Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous

Welcome to the miscellaneous section
of the Wikipedia reference desk.

skip to bottom

Select a section:

• Computing
• Entertainment
• Humanities
• Language
• Mathematics
• Science
• Miscellaneous
• Archives

Want a faster answer?

Main page: Help searching Wikipedia

   

How can I get my question answered?

• Select the section of the desk that best fits the general topic of your question (see the navigation column to the right).
• Post your question to only one section, providing a short header that gives the topic of your question.
• Type '~~~~' (that is, four tilde characters) at the end – this signs and dates your contribution so we know who wrote what and when.
• Don't post personal contact information – it will be removed. Any answers will be provided here.
• Please be as specific as possible, and include all relevant context – the usefulness of answers may depend on the context.
• Note:
  • We don't answer (and may remove) questions that require medical diagnosis or legal advice.
  • We don't answer requests for opinions, predictions or debate.
  • We don't do your homework for you, though we'll help you past the stuck point.
  • We don't conduct original research or provide a free source of ideas, but we'll help you find information you need.

Ready? Ask a new question!

How do I answer a question?

Main page: Wikipedia:Reference desk/Guidelines

• The best answers address the question directly, and back up facts with wikilinks and links to sources. Do not edit others' comments and do not give any medical or legal advice.

See also:

• Teahouse
• Help desk
• Village pump
• Help manual

January 11

Electrical conduit

Resolved

So I have this electrical conduit with 9 wires running through it into the panel. All the breakers are 2-1 pole. This is in Canada by the way, which has the same conventions in these matters I believe as the US. There are 3 blacks, 2 whites, 2 reds, 1 blue, and 1 green in the conduit. The board is a 3 phase, 4 wire, as it says. These aren't attached to any receptacles.

I don't quite understand what these are supposed to be. A black, a red and a blue suggests to me a three-phase circuit with a common neutral. So then maybe there is another 2-phase with a common neutral. But then there is another black with no neutral? That doesn't seem to make any sense. I don't really want to mess around with the circuit breaker, so I'm not going to be able to crack open the conduit at that end to see what runs where exactly. Is there any other way I can safely figure out what is going on with these? --69.196.176.227 (talk) 06:39, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

Hire an electrician. --Jayron32 06:43, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

It's possible to purchase a current meter that clips round each wire to measure the current flowing through it. I suppose you could identify the circuits this way by drawing current from different outlets. It's also possible to detect which wire is "live" with a sensitive meter (without removing the insulation), and identify the circuits by switching on one circuit-breaker at a time. But if you don't already know this, then the best advice has been given above. Hire an electrician! Dbfirs 13:59, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

You have at least two circuits, going by the number of neutrals, and probably some switch loops (I'm assuming this is a 12-ga branch circuit). As Jayron said, hire an electrician - this is beyond homeowner tools and skills. Acroterion (talk) 16:20, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for the tips, guys. I shall hire an electrician to wire everything for installation, I just wanted to safely figure out what was already installed in the space so I can think about options before beginning construction. The conduit runs directly from the panel, so could there still be switch loops then? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.196.176.227 (talk) 20:36, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

In the UK, it would be unusual to have switch loops running back through the breaker panel, but Canadian conventions might be different. There will be a limit on the total current that can safely pass through the conduit, especially if the wiring it tightly packed. Dbfirs 08:26, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

Today I took a voltmeter and measured the voltages between the different wires. Between all the reds, blacks and the blue on the one hand and the whites on the other, there was 123 volts. Between the reds, 0 volts. Between two of the blacks, 0 volts. Between the reds on one hand and the blacks and blue on the other, 213 volts. Between the blue and two of the blacks, 213 volts. Between the remaining black and the blue, 0 volts. This makes perfect sense to me if the whites are indeed neutral, the reds are from one phase, two of the blacks are from a second phase, and the blue and remaining black and the third phase, supplied from a 3-phase, 4-wire wye service, exactly as the panel suggests, since 213 ≈ (√3)*123. So the problem is that the one black should more appropriately be blue to match convention. So I'm supposing the conduit runs two 3-phase MWBCs. Does this make sense? --69.196.176.227 (talk) 05:55, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

Yes, your analysis seems accurate. The original electrician must have failed to bring sufficient blue wire (illegal in the UK). Dbfirs 09:18, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

Thanks! 69.196.176.227 (talk) 00:37, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

Two questions about Cracker Barrel

This is somewhat related to my series of questions on American restaurants last year. Anyway, today's featured article is Cracker Barrel, which happened to be among those restaurants and chains mentioned in my first question on the topic. As stated in the article, they have locations in 42 states... but they are only in the United States. This is made obvious by the fact that it only has a Wikipedia entry here on the English Wikipedia. They don't even have a single location in Canada, unlike Waffle House which has at least one. But why? Is there any particular reason why: 1.) No other Wikipedia has an article on it, and 2.) Why they haven't expanded internationally? They already have locations in most states (although mainly down in the South), and there are several chains which have a presence in less states but have a presence in Canada, so why not Cracker Barrel? Narutolovehinata5 ^tccsdnew 13:03, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

I think we pretty much covered this the first time. The answers being money and lawyers. Dismas|^(talk) 14:12, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

Well the answer for question 2 is money and lawyers. The answer for question 1 is "no one has written it yet". If, perchance, you have a working knowledge of another language, you could be responsible for fixing this problem. --Jayron32 14:14, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

Cracker Barrel's branding, marketing, and in store ambiance are full of references to the historic culture of the southern United States. The company's managers may have determined that its branding would not sell well outside of the southern US and other areas (pretty much exclusively in other US states) with historic ties to the US south. Marco polo (talk) 17:27, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

That never stopped Kentucky Fried Chicken and Colonel Sanders from expanding internationally. But I hear what you say. Just because some US franchises spread their wings, doesn't mean all of them have to. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 19:17, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

Well, to be fair KFC and Cracker Barrel are different sorts of restaurants with different operating models, different types of cuisine and service, etc. etc. The only things they have in common are "serves food vaguely connected to Southern U.S." The kind of scalability and expansion potential for a single-item fast food joint like KFC, compared to a sit-down table-service restaurant like Cracker Barrel is likely vastly different. Things like employee training and management, brand awareness, throughput of customers, etc. etc. all must weigh in to the decision. Part of the reason why most of the American restaurants which have been successful outside of the U.S. have been fast food restaurants like KFC and McDonalds is that their menu is very limited, they need less staff and less training to run the restaurant, which keeps startup and overhead down. Expanding a large table-service restaurant to a new locale requires a greater commitment in terms of startup costs, training of employees, establishing a brand identity, etc. than a fast-food restaurant does. One cannot downplay the limited menu as being a key to the difference here. McDonalds: Burger and Fries. KFC: fried chicken. Pizza Hut: Pizza. Cracker Barrel: ??? I've eaten at a Cracker Barrel many times, and even then I can't identify the one food item that's their "killer ap". Don't get me wrong, its good food, but there lacks that way of identifying the restaurant with the singular food item that makes people connect with it. That doesn't mean it is impossible to expand into foreign markets, but it does provide a level of additional risk which the corporation may not be willing to take. --Jayron32 19:36, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

Maybe you're looking in the wrong place, Jayron. According to our article (which I had to read to learn about this expression), a "killer ap" is a computer program. Not many food items I'm aware of are computer programs.  :) -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 20:53, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

See analogy and metaphor. Come back if these don't make sense to you. --Jayron32 20:57, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

I'm really struggling to see the logic in...

"...they are only in the United States. This is made obvious by the fact that it only has a Wikipedia entry here on the English Wikipedia." HiLo48 (talk) 19:12, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

What I think the OP was trying to say was that the lack of presence is countries where English is not the dominant language is connected to the lack of Wikipedia articles in other languages. This could be remedied by writing those articles in those other languages, which was my point. --Jayron32 19:16, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

Yeah, I got that that's what the OP was thinking, but there's a lot of other English speaking countries. Expansion into those places could not be ruled out "by the fact that it only has a Wikipedia entry here on the English Wikipedia". HiLo48 (talk) 19:46, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

I think the cause and effect goes the other way here. The lack of presence in non-English speaking countries leads to a lack of coverage in non-English Wikipedias, not the other way around. --Jayron32 20:08, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

Dismas and Jayron are definitely on the right track. Expanding internationally is a huge pain in the ass, not just in legalities and politics, but also in logistics and standards. For one thing, Canada has different standards when it comes to food labeling laws (not to mention it all also has to be in French) and ingredients regarding stuff like sodium levels and trans fats. Quick serve chains and their limited menu simplify that hugely - there's, say, thirty items you need to worry about, not hundreds. On the logistics side, consider this: let's say you have a signature... barbecue sauce. Ingredients-wise, it's fine for selling in Canada. Who's going to make it? Will you have to regularly import it through Customs and all that entails? If you find someone in Canada to manufacture it, will it taste exactly the same as you want it to? Again, the number of items you serve will compound those issues. Matt Deres (talk) 19:56, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

It's not even just logistics. Think about the difference in training someone to prepare the KFC's menu versus training someone to prepare the Cracker Barrel menu. "Put chicken in fryer. Take it out when the buzzer sounds." Done, you're now trained to work as a cook at KFC. Consider now how many different food items you'd have to be able to prepare to work at a Cracker Barrel. Everything from steaks to fried chicken to fish to pot pie to the side dishes and deserts. Now, train an entire staff to do so. Oh, and train the waitstaff. And bussers and dishwashers. And managers, both front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house. At any one time KFC needs a manager on site, two or three cashiers, two or three cooks, that's it. You can run the entire operation seven or eight people, and their training is fairly minimal. Cracker Barrel probably has seven or eight cooks, including a head cook and various line cooks, who need to know how to prepare a diverse menu, as well as a back-of-the-house manager that needs to manage food supplies, maintain employee morale and training, etc. Plus the waitstaff and host/hostess and front-of-the-house manager (another 9-10), plus all of the cleanup staff. It's an entirely different animal. --Jayron32 20:18, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

Forget about international expansion. What I want to know is why can't I get KFC's Honey BBQ Wings faxed to me or texted over the cellphone or printed out on my Hewlett Packard? I mean, dammit, Jim, they've had food replicators on Star Trek since before my parents got hitched! And I'm not talking about that gay bald French guy. What's with that facepalm thing anyway? I mean, if the Enterprise is a warship, what are they doing with as many women and children on board as the Titanic? Not that women don't make good field combatants. Just look at Boudicca. Or Boadicea. Or Bootylicious as I like to call her. She was just great as River Song! Not bad as the butch Lesbian on Upstairs Downstairs either. Although, frankly, I preferred James Spader on Stargate. And his boyfriend Skaara. Talk about chicken! μηδείς (talk) 21:25, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

I think somebody got into the liquor cabinet. StuRat (talk) 05:04, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

To be fair, the complexity of training is the same for opening a new domestic restaurant as it would be for a new international location. (Language barriers notwithstanding, though in the extant example of Cracker Barrel one could get away with exclusively unilingual English-speaking staff everywhere except Quebec.) One does the same thing for an international expansion as one does for opening a new domestic location—bring experienced staff from one or more existing locations to train staff at the new location, and/or bring new hires to head office or another central location for part of their training (cf McDonald's Hamburger University). Doing this sort of thing internationally is complicated (and made more expensive) by the need to arrange appropriate work visas for the trainers/trainees, but the training itself is no more difficult. TenOfAllTrades(talk) 18:16, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Jeremy Bentham

I am pretty sure that Simon Sebag Montefiore mentions in his "Prince of Princes. The Life of Potemkin" that Jeremy Bentham joined his brother Samuel for some time in Russia. Of course I don't know whether anything he saw there was of value to him.

Since it isn't mentioned in Wikipedia's entry I decided to put it here as a question in case somebody is interested (I read the book on loan from the library, therefore can't provide any reference other than my memory.)

Silke — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.217.116.29 (talk) 20:12, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

That's a pretty major omission! He did indeed spend some time there:

At this time Bentham was also preparing to travel to Russia to join his brother. He began the arduous journey in early August 1785 and in February 1786 arrived in Krichev in the Crimea, where Samuel was in the service of Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potyomkin. The two brothers were joyfully reunited after a separation of five and a half years. Bentham's period in Russia (approximately twenty months until his departure in the autumn of 1787) revealed some differences in temperament between the two brothers. ... Bentham found in his Russian retreat the opportunity for uninterrupted intellectual activity. He worked on penal and civil codes, and produced a French version of what would eventually become his Rationale of Reward (1825) (ODNB)

It seems he didn't engage much with Russia per se - he stayed firmly in his brother's cottage, travelling very little - but he did an astonishing amount of work, including the essays on the Panopticon. Andrew Gray (talk) 14:36, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

Finding hotels for major event

I am trying to set up an event for next year, for which I would want to book the whole of a hotel, all the bedrooms, conference rooms, restaurant and so on, to accommodate guests and activities. However, I am having trouble finding a suitable venue, when I search for hotels in a particular area, I find large numbers of tiny B&Bs or other small hotels that can only accept a dozen or so guests. I have a large area within which I would be willing to base the event, but although I do not mind searching through and contacting large numbers of potential venues to find the best one (though even this is proving difficult when I can only search one small area at a time), I am disappointed to find that the majority of these are either far too small or too large for our needs. So, just on the off-chance, is there anywhere I can go to find out about hotels with space for between, say, 50 and 300 people, or at least that will tell me the size of the venue and maybe even let me use that as part of my search terms? or any way of advertising my needs and letting suitable hotels come to me?

thank you for any help,

86.15.83.223 (talk) 21:19, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

I believe that most travel sites (Hotels.com, expedia, etc.) allow you to search for chain hotels over B&Bs as a matter of preference. You could also look through the major international chains, and go through their websites directly to see if they have anything that suits your needs. If you find a chain you would like to give your business to, I'm sure if you call them directly and explain exactly what you just did here, they have mechanisms in place to help you with what you're trying to do. --Jayron32 21:22, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

(ec) Try asking the Chamber of Commerce for city where your conference will be. They might be able to provide you with a list of area hotels that match your requirements. RudolfRed (talk) 21:24, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

Those sizes generally are reserved for conventions, so you might want to include that term in your searches, and specially look for hotels adjacent to convention centers. Avoid dates when a convention is already scheduled. You will likely be limited to major cities, as smaller venues won't have that many rooms to spare. Also, don't be stuck on reserving the entire hotel, when perhaps a few floors will do, and you better make the reservations many months in advance. StuRat (talk) 21:27, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

I have been asking the hotels for information, but the process of emailing every place in an entire county or two and finding that only a very few are suitable is taking up a lot of wasted time and effort. But I shall try the chamber of commerce idea, and look on another few websites, see whether any have better search options. And yes, we are arranging this some 22 months in advance, so I hope we have plenty of time. 86.15.83.223 (talk) 21:35, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

Assuming your enquiry is for the UK, the Tourist Information Service is set up to deal with exactly such an enquiry. If you can't find the body for the area where you want the conference located through a web search, simply ask your local one for a contact there and they will give you one. Failing that, contact Visit Britain who fulfil a similar function for the country. --TammyMoet (talk) 12:20, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

Tammy's advice is good. You also probably want to use the phrase "conference centre" in addition to "hotel", or "conference hotel", if you're googling. That finds you places like this:

Manchester and Manchester

Chelmsford

Glasgow

and so on. Or try FindMeAConference, which is set up to help with exactly this. 86.140.54.211 (talk) 17:52, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

Edinburgh has the Edinburgh Convention Bureau, a free service for organising conferences. The local council's economic development section should be able to put you in touch with a local equivalent, if it exists. Good luck. Dalliance (talk) 22:29, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

Holding such events as you describe has been a major (amateur-run) activity of the Science Fiction Fandom community in the UK for several decades, and Fandom has built up considerable expertise and experience in running these Conventions at all sizes up to 4-figure attendances. (We have even held Conventions to discuss Con-running, some of whose proceedings have been published as guides, such as the jokily named Eagle Book of Conrunning.) You might consider contacting a local SF Club who would be able to put you in touch with dedicated Conrunners who would probably be willing to offer advice on venues and procedures. Alternatively, look at a website such as Dave Langford's Ansible where you'll see links to many forthcoming UK and other conventions, enabling you to contact their committees. Please remember, however, that these are all hobbyists (albeit often very experienced) who carry out these activities in their own time and at their own expense, so any advice will come as a favour rather than a duty. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 84.21.143.150 (talk) 13:34, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

Bug shoes

Is this phrase anything more than a term used by some blokes who sail wooden boats somewhere who hadn't heard of Urban Dictionary? A Google News search turns up articles about a 18th century training institute in shoe repair run by a chap with the last name Bug, but nothing on the subject of the article itself. Nevard (talk) 21:50, 11 January 2013 (UTC)

Google Books produces, eg, this 1980s technical document using it, so it seems to be valid if obscure in the literature. Andrew Gray (talk) 14:31, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

Whatever it is, it should be a wiktionary entry, not an article. μηδείς (talk) 02:51, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

January 12

St. Nazaire harbor

Does anyone happen to know whether the German Kriegsmarine stationed any E-boats (not "U-boats") at St. Nazaire during World War 2, and if so, what part of the harbor were they moored in? I know where the U-boat pens and the big docks (Normandie dry dock, Basin de St. Nazaire and Basin de Penhoet) were, so it would be helpful if this was defined in relation to those landmarks. Thanks in advance! 24.23.196.85 (talk) 02:36, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

This artcle (in German) seems to have some details on the deployment of E-boats / Schnellboote. There is no mention of Saint Nazaire. Cherbourg is given as a base for the 1st flotilla (4 E-boats) in 1940. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 10:47, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

Thanks. In other words, I'll have to use my artistic license. (Especially now that I've read that all of St. Nazaire was burned to the ground in 1943.)  :-( 24.23.196.85 (talk) 21:04, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

It seems that German torpedo boats was based there at various times during the war - they were more like a small destroyer than a fast attcak craft. During Operation Chariot, the St Nazaire commando raid, HMS Campbeltown was disguised as a German torpedo boat. It was also a base for minesweepers. The problem with St Nazaire is that it's a long-ish way from the English Channel, which was where the action was for the E-boats. Alansplodge (talk) 01:33, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Thank you, but I don't think a crew of twelve men and one woman can successfully operate something that big. I think I'll just go ahead and turn one of them mini-destroyers into an E-boat -- nothing wrong with dressing history up a little, right? 24.23.196.85 (talk) 04:25, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Go right ahead. History has never been "what actually happened", but "what someone says what happened". -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 05:39, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

I'll try to keep it at least halfway-plausible, though -- no Quentin Tarantino-style BS for me! 24.23.196.85 (talk) 01:38, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Underwater tunnel in South Asia

Is there any underwater tunnel in South Asia? If yes, then how many? Which is the first one to be established? Where are those tunnels situated? Thanks --Zayeem ^(talk) 05:01, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

India is currently constructing its first underwater tunnel: This source says that the tunnel in Kolkata under the River Hooghly for the Kolkata Metro will be "the first time that a transportation tunnel running 20 metre below a river will be built in India." --Jayron32 05:18, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

Thanks, is it the first one to be built in South Asia? --Zayeem ^(talk) 06:40, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

Vietnam finished "conctruction" [sic] of its first in October 2012.[1] China built a tunnel under the Huangpu River in Shanghai in June 2003.[2] Clarityfiend (talk) 11:02, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

• Forgive me, but isn't "South Asia" just a recent renaming of the concept "Indian Sub-Continent" according to the same politically correct rules that require us to say African-American even when we're talking about some of the oldest families in the United State of America? Is there some source that refers to "Indian sub-continentals" as "South Asians" as opposed to south Asians prior to the 1960's? μηδείς (talk) 23:54, 12 January 2013 (UTC)
  • Don't get me started. It's probably best to simply note that our own article on South Asia says "Different sources vary in their statements of which nations are part of the region". HiLo48 (talk) 00:25, 13 January 2013 (UTC)
    • I think, unfortunately, wikipedia tends to confirm that in the battle between the nominalists and the realists, the nominalists were correcter than even they imagined. μηδείς (talk) 02:50, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

C A Latimer Author

Does anyone know if he is still alive and if so how to contact him please?85.211.131.113 (talk) 12:04, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

Courtenay Allen Latimer: An obituary in a couple of East Anglian papers gives his date of death as the 12.09.2011 and his age as 82. This fits with the year of birth of C. A. Latimer in 1929. There is also an obituary in the Times which may clarify if this is the author C. A. Latimer or a different person of the same name. The Times requires the payment of a "small fee". You may verify the matter at a library. The Times obituary was published on 14.09.2011. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 13:55, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for this, I found his publisher and they confirmed the above today.85.211.131.113 (talk) 19:03, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

peugeot advertising slogans\taglines timeline

I would like to know the timelines of certain taglines. The taglines are: "peugeot.live the pleasure" and "engineered to be enjoyed" Both of these taglines belong to peugeot. The reason i need the answer is that i have a marketing project and this is related to the project. All i want to know is when these taglines were introduced and till when they were used by peugeot. I have searched the net but i cannot find anything that answers my question. Please help. THANK YOU 92.97.145.199 (talk) 12:05, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

WW I identity of woman living at Aveluy France battlefield

I am looking for the identity of the woman pictured on page 61 of Look magazine dated August 11, 1964, whom, it is said, lived in the house pictured on page 60 of the magazine throughout the three battles at Aisne. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.86.180.49 (talk) 14:12, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

I think we're going to need some more information. Finding information about a picture in a 50 year-old magazine is very tough. Can you tell us the context of the picture? Was it attached to an article? Worse still, there are four magazines called "Look" (See Look_(disambiguation)#Magazines) - one of which ceased publication in 1971 - so we wouldn't even be able to find back-editions online. In which country was the magazine published? I suspect you're talking about the US magazine - which was heavy on photography and thin on text - and that's the one that went out of business. SteveBaker (talk) 23:45, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

We do have an article on each of the three battles, but none mention specific residents of the area. Without a more precise location and perhaps a look at the photos, this might be an impossible question for us to answer. However, the area today has many small museums and a visit to some of them with your photos, a chat with local historians and a look at local newspaper archives, might resolve your question. It won't be easy and could take a lot of lengthy research. Astronaut (talk) 13:19, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Same image?

Is this image the same as this one? If it's a bad digitalization, I'll upload the latter over the former. Brandmeister^talk 19:17, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

They certainly look like the same image of the same person - even his eyes are pointing in the same direction. The en.wikipedia hosted image seems to be sourced from de.wikipedia, with some message about permission from "Kirill Igor Lysenko and a Kurd from the St. Petersburg Club for Mariners and Submariner"! The ru.wikipedia hosted image come from a different source and also claims it is of Преминин, Сергей Анатольевич - the same person. However, do take note of the russian copyright notice and the fair-use rationales. In other words, you will have to look into what Commons says about fair use of russian images. Astronaut (talk) 19:57, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

On WP:AGF basis I assume that the free license is correct. If the former image is actually a copyvio, I'll upload the one under fair use. Brandmeister^talk 20:13, 12 January 2013 (UTC) Nevermind, will leave it as it is. Brandmeister^talk 20:28, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

Electrocution

I read that Edison used electrocution of animals as a way to make AC electricity look dangerous in the public eye, to give his competing DC electric distribution system an advantage in the war of the currents. Does that mean DC electricity doesn't electrocute people? 117.226.157.167 (talk) 21:00, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

No it doesn't -- ANY high-voltage current, whether AC or DC, can be lethal. AC might be more painful, but that doesn't mean that it's more dangerous! 24.23.196.85 (talk) 21:09, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

War of Currents gives the historical background to this. Rmhermen (talk) 21:30, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

My understanding is that AC is more dangerous, because it is considerably easier to disrupt the heart rhythm with AC than with DC. They don't differ significantly in terms of the tissue damage caused by current flow, though. Looie496 (talk) 18:02, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

There is some info Electric shock and some [3] although I didn't check the sources of either but they do suggest lower average thresholds for 60 hz AC. I have head that AC can be more likely to propel you away from the source (and [4] mentions something similar) but neither article mentions this, our article only mentions that 120V may often be too low for this to happen, while exceeding the let go threshold. (It may be the claim AC is more likely to propel you away is misinformation arising from the generally lower thresholds and perhaps misunderstanding of the effect of AC on muscular contraction.) My impression is this is something still sometimes debated with different opinions either way but doesn't get much interest because the general focus is to treat both as an electrocution risk at anything above ultra low voltage. Nil Einne (talk) 04:33, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

Gmail File Attachment

Gmail doesn't let you attach executable files. But there's a very easy way around this, by simply changing the extension from .exe to .jpg or suchlike, and then reverting it back once the recipient downloads the file at their end. Has Google not noticed this, or do they just not care about extensions being changed? As far as I've seen, changing extensions in no way damages the original file. Just makes it unreadable until it's reverted to the original extension. 117.226.157.167 (talk) 21:06, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

I would guess that they reasonably assume that it is not possible to accidentally run a .jpg image as an executable file, because anyone with sufficient knowledge to change the extension would be expected to know the dangers in doing so. Dbfirs 21:37, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

There is always a way to make any kind of file be acceptable to gmail - you can (for example) use base64 encoding and send it as an ASCII text file. So you're right in saying that Google can't stop you from doing this kind of thing. But that's OK - they don't want to stop you from doing it. The point is to try to avoid people clicking on, and executing some kind of malware program thinking they are going to be opening a PDF or viewing a picture. Windows won't execute an executable file unless it has an appropriate extension...so changing the extension is enough to protect people who either don't know what they are doing - or who just fail to notice that there is a problem. I don't think Google mind you exchanging executables with other people via Gmail. You could probably just Zip them up instead and achieve the same effect. SteveBaker (talk) 23:28, 12 January 2013 (UTC)

Some OR here as I was recently bitten by this while attempting to send a zipped archive of files and gmail rejected the zip attachment, so it clearly unpacks it to check. Very frustrating as no indication is given of where in the archive the exe files are located. I got around it by using bcrypt to encrypt the zip archive (supplying the password as plaintext in the body of the email so the recipient could decrypt it). Kram (talk) 11:31, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Also, you can leave the *.exe extension, and just tack *.txt or whatever after that. I wish they would just pop-up a warning when I email an executable, and let the person on the other end decide if they want to block it or not, but, until they do, this is a reasonable workaround. StuRat (talk) 01:33, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

January 13

Race And Intelligence And Exercising

Boxing this up
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
I have read the Race And Intelligence article and i was wondering if the racial differences in intelligence could be due to some kind of exercising? I read also that exercising can improve our intelligence, and that things we do CAN be passed on to next generations, so I was wondering whether these differences could be due to some physical exertions one nation has been engaged in while the other wasn't. Thanks a lot! Daniel h1 (talk) 01:25, 13 January 2013 (UTC) I'd expect nutrition to make more of a difference. A protein deficiency, in particular, seems to result in "brain fog". StuRat (talk) 01:29, 13 January 2013 (UTC) As well as Race and intelligence, you might want to read History of the race and intelligence controversy. -- Jack of Oz [Talk] 01:49, 13 January 2013 (UTC) Here is some recent research that might demonstrate something. HiLo48 (talk) 02:39, 13 January 2013 (UTC) But like Jack, I suggest you be very careful in drawing any solid conclusions here. The second sentence of Race And Intelligence begins... "There is no widely accepted formal definition of either race or intelligence in academia..." So there's your starting point. HiLo48 (talk) 02:50, 13 January 2013 (UTC) Races don't have IQ's, individuals do. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 04:46, 13 January 2013 (UTC) Also, consider that the reason women aren't reported as having a higher average IQ than men, and there aren't endless papers and essays discussing why, is that all standard IQ tests adjust for gender so that men and women both average out at 100. It is general practice to adjust the scores from IQ tests, so that every population averages out at 100, so that individuals can be compared to the average. It's why no matter what country you take an IQ test in, the average is 100. So every study that finds a difference across race or ethnicity has chosen not to adjust the IQ scores for those groups, unlike standard practice. 86.140.54.211 (talk) 13:04, 13 January 2013 (UTC) I doubt this question is going to get a satisfactory answer that doesn't run at least tangent to some of the Arbcom restrictions on this topic. And I don't think there's much of an answer that we can provide here that isn't, at best (certainly not great), answered on wikipedia by reference to our pre-existing articles. If someone was bold and resolved this I would certainly agree. Shadowjams (talk) 13:57, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Can someone link to the appropriate ArbCom discussion? 20:51, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

WP:ARBR&I --Jayron32 01:15, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

Japanese clothing

I'm having a hard time identifying the costume wore by a character named Amari Nobunaga in the InuYasha manga series. Here's a picture of the character. I thought it's a standard hakama but the neckline is very different, and so is the inner jacket (is it shitagi?). I'm new to these Japanese terms so can someone tell me the the specific names of the costumes? Thank you, 五代 (talk) 12:07, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Kimono? manya (talk) 04:06, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

Is it really a kimono? It sure does look like one but what about the legs? Also, as I've noted above, the neckline is very different. Kimono's neck is closed but the costume's is different. 五代 (talk) 11:18, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

Looks like a yukata to me. Hakama is worn by men or Miko. KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 12:50, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

It seems to me a daimon. See ja:大紋. It's a kind of hitatare, ja:直垂. Oda Mari (talk) 16:37, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

That's actually probably right. KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 19:46, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

A daimon. Thank you KageTora and Oda Mari. 五代 (talk) 03:47, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Variable income tax rate by occupation

Just wondering, has any country implemented an income tax where favored occupations, say teachers, pay a lower tax rate that non-favored occupations, say strippers ? StuRat (talk) 17:54, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Wow, what a can of worms that would be. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:15, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

It's rare, but it happens on a limited scale; the usual method is to provide income tax reliefs or reductions for specific occupations or expenses, rather than have a distinct rate of taxation for a given occupation.

The UK retains a clear example of one such case; sailors who spend more than half their time outside the UK but are ordinarily resident there (and so would normally be liable for UK tax) are completely exempt from all tax on their seafaring earnings. Other states have similar rules - "Denmark has reduced rates of income tax, France reimburses all social charges for seafarers to employers and the Netherlands does not levy income tax and social security on personnel of Dutch-flagged ships if the operating company is based in the Netherlands" (source). Andrew Gray (talk) 18:27, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

It is certainly very common for business income to be treated differentially based on the business activities it originates for. (Usually, though, such tax incentives take the form not of varying the marginal tax rates - the way it's done e.g. with qualified dividends on the US federal income tax - but by offering various special deductions, credits, accelerated depreciation schedules, etc. This is why a US state's income tax booklet may talk about solar and wind energy, disadvantaged areas, riverboat casinos, you name it...). As far as personal income tax is concerned though, I have not heard to source-specific rates, but some features remotely similar to what you've described are perhaps the following:

• complete exemption for certain income types (e.g., soldiers' "combat pay" and certain allowances in the US.
• greater personal deductions/standard exemption for residents of certain remote areas (I believe we have, or used to have, it in Canada). The idea, of course, being that most of personal incomes earned there are from mining, forestry, and similar activities.
• occupation-specific deductions, e.g. for educators in the US.
• tax treaty exemptions. Those are often highly activity-specific. Most often, they apply to foreign students, educators and researchers, sometimes to foreign government officials. But there is a great variety there; for US treaties with foreign countries, get the IRS Pub. 901 for some entertaining reading.
• business licenses. I remember reading that in some jurisdictions small businesses can/could opt to buy an annual "license", under the terms of which they would pay a certain fixed amount of tax (computed based on the business type and size, I assume), instead of having to compute their actual business income for a year and produce an actual income tax return. I am not sure whether the government's ideas as to which businesses should be "favored" would enter into the rate-setting process, but that's certainly not impossible. -- Vmenkov (talk) 18:38, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

It wasn't an income tax, but in the UK in the 1960s Harold Wilson's Labour government introduced a 'Selective Employment Tax' on service industries in an attempt to encourage manufactauring. See here for some of the problems it caused. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 18:49, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Income tax in the Netherlands#The 30 Percent Rule is an example of the tax breaks available to some people in some occupations - in this case people whose skills are scarce in the Dutch jobs market. Astronaut (talk) 14:03, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Ireland allows artists and writers to sell their creative works tax-free up to €40,000.[5]. Prior to 2011, there was no limit to the tax break. --D Monack (talk) 03:46, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

Safe to use 2-pronged to 3-pronged ungrounded adapter?

I have an LCD HDTV that requires a 3-pronged grounded outlet. I live in the USA. However, the room where I want to place he TV only has 2-pronged ungrounded outlets (it also doesn't have the nail in the middle of the cover). Is it safe to plug my TV into a 2-pronged to 3-pronged ungrounded adapter? I tried it and it turns on and everything, but is it safe to use? Will my house burn down? Will I receive a lethal electric shock? Acceptable (talk) 19:52, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Check the owner's manual for your TV. Most will say if you should not use an adapter. RudolfRed (talk) 20:36, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

The purpose of the earth (or ground) pin is to provide protection against damage or injury if the equipment malfunctions in certain ways. Its absence will not have any effect on normal working, but could make the equipment much more dangerous. Unless the equipment is double insulated (in which case the earth pin is not functional) do not do this unless you understand the risks. --ColinFine (talk) 21:12, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Note that there are ways to add grounding after the fact. Many adapters will include a metal contact for ground, which you then attach to a wire, which in turn is attached to a good ground, such as a drain pipe. Note that the ground wire doesn't need to be insulated, since it's not normally "hot". Or, if you have properly grounded outlets in other rooms, you could run an extension cord to them. However, just because an outlet has 3 holes doesn't automatically mean that it's grounded. It should be checked first. StuRat (talk) 22:18, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Most authorities now point out that extension cords are for temporary usage only, and should not be used in permanent or long-term situations, because of fire risks, etc. For long term or permanent use, you are supposed to contact a licensed electrician to install an additional outlet, or in the discussed case, turn the two-prong outlet into a three-pronged one. - That's what you're supposed to do - actual adherence to the recommendations may vary. -- 71.35.120.28 (talk) 17:15, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

All risks are relative, and they risk of using the proper extension cord, in the proper manner (so it doesn't overheat or present a trip hazard) are less than the risks of using an ungrounded outlet, IMHO. StuRat (talk) 06:04, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

It sounds like you're referring to a Cheater plug. As both that article and NEMA connector says, using them isn't a good idea particularly in a case like yours where the outlets are definitely ungrounded. Nil Einne (talk) 02:53, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

Weird Experience

I've experienced this often enough: something (a word I've never known existed, or a story I've never heard of before, or a picture I've never seen, etc) that I come across for the first time, I come across almost immediately for a second time elsewhere. Like today, I learnt about what a Tamagotchi is in the morning, and then read a Sheldon Cooper quote about Tamagotchis on Facebook. I'd never in my 22 year old life, heard or read about or seen Tamagotchis before. Does this phenomenon have any particular name? 117.227.47.21 (talk) 19:59, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Synchronicity -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 20:04, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Excellent. A nearly identical question was asked within the last day or so, only this time we've got a term for it. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 21:34, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Another relevant article is Littlewood's law (wherein it's just not that special a coincidence). And you may wish to consider the possibility that you have heard of Tamagotchis before, in passing, but because they're so trivial you just forgot them (just as you've forgotten the names of lots of other toys you've never owned). The coincidence of these two mentions (so close together than you didn't forget it again, in time) is one thing; ascribing to random events a causal relationship is pareidolia. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 20:11, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Baader-Meinhof phenomenon. IBE (talk) 02:25, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

The redirect is to the Frequency illusion. IBE (talk) 02:28, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

• Why do I get the freaky feeling I have just recently come across the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon? 05:01, 14 January 2013 (UTC)
  • It's like deja vu all over again.[6] ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 11:16, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

It happens to me a lot. For example, I went to a birthday party a couple of days ago, and the person whose birthday it was still has my old Fender Stratocaster. He has done it up and looked after it, and said I can have it back if I need it. I haven't seen it for about 5 years. After I came home, one of the kids I was working with at a primary school in Hungary had sent me a message saying he had just got a Fender Stratocaster. KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 06:03, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

No small number of times, I've said something out loud and a second or two later the very same word or sentence appears on radio or TV, in a different context. I think of these odd coincidences as God playing little jokes on us. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:01, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

Well, that brings up a whole raft of difficulties. Since radio & TV is rarely broadcast "live" - and when it is, there is always a good length of delay included - God would either have to have known what you were about to say some months before and pre-planned the whole thing, involving who-knows-how-much intervention in the brains of scriptwriters and/or editors and/or TV station schedulers...either that or he'd have to have tweaked your brain to make you say that at just the right time. Either of which would be bad for "free will"...which most religions regard as essential. So I'd say "busted" on that idea.  :-) SteveBaker (talk) 15:17, 17 January 2013 (UTC)

It happens a lot to me, because I read a lot, and when I am reading, and the family is watching TV, which I never do, the very same word will often be said at the same time I am reading it. It's not a God-thing (I am an atheist). It's either just a pure coincidence, or the fact that I am reading the same BBC article that the BBC program on TV is talking about. KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 23:19, 17 January 2013 (UTC)

I never used any of the maths I learnt in school

...and this is proving to be a slight problem. It seems I am now friends with this guy that's basically a genius, not only does he show everyone else up all the time, but most of the time I don't have a clue what he's talking about, so I thought, why not look online and study a bit of engineering and computing stuff, maybe actually learn something for once. Except, then it turns out, I don't understand even the basics, because I've totally forgotten all the maths I learnt after we moved on from basic arithmetic. And there we get onto the real problem, I used to be pretty good in maths at school, it was all easy, almost intuitive, I had some of the best people in the class coming to me for advice, so I know I can understand it all, but quite simply, at 24 now, I've forgotten it all, my mind just goes totally blank at even the simple little kinematics equations I used to find so fun, never mind differentiation or functions.

So, I guess I need to refresh my memory, relearn all that stuff, and probably basic physics as well, and most of all get to practice on some actually difficult maths, rather than the simple stuff I encounter every day. Any idea where I can go to find all that? Online study guides would be good, seeing as I don't have a huge amount of money to spend on textbooks and the like.

many thanks,

86.15.83.223 (talk) 22:46, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Wouldn't the Maths Desk be the place to ask ? StuRat (talk) 22:49, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Khan Academy should have all you're asking about, particularly the maths. -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 22:52, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

I just checked that khan academy, looks good, they seem to have a few hundred videoes on the topic, which is a lot to work through, but it looks like most of them are pretty short. do they do practice equations and such like I can try out to get my brain working away properly again? just that I found solving lots of problems to be the way I learnt best at school.

And they do a bit of physics as well, enough to get started at least. 86.15.83.223 (talk) 23:05, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

They do; e.g.: [7] [8] -- Finlay McWalterჷTalk 23:10, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

If you live near a library, you might be able to get hold of Schaums Elementary Algebra. I swear i dont work for them, but i always promote Schaums. You can read reviews here [9]. The good news is, at 24, you still have plenty of time. At 30, you might be more worried. IBE (talk) 02:22, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

Ooh, I could go to the university library, they have lots of interesting books there, I used to read all the stuff in the history section before 86.15.83.223 (talk) 02:47, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

January 14

Taxes and coupons

I've had coupons for free items which have a disclaimer "taxes not included". This seems rather odd, since at least for Michigan state sales tax, they can only charge you tax on what you actually pay for an item. To do otherwise would be quite illegal. So, are there other places where you still have to pay the full tax on the MSRP, regardless of the price you actually pay ? StuRat (talk) 02:07, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

In California, you have to pay sales tax on the retail price of a cell phone, even if you get it for a reduced price. I'm not sure about other items. RudolfRed (talk) 02:57, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

(EC) As with many questions, a simple search provides a big clue. In particular [10] mentions both in the article sourced to a document from the New Jersey government [11], and in the comments that in some states, they do actually have to pay sales tax on the full price if that's what they're actually receiving, i.e. if the coupon comes from a third party like the manufacturer or in the case of a franchise I would guess the head franchisee (although I presume in some cases the coupon may come out of both pockets so only some extra/ sales tax would be due). Nil Einne (talk) 03:02, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

Based on RR's comment a further search found [12]. Most of the discussion there is unsourced but some of it is, it sounds like as with all things tax in the US it can be rather complicated. In some cases the coupon has to be linked to a specific taxable item to reduce the sales tax due. Unsourced but the sales tax after manufacturers coupon bit is claimed to apply in California, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Tennessee although some people claim they were or are charged sales tax on the pre-coupon amount in other states (including someone from Michigan). Someone else only listed a few states where the sales tax on the final price after all coupons (I presume this includes manufacturer) applies. This article [13] similar suggests in Groupon and other such social deal of the day sites it can be complicated and dependent on the tax agencies interpretation of the coupon. Nil Einne (talk) 03:19, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

I initially wrote 'some states (probably many I suspect including Michigan)' but removed the bracketed part because it was largely a complete guess. But it turns out I wasn't wrong at least on the second part. And from the above forum I suspect the first. It seems Michigan is indeed one of those states where the full sales tax on the amount the retailer actually receives is due. So if a manufacturer or other third party coupon is involved, where they rebate the retailer, sales tax greater then the amount you pay for the item may be due. Since this is from the Michigan state government itself [14], I'm fairly certain it isn't illegal whatever StuRat's beliefs to the contrary. On the other hand failing to pay sales tax to the state government on the amount they receive including any rebates from third parties may be illegal. (I presume they don't actually have to collect it from the customer, they could just cut in to their profits. Although if their receipts are wrong about how much tax is being paid that could be another problem). Nil Einne (talk) 03:29, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

The coupons in question are from the retailers themselves, so this explanation doesn't apply here. StuRat (talk) 04:56, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

Sure but none of that was mentioned in the original question and I'm not a mind reader.Aand it seems quite clear your statement is incorrect about the illegality of taxing more then you paid for an item in Michigan is incorrect, since in the case of manufacturer/reimbursement coupons it can happen according to the Michigan government. In fact, it's entirely unclear to me whether it's illegal even when it comes to store coupons. The documents I linked to from the Michigan government mentions that companies can't enrich themselves by the collection of taxes but it suggests it may be okay for them to collect higher taxes then they're supposed to if they do actually pay the government. This doesn't really seem surprising, and so I'm not convinced a retailer would be in legal trouble, at least with the government, if they made a good faith mistake and collected more taxes then they were supposed to which they did actual pay to the government, particularly when they included a disclaimer. Based on this source [15] from the forum post I linked earlier, it seems possibly the same in Pennsylvania however I'm not sure what to make of [16] (was what they did actually illegal or was the problem that they were afraid of customer lawsuits and did the fact these were government vouchers affect the legality?). With the NJ document it does say if they don't disclose it's a manufacturer/reimbursement coupon, they can't collect the extra taxes but do have to pay the extra.

Also I would note 'retailer' here is somewhat unclear. As I mentioned it's unclear to me what happens if the coupon is from the head franchise who reimburses, at least partially, the franchisee. This would seem to depend on the definition of third party. I didn't have much luck with searches in the US (there was something on Canada) to confirm but it seems possible a head franchisee could be seen as a third party.

In any case since you specifically referred to free items, I would note in some states like Wisconsin [17], Connecticut [18] and the city of Denver [19] the retailer may be treated as the purchaser/user and may have to pay sales tax. (I suspect it's a lot more states then this, in fact I think I had another one but can't find the link.) Whether or not this is the case seems to depend on a complicated mix of stuff like whether the item is given away as a general promotion or with some other item and for he later case whether the other item itself is tax free or not. It's not clear whether or not they can collect this tax from the customer if they desire (presuming it was properly disclosed) instead of just paying it themselves. As an aside I suggested in one of my earlier posts that a retailer should be able to pay the tax rather then collecting it directly from the customer but [20] suggests that can't happen in Florida.

So just reaffirming what I said in one of my earlier posts, it is complicated, and the first link I provided as well as the forum link and a bunch of other stuff make it clear that retailers aren't always that clear on what they are supposed to do and some do charge sales tax even store coupons even if they don't have to. (Even with [21] which seems to be a simple case, the retailer did feel the need to seek clarification.) So it's perhaps not surprising retailers like general disclaimers. And as I mentioned early in this post, your claims not withstanding in most cases there's probably less risk to the retailer if they collect too much tax but do send it to whoever they collect it for then to collect to little).

P.S. I did look to see if there was any state which required taxes for the original price even for discount (not free item) coupons without any third party reimbursement but didn't specifically find any. However the law's can be complicated enough and retailers themselves sometimes unclear enough that I can't say no place in the US requires it, and given the other complexities I did write about, I didn't search that hard.

P.P.S. I can't say what the situation was like when Nyttend was growing up but it seems the current regulations in Ohio are similar to many other states and only third party/reimbursement coupons need to be taxed at the non reduced price. [22] Incidentally I used the term law a few times earlier but I did so loosely. It seems clear some of these are regulations or policy based on current interpretation of the law and whatever government involved.

Nil Einne (talk) 12:39, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

Growing up in Ohio, I remember something like StuRat's situation being the case; it was explained to me that the law viewed the coupon as taking effect after the sales tax was calculated. Meanwhile, for your original question, read the "Sales tax on auto purchases?" section of Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2010 May 19. If you buy a true clunker of a car in some states, it's slightly possible that you'd pay more in sales tax than you'd pay for the car itself. Nyttend (talk) 04:33, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

Pizza delivery documentary - help me find it?

I remember seeing a preview of that documentary many years ago. It included a snippet of a hit-and-run of a delivery driver against a pedestrian that killed said pedestrian.

That was because of the "30 minutes or it's free" rule with the price of the pizza coming out of the deliverer's paycheck. The deliverer was tired of having to pay out-of-pocket because he'd be even so little as 15 seconds late.

That's why he ran a red light and ran over a pedestrian. Then a scene in court showed that a manager announced that he was going to discontinue the "30 minutes or its free" rule in order to save lives.

I'm looking for this video now. What video(s) will go over this pizza delivery hit-and-run incident that discontinued the "30 minutes or its free" deal? Please link. Thanks. --70.179.161.230 (talk) 06:10, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

The company was Domino's Pizza. Searching under that name (or the various links here) should help you out. Matt Deres (talk) 14:31, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

Snopes has an account of the issue (including the fact that Domino's never accepted that their policy was the cause of the accidents). I don't think it mentions a video, but one of the links in it might. --ColinFine (talk) 18:56, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

Pop Ups

I never used to have problems with pop ups before. But since last week, everytime I open Google Chrome, a bazillion popups keep opening up without my knowledge and running in multiple independent windows which I have to close manually every single time. Can anyone tell why this is happening and what I can do to fix it? 117.227.196.224 (talk) 09:08, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

You might get a better answer at the Computing Reference Desk. That said, I don't use Chrome but with Firefox, these things sometimes get started with a plugin that you unknowingly installed. I believe Chrome has plugins or extensions as well. So you might want to check that first and disable anything that looks out of the ordinary. Dismas|^(talk) 09:16, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

I checked the extensions and found nothing that's not supposed to be there. In addition, everytime I fire up Chrome, two tabs are opened simultaneously, one for my homepage, and the other that links to some site called websearch.just-browse.info 117.227.161.189 (talk) 09:56, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

Try scanning for malware/virus. If you have antivirus already, run a scan. If you don't have one and using Windows 7 you can use the build in Microsoft Security Essentials (located in your taskbar, lower right corner). Or you could use Trend Micro's HouseCall. Royor (talk) 10:16, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

A quick google search for "websearch.just-browse.info" confirm it's a web browser hijacker. Royor (talk) 10:53, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

Can you further expound your bachelors thesis for your master's degree

I have recently completed my BA thesis but I think that it can work well with further explanations that would be related to the graduate program I intend to go to. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Joshua Atienza (talk • contribs) 13:52, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

It all depends on the graduate school you attend. I didn't exactly have a BA thesis, but I had something close to it that I used as my "writing sample" that was part of my application to graduate school; I've not used it since. Nyttend (talk) 14:03, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

(edit conflict) The person you need to ask is somebody at your intended graduate program. Probably any breathing person in the graduate program you intend to go to (or indeed any potential graduate program you may go to, if you are applying to several) would have a more relevant answer than any person that would ever respond here. Of the thousands upon thousands of graduate schools in the world, and of the tens of thousands of departments within those schools, there's no way that anyone here would know what the particular policies of any one of them are. --Jayron32 14:04, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

Per Jayron32. Your advisor or supervisor will be available for the discussion of appropriate MA projects. Fifelfoo (talk) 21:54, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

Agreed, and if you want to enjoy your studies and have some challenge, you will be looking for a topic that naturally follows from and builds on your BA studies, or one that is a completely new departure. Doing the same topic again might be superficially attractive, as a soft option, but it could also get very boring. Itsmejudith (talk) 22:25, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

Food safety

I put a whole chicken in my crock pot along with 1/2 cup catchup, 1/2 cup coffee, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup worcestershire sauce and pepper. I turned it on high for about 1 hour. Then, I turned it off by mistake (meant to turn it to low). It was off for about 5-6 hours. I then turned it back on and cooked until done. Is the chicken safe to eat? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.68.93.69 (talk) 18:30, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

Not wishing to give medical advice here, but you haven't told us some important information. Was the chicken frozen to start with? If so, was it completely defrosted and the cavity free of ice before you started cooking it? Was the chicken at room temperature before you turned the pot on? --TammyMoet (talk) 18:43, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

Tammy, this isn't a medical advice question; the consumption of any food has an effect on the body that may be relevant to some medical condition, but the question was not posed in the context of any condition, but simply as a general food safety question. Doctors have no skills in food preparation, and people who attend a Safe Food Handling course are not being given medical advice. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 23:48, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

I moved your response; I hope you won't mind.Dncsky (talk) 03:15, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

No, I don't mind too much, but (a) don't make a habit of it; and (b) you left the other part of my post stranded without an owner. I've signed it again. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 03:34, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Actually it is medical advice: if we say "yes it's safe to eat" and the OP gets food poisoning because the chicken was not cooked properly, not reaching the optimum temperature to kill off any bugs, who gets sued? Me or you? --TammyMoet (talk) 11:26, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Didn't take long for the medical advice police to show up, did it? It's not medical advice, it's food safety advice. --Viennese Waltz 11:35, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Indeed. Editing Wikipedia can be disastrous for your mental health (and physical health, if you spend all day every day at it and never get any exercise). But encouraging people to get involved in the project, or indeed to steer clear of it all costs, is, strangely, never considered to be medical advice. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 13:50, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

What's with the coffee and the sugar? Where did this recipe come from? It doesn't sound particularly "safe" from a taste perspective. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 18:55, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

Indeed, even as a coffee lover, I am a bit perplexed. Anyway, to the OP, I'd eat it, assuming everything in the pot has come to 180F for an hour. SemanticMantis (talk) 20:29, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

• If the pot was lidded and the contents were boiled and not uncovered after allowed to cool the contents should have remained sterile until the lid was removed. You can slow-cook and reheat soup and leave it on the stove for several days if you are careful to keep the lid on it. The recipe sounds Jamaican. μηδείς (talk) 20:51, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

I'll try anything once, man, but my blood glucose level may never recover after all that sugar. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 03:34, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

(This sounds like a fairly common ingredient list for Barbecue sauces - eg [23], [24]). Anyway - you should be OK with cooking the chicken, so long as the internal temperature gets high enough (foodsafety.gov [25] says 165 degF (74 degC). However, according to Slow cooker, that might not be the case with a crock-pot set on "LOW", so set it on "HIGH" and if possible, use a meat thermometer to be sure. SteveBaker (talk) 15:57, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

• The OP's question seems to be not whether the meat was undercooked, but whether letting it sit at a lower temperature than cooking temperature for many hours was detrimental. Assuming the meat was indeed properly cooked during the first hour, and not uncovered and let to sit for hours before reheating again to cooking temperature, it should have remained quite sterile during that time. The real problem would be if, say, the pot had never been brought to a sterilizing temperature, or if it had been opened and sampled with a contaminated spoon and was then left to sit for hours at a non-sterilizing temperature and not heated again to a sterilizing temperature once the mistake had been noticed. In most cases, unless you or your kitchen are contaminated with a bacterial or viral pathogen, or you let the food sit for days with a fungus or a bacteria, and you don't reheat properly, you have nothing to fear.

A lot of people have a taboo or kosher attitude towards food. If it has ever cooled down, or ever been exposed to air, touched by a gentile, or ever let to sit more than two or three days in the fridge, it has gone bad regardless of evidence or actual exposure to pathogens. It is very hard to reassure people according to the germ theory of disease when they believe, in effect, in spontaneous generation or moral contamination. Basically, wash your hands, don't cough on or let your sputum get in the food, don't double dip, and, according to the above sources, cook to the right temperature the first time, and reheat properly the second time. μηδείς (talk) 04:24, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

Can someone explain the BBC article on the "'Simpler' flat-rate state pension"

The BBC article on the 'Simpler' flat-rate state pensionsays:

However, by 2060, more than half would be worse off than if the current system continued, because they could not build up a state second pension.

...

Anyone who qualifies for the state pension before April 2017 will continue to receive their entitlement under the current system.

Does that mean that anyone who has voluntarily paid the "contracted in" National insurance contributions but who reaches retirement age after 2017 will just lose the money they contributed? -- Q Chris (talk) 18:43, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

I'm just listening to someone trying to explain this on the BBC News channel. It seems to be very complicated, but from what he says there would appear to be transitional arrangements and you would get a higher pension than the flat rate. -- Arwel Parry (talk) 21:44, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

Yes, that seems to be the correct interpretation (current entitlement not being lost). As I understand it, there will be one-off rebasing of state pension entitlement to include state second pension (S2P), state earnings related pension (SERP) and graduated pension (Graduated Retirement Benefit), and if the total comes to less than the flat-rate pension then the £144 (or £155 by then) will be awarded. No doubt the details will be published soon. Very few people retiring in 2060 will have paid any state second-pension contributions, and those that have will not have many years to their credit. Dbfirs 00:13, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Thanks. I look forward to hearing the details. The idea of adding up the accrued entitlements and raising it to the minimum if less sounds surprisingly fair. While it is possible that someone who made a small amount of contracted in payments would not be any better off than someone who didn't make them they at least have the consolation that they they are better off than they would have been without the change. -- Q Chris (talk) 13:41, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Slight correction - the "contracted-in payments" aren't really voluntary. They are just the standard national insurance rates. There is then a rebate if you are a member of a contracted-out pension scheme. You can't just choose to pay the lower rates. --Tango (talk) 12:42, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

January 15

Pental correction fluid

You have put many warnings about the about the above liquid. My question is if you get it on your skin, hope do you remove it? Regards Brian Galyer — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.132.96.157 (talk) 01:22, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Where has wikipedia posted a warning about correction fluid? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:49, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Not exactly a warning, but see correction fluid. The correct spelling is Pentel, by the way. Looie496 (talk) 02:36, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

(un-indent) If the fluid hasn't dried, soap and water will work just fine. 24.23.196.85 (talk) 06:42, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

And, if it has, I'd expect you could peel it off in chunks. After all, it's designed to adhere to paper, not skin. StuRat (talk) 07:58, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

The only "warning" I'm seeing in the correction fluid article is that some nuts apparently try to get high from inhaling it. Like an office supply store answer to airplane glue. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 12:35, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

This is unfortunately quite true. Some years ago a dead body was found in the Local Government Office my mother then worked in. It turned out to be a teenaged cleaner who'd opened a stationery cupboard and inhaled either the fluid itself or the fluid's solvent (which used to be sold in separate but similar bottles for revivifying the fluid when it gets too gummy). {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 84.21.143.150 (talk) 14:04, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

That said I would definitely recommend not using correction fluid when editing Wikipedia -- Q Chris (talk) 13:36, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Am I the only person here who has frequently had correction fluid on their fingers? Soap, water and a nail brush are the right kit. Makes a white nail polish but will be flaking off before home time. Itsmejudith (talk) 14:09, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

These days, I'd expect use of correction fluid to be rare, as it's primary use was for typewritten material, and we rarely use typewriters anymore. StuRat (talk) 16:13, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Staples, the stationery and office supplier, sells about 15 different presentations of correction fluid and tape. If you Google shop "correction fluid" there are more hits than you want to bother with. They wouldn't be selling it if nobody was buying it. I have a bottle and I use it if I make an error on paper forms. Richard Avery (talk) 16:31, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Anecdote time: My sister started her working life working for a firm of solicitors. This was in the late 1960s, long before most offices were computerised, so typewriters were state of the art. She spent her days typing legal documents, many of which were quite long, and all of which used legal language she was not particularly familiar with (at least when she started). All the documents she typed had to be error-free - but correction fluid was completely banned. If she made a mistake, even a misplaced comma on the last line of a 50-line page, she had to type the whole thing again and risk making mistakes she didn't make the first time through. Tough call, but it was a great discipline. - Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 23:58, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Barber's vibrators

Some barbers used to use vibrators that strapped to the back of their hand. They would vibrate customers neck and shoulders after cutting their hair. I would like to buy one of these vibrators but cannot find them listed on the internet. Anybody know where I can find? Thank you WSC — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.74.14.40 (talk) 17:17, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

I am familiar with what you mean, a rubber-cup head that straps around the palm. But I am not getting any good search results. The good news is, that if you are happy with a new one, most drug store chains will carry state of the art electric massagers for about $20. I have two by Homedics I use regularly that I bought when I was hospitalized from major surgery over a decade ago, and they are as good as new today. μηδείς (talk) 18:27, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

I would suggest changing your search term to massage, though. Look here. Mingmingla (talk) 18:55, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

European Athletics Championships 1962

It appears that Poland won 3 gold medals and should be at least tied with West Germany for 3rd place. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.228.228.164 (talk) 21:35, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Are you requesting a change to one of our articles ? If so, that article's talk page is the place to do so. StuRat (talk) 22:20, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

January 16

South African Revenue Services

I am trying to find out what Government Department SARS falls under and who is the CEO (or Top Official) of SARS. Thank you

See http://www.sars.gov.za/home.asp?pid=51141 for the SARS Executive Committee. I assume Commissioner Oupa Magashula is the top official. http://www.sars.gov.za/home.asp?pid=341 talks about advising the Commissioner and the Minister of Finance, so I would assume it comes under the Finance Ministry. Rojomoke (talk) 06:51, 16 January 2013 (UTC)