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July 31

What did Curtis LeMay say about the attack on the USS Liberty?

Curtis LeMay had retired shortly before the attack, so I presume he was still engaged and knowledgeable. Also, since he was an opponent of defense secretary Robert Macnamara, I wonder if LeMay voiced an opinion.184.169.45.4 (talk) 03:25, 31 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Are you talking about USS Liberty (AGTR-5)? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:59, 31 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

yes — Preceding unsigned comment added by 144.35.45.79 (talk) 22:20, 31 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not finding anything in newspapers.com about it. That's not an all-encompassing newspaper collection, though. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:47, 1 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

LeMay and the USS Liberty are both targets for conspiracy theorists (who claim that the US paid Israel to attack the USS Liberty), so if you do find anything, it is very likely that it will be completely made up by some idiot. 209.149.113.5 (talk) 12:31, 1 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I expected that if Lemay had anything to say, he would have said he was not happy about the attack. Why anyone would ask him what he thought is another matter. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 13:20, 1 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I also wouldn't say it was shortly before the attack. Curtis LeMay retired in February 1965 and was essentially forced from relevance because he lost the trust of McNamara. Over two years later, it seems unlikely that anyone would have sought his council on such a matter. He wasn't in public life much; the Republicans courted him for a few political offices, which he politely declined. He did come back to public life to be George Wallace's 1968 running mate on the racist American Independent Party ticket in 1968 but that came a over a year after the Liberty incident. Between 1965 and 1968 he kept a pretty low profile. --Jayron 32 14:44, 1 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

TM

What does the abbreviation TM means?

In the following text:

Genesee and Wyoming: Rail Flaw Detection: 18,900 TM’s, Geometry Testing: 14,300 TM’s, Vegetation Control: 16,000 TM’s in 2017.

It seems to be a unit of length. Terameter is not correct, that would be too much. The same for track miles. (Genesee and Wyoming owns a total of 14,800 miles in north America)

--Semmeringbahn (talk) 09:43, 31 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Where is that text from? I can't find it in the article. Iapetus (talk) 10:17, 31 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

It's from 2017 NRC conference presentation--Semmeringbahn (talk) 11:44, 31 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Can you link to the source, please. It's rather hard to work out what something means without seeing the original context. Iapetus (talk) 10:01, 1 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

It may still be track miles. G&W may own 14800 track-miles outright, but it may also lease other tracks and/or may have maintenance contracts on them. No other abbreviation makes sense in this context. --Jayron 32 11:59, 31 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

But they don't will control the whole network in one year, or do they? Two ideas, if it's not a length unit: track machines or team members (but the number is always too high). What do you think is they most obvious?--Semmeringbahn (talk) 12:19, 31 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I think it is track miles of maintenance work. Since some maintenance work on some tracks will be done more than once a year (e.g., G&W claim to do Rail Flaw Detection quarterly on some tracks), the annual number may actually exceed the track miles operated. No longer a penguin (talk) 12:34, 31 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

It may refer, not directly to track maintenance operations performed, but perhaps to a Track Maintain form that is filled out when remedial work is deemed to be necessary by an inspector or by technical evaluation. Akld guy (talk) 00:58, 2 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

August 2

Payg simcard

Which network provides the cheapest calling rates to all networks? Is it possible to provide a price list too? E.g., calls, sms, mms, (and so on)... 116.58.201.40 (talk) 07:21, 2 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Which country? --Viennese Waltz 07:25, 2 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The original poster's IP address is in Bangladesh. There is a wikia called "Prepaid Data SIM Card"; I have no idea how reliable it is. Its Bangladesh page has relevant information for mobile data but not for calls; but it may link to other pages with that information. jnestorius^(talk) 11:26, 3 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

According to this [1] the cheapest country to run a mobile phone is Sri Lanka. Dialog [2] has most users, so may turn out to be the cheapest there. Wymspen (talk) 11:06, 2 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Short-haired women

Why do some girls/women have short hair? 31.50.93.168 (talk) 15:38, 2 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Because they get it cut shorter, with scissors or a razor or a hair clipper. See Hairdresser which is the general term for a person who cuts and/or styles hair; there are subcategories of hairdressers based on their specialty. I hope that helps. --Jayron 32 16:18, 2 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Because they have it cut that way, or perhaps cut they it that way themselves. We have articles on Short_hair#Women, and specific short hair styles for women, such as pixie cuts and Pageboy#For_women. Analogously, we have Long_hair#Recent_trends_among_men, and things like man bun.

We have a general article on Hairstyle#Social_and_cultural_implications. You may also enjoy reading about gender norms, which discusses lots of things, including some bits on hair.

Generally, lots of people wear their hair long, lots of people wear their hair short. Some places and time periods had mostly long-haired men, some places and cultures have mostly short-haired women. SemanticMantis (talk) 16:25, 2 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

... and one memorable time period had too many short-in-front-and-on-the-sides-while-long-in-back-haired people of all genders. ---Sluzzelin talk 16:34, 2 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Because it's much easier to take care of. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:57, 2 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Is the OP unaware of the concept of Fashion? The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.202.208.125 (talk) 23:06, 2 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Then there's also the inability to grow or maintain long hair, such as in those with alopecia or undergoing chemotherapy. StuRat (talk) 23:38, 2 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Because they've just got married. Iapetus (talk) 09:28, 3 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

According to [3] either hair bandits or mass hysteria. Nil Einne (talk) 12:29, 3 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The real question is why assume women as a rule only have long hair?--WaltCip (talk) 12:58, 3 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Well why do they cut it short, then? 31.50.93.168 (talk) 14:07, 3 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

If you meet a woman with short hair, ask them. You'll know why she did it then. If you meet a second woman with short hair, ask her. Now you'll know why she did it. Do that as often as you like. --Jayron 32 14:20, 3 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Hair length, like dress length(Check out the graph in that article!) is a matter of fashion that changes from generation to generation, and sometime year to year. It's difficult to trace exactly why fashion changes in the exact way it does, but as a rule it doesn't stay the same. By the time you get used to seeing short hair, long will be back in fashion. ApLundell (talk) 18:55, 3 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Would anyone mistake women as men due to their short hair? 31.50.93.168 (talk) 19:07, 3 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Only morons. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 19:54, 3 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Possibly. Some people are androgynous looking enough to pass as either men or women depending on how they dress or act. Having small breasts would help as well. †dismas†|^(talk) 23:37, 3 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Seek a forum, this no longer reference desk discussion

Who cares. It's not your business to decide for someone else whether they are a man or a woman. --Jayron 32 00:57, 4 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Human reproduction requires that we be able to determine which is which. Also, some people have jobs that require making a distinction, like sports authorities that decide who is eligible to play in women's leagues. Doctors also really need to know, as many diseases are more prevalent and/or present differently in one sex. And since many laws vary by sex, like age of consent, judges and police also need to be able to make that determination. StuRat (talk) 03:12, 4 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

It appears that the OP is counting on mating with a number of female celebrities, but he's not sure if they're actually female, due to their short hair. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:41, 4 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Holy shit. It's 2017. How have people like you survived till now?--Jayron 32 04:08, 4 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

You're speaking from a man's perspective. It's a legitimate question when public toilets are involved. If I were a woman, I might be a little alarmed at seeing a person of indeterminate sex in the ladies' room. Akld guy (talk) 06:33, 4 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Good grief. Read Unisex public toilet. --Viennese Waltz 07:28, 4 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

You're the one who needs to read it, closely, especially the part about harassment. And I said "ladies' room", which [are] far more common than unisex toilets that have a common walk-in area. By far the majority of unisex toilets are one-unit lockables with no common walk-in area. Akld guy (talk) 10:08, 4 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I'm speaking from the perspective of someone who thought that educated society moved on from a time when bigotry against people because of their gender identity. Being unjustly fearful of harmless people has been a central argument in maintaining bigotry against every group that has been discriminated against in history. There's no impending need to identify the sex of anyone who doesn't want to share that with you. Someone's genitals is none of anyone else's business, period. Let people piss in peace. --Jayron 32 11:48, 4 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

An anecdote I recall (don't know from where) in the "hippie" days ca. 1970. A person who might be male, but with long hair and no facial hair, is approached by an old-timer, who says, "I can't tell which sex you are." The hippie answers, "Which sex would you like me to be?" End of discussion. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:11, 4 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I hate it when pretty women have short hair. Like Emma Watson, Anne Hathaway and Natalie Portman. 31.50.93.168 (talk) 14:17, 4 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

You decide what you're going to hate. That's not on anyone except you. --Jayron 32 14:22, 4 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

And I think they look hot. But that's on me too. :) There's also a practical consideration: Assuming you've ever "been with" a woman, you'll find that short hair is a lot less likely to "get in the way" of whatever the two of you might be doing. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:36, 4 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I think that's a fairly rash assumption tbh. --Viennese Waltz 14:38, 4 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I almost included a clause to that effect. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 14:42, 4 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

August 3

Driving Licence

The cost of ‘theory’ and ‘practical’ test for UK please, for citizens and forigners.

What is the passing rate nowadays? – How many times does an individual fail before they pass in theory test and practical test?

116.58.201.75 (talk) 16:43, 3 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

This appeared as the first link in a google search titled "cost of taking driving test in UK". In the future, you can save yourself the wait of having someone ELSE find the answer by trying that. As to your second question, the Wikipedia article titled United Kingdom driving test answers that question near the very top. --Jayron 32 16:45, 3 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Incidentally, whether you are a citizen or a foreigner makes no difference to the cost. Wymspen (talk) 20:07, 3 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

For your supplementary question about pass rates, see Car driving test data by test centre and Pass and fail rates for theory tests in 2011, 2012 and 2013 (also found by a simple Google search; "UK driving test pass rate"). Alansplodge (talk) 07:52, 4 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Note that getting a full UK driving licence involves other costs in addition to the test charges. There is a charge for a provisional licence (which allows you to practise your driving with another fully qualified driver in the car) and a similar charge to convert an appropriate foreign driving licence to a UK driving licence - see here. If you take some lessons with a professional driving instructor before sitting your test (which is definitely a good idea) then that will also add to your costs. Gandalf61 (talk) 09:16, 4 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks guys...

One last question, will I be able transport in a mopad with a provisional licence, and for how long? 116.58.205.167 (talk) 07:35, 5 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, but you will need to undergo training before you can take it on the road.[4] 86.136.177.211 (talk) 10:17, 5 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

August 5