction and the Venezuelan page has the nicest graphic and information (in Spanish) including an informative Bienvenidos section. But no, you cannot use Wikipedia to advertise your business. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 07:40, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

Creating a jury-rigged headlight

Rather than ask for specific legal advice regarding statutory descriptions of a "headlight", I'll simply ask a question on a general scope. The headlight on my scooter is malfunctioning due to a regulator fault, and I have to wait for at least a week until a new part arrives to replace the broken part. Given that I am a U.S. driver, is there a way to jury-rig a makeshift headlight or lamp onto the front of my scooter to serve as a temporary holdover until the part arrives? Or would this be more trouble than it's worth?--WaltCip (talk) 23:14, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

Not stated as legal advice, but a headlight has to be of certain brightness and aimed in certain limits to be legal. A flashlight or bicycle light is unlikely to be as bright as the law (or a patrolman) expects to see, and if bright enough, but aimed too far up, down, left or right it might annoy other drivers or fail to illuminate where you are going. Some US states require a scooter or motorcycle to have a headlight on all the time the bike is in operation. I wonder if it would be easier to park the bike until the part arrives, or to improvise a mount (and I'm not talking duct tape) for a headlight of the voltage the battery puts out, then wire a from the battery through a fuse to a switch to the do-it-yourself headlight, thence to ground or the other battery terminal. The mount would have to be really solid to handle the constant vibration. Is it the headlight mount, or control circuit that is fried, or is it part of the battery charging system? If the alternator and its control circuitry are not working to keep the battery charged, then this approach would soon drain the battery. One could also carry an aux battery just to run the headlight. If you're not pretty handy with electronics, you could get a nasty burn or fry something else and be ordering more parts, or you could find yourself riding in the dark if something came loose. Edison (talk) 00:07, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

Though you seem to have already answered my question to the extent in which I have decided that it is unnecessarily troublesome to create an alternative replacement, I will tell you that the specific part in question is a voltage regulator. The shop that I consulted told me that there are no issues with the battery or with the headlight lamps themselves. The current that the headlight receives is managed by an alternator, and the issue that I am having is that the headlight bulb is receiving more voltage than it's supposed to, thus causing it to burn out. Though I expect that any further advice at this point will breach Wikipedia's NLA policy, I can tell you that I am a Florida resident.--WaltCip (talk) 02:10, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

As regards the legalistic aspect of it, as Edison suggests it's likely that the laws vary from state to state. So you would be well advised to contact your local department of motor vehicles and ask them who you should talk to about the requirements. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:54, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

Ignoring the legal requirements and simply looking at how to get enough light out front to see, I suggest you get several LED flashlights (each with as many LEDs as possible) and, indeed, duct tape them to the front. The LEDs use little enough power that the batteries will hopefully last, and the duct tape will absorb vibrations. This also doesn't require working with wires and risking a shock. After your scooter is fixed, you'll have some extra LED flashlights, which is always nice. Note that this probably won't be comparable to a real headlight, or legal, but might be enough to drive slowly through dark areas.

If you really want it bright, then buy one of the lights they mount on top of pick-up truck cabs, and hook up a car battery to power it. However, this will be far more expensive (the price might be comparable to buying a new scooter) and will require working with electricity. StuRat (talk) 02:11, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

I don't understand why you cannot use your existing headlamp. If the voltage supplied is too high then it will be brighter than usual, and the filament might burn out, but this can be corrected with a simple high-current resistor wired in series. If the voltage regulator on your alternator is faulty, then you risk damaging your battery by overcharging whenever you drive your scooter for a significant time, regardless of whether you are using the headlamp. Perhaps your scooter doesn't have a battery, in which case there is no risk and the series resistor should solve the problem as a temporary measure. Dbfirs 06:46, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

You don't specify your brand of scooter nor whether it has a battery but it seems likely that this regulator is the part you are waiting for. Unfortunately the supplier is across the pond from you but you can look for a discarded Vespa or Lambretta scooter to cannibalize for this part. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 07:23, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

Standard battery-powered bicycle lights front and rear can be a temporary solution. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 09:20, 1 September 2011 (UTC)

Drinking Age in Barbados?

Hello all, I've been trying to find the drinking age for Barbados, but it is not listed on Wikipedia, and my Googling has turned up mixed results of 16 and 18, with talk of the government raising it in the future. Can anyone help?

Thanks, 99.224.77.30 (talk) 23:43, 29 August 2011 (UTC)

Most sites, including this one which seems at least semi-official, say 18; this one says that "Barbados’ legal drinking age is 18. But this comes with an exception. Kids aged 10-17 can legally consume alcohol given that they have a parent with them." Ghmyrtle (talk) 10:44, 30 August 2011 (UTC)