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January 15

What breed of cat is this?

What breed am I?

Do I look pregnant?

I have a stray cat that I am in the processing of sending to a rescue home, as I am currently unable to adopt. Could any cat experts tell me what breed she is? Is she a mixture of breeds? Does she look pregnant?

Thank You! --Plandip (talk) 04:35, 15 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

likely a tabby cat variation, note the M on the forehead. ("tabby" is not considered a true cat breed). An image search for stray cats in Phnom Penh finds similar cats, eg: (a "Pagoda cat"), (blog), (photo), . 107.15.152.93 (talk) 05:48, 15 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Also note, It is believed that a large percentage of feral cats are tabbies because the gene is so dominant and it’s most likely the dominant gene because the pattern is best suited for camouflage. 2606:A000:4C0C:E200:1D4C:29E3:6313:60B3 (talk) 06:11, 15 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

It's the wild type for that reason. It also happens to be dominant (according to Cat coat genetics) over solid color, but not over all coat variations. —Tamfang (talk) 07:10, 15 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

And to clarify, the domestic short-hair is not a breed, but rather a landrace; the distinction being that a breed is intentional (humans have selected for traits which are developed deliberately to breed true) whereas a landrace is accidental (a group of animals with similar traits because they come from a common genetic subpopulation, but without the intent of humans involved in choosing for its traits). --Jayron 32 01:21, 16 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

We used OTC pregnancy kits (when they became available in the early 80's) in science class on female mice we suspected were pregnant, and found the kits were accurate. I am not sure if pussies work the same way as mice, but you can always see what happens. μηδείς (talk) 04:53, 16 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

January 17

Breaking story of parents charged with abusing large family

I have redacted the names, not the details or links for WP:BLP reasons. This is not the place to discuss article creation in any place, sea WP:TEAHOUSE, WP:HELP, etc. μηδείς (talk) 16:46, 17 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Is there an article on the [Redacted] family alleged [13-]child abuse? News stories say [redacted] kept their 13 children in conditions which were adverse. The case of alleged abuse and malnutrition gained widespread coverage. See [1], [2] , [3] , [4], [5], [6], [7]. Edison (talk) 05:40, 17 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I cannot find any such article. "The parents are charged with torture and child endangerment, and scheduled for a court hearing Thursday."[8] I guess more will be known then. I too have been very curious about this case. Bus stop (talk) 06:28, 17 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

There isn't enough information yet to form a solid article. Also, it becomes a BLP issue. What to call the article? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:31, 17 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

We now have an article. I have no idea if it's going to survive long term. Nil Einne (talk) 03:26, 19 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

And it starts off on the wrong foot by failing to say "alleged" child abuse. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 03:30, 19 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

"Alleged" has been added, but case law shows use of that term does not provide immunity to issues of defamation. I piped-linked Nil's GF addition to avoid the name. People who want this roadkillporn can follow the links, we don't need to advertise when it may turn out one or both of the accused is not guilty based on extenuating circumstances. μηδείς (talk) 02:20, 21 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

They have since pleaded not guilty, so the verifiable facts are still as lean as the kids in question. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 16:14, 21 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

EMPIRE EXHIBITION JOHANNESBURG

I am trying to attach a picture of a badge that I would like help in identifying. However, I have tried everything and just cannot find a way to attach it. I will do my best to describe it, but if anyone has an email address that I could send it to, it might make it easier.

The badge is a "silver" coloured anchor with a coat of arms in the centre with the words Johannesburg at the top and Empire Exhibition at the bottom on a blue background and there are, what looks like, 3 silver burning candles on a green background, two above a silver stripe and one below.

I found the badge amongst my father's possessions.

As I am making a scrap book of the various things he had collected over the years, is there anyone who could possibly help me identify this badge and it's significance? He was in the Johannesburg Traffic Department before and after WW2, in the motor cycle division. This may mean that they did an escort of some sort to the exhibition at the time and were presented with this badge.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Many thanks

Sandy — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sandyven (talk • contribs) 11:54, 17 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The exhibition would almost certainly be the 1936 Empire Exhibition, South Africa which was in Johannesburg. I can't pin down the coat of arms: the anchor suggests either something naval (unlikely given the location of the city) or a symbol of hope - so possibly a local temperance movement? Hopefully, this may put you on a useful track: there may be literature about that exhibition which could help.Wymspen (talk) 12:38, 17 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The old Johannesburg coat of arms featured three (somewhat candle-like) "stamp dollies from a gold ore crushing battery" on a green ground. More information at Johannesburg 1936: keeping an eye out for souvenir survivals Alansplodge (talk) 12:16, 18 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

More about Johannesburg CoA - http://www.ngw.nl/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Johannesburg hope this helps. Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 17:44, 21 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Bombardier CSeries having five-abreast seating (and five-abreast seating in general)

Why did the Bombardier CSeries opt for a five-abreast seating arrangement as opposed to a six-abreast seating arrangement as seen on the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320? Our article doesn't go into detail about that. In addition, why did some other airliners (like the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and descendants, as well as the Fokker jets) opt for five-abreast? Considering five-abreast isn't symmetrical, among other things. Narutolovehinata5 ^tccsdnew 13:02, 17 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Its explained in Narrow-body aircraft (see second chapter of lead in and the model-lists at the end (compare cabin width!)). Because the seats are close to the center of mass, a symmetry of seat distribution is not that important. --Kharon (talk) 02:37, 18 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

January 18

Staff name

What do you call the person who buys ordinary stuff for the office, e.g., tea, coffee, pen, pencil, and so on. I was thinking of the word runner... Also, could you give me something to read where it specifies an organization's staff (titles) hierarchy or so.

123.108.244.156 (talk) 17:07, 18 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

It's going to depend on the company. In my company it's called the purchasing department. You could check Purchasing management, Procurement and Accounts payable. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 19:21, 18 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

For a lot of small or medium sized companies, that task is performed by the office manager or equivalent. Incidental items for office use is part of a companies indirect spend budget. uhhlive (talk) 19:46, 18 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

You could call them an admin assistant or procurement assistant. --Viennese Waltz 20:45, 18 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

For your second question, it's going to change from one company to the next. And just seeing a title doesn't mean that you're going to know what they actually do or how they would fit into an organization's hierarchy. For instance, Customer Support Engineer Analyst. Does that mean that with 'engineer' in the title that they actually build anything? Not in this case. So, do they analyse what the engineers build? Nope again. Would this position be above, below, or at the same level in the hierarchy as a Customer Support Engineer? Again, you can't answer that because the title is too vague to know from an outsider's perspective. †dismas†|^(talk) 21:00, 18 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Factotum 196.213.35.146 (talk) 06:47, 19 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Dogsbody. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 07:33, 19 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

In London, the dogsbody was officially called the "office messenger" and was often a retired soldier. Alansplodge (talk) 10:59, 19 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Did he pay for it out of his own pocket? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 16:13, 21 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Tea, coffee, milk, sugar, pens and pencils are commonly paid for out of petty cash. Akld guy (talk) 19:07, 21 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Not necessarily. In a larger company, office supplies may be bought in bulk by the purchasing department, and food and drink supplying may be outsourced. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:25, 22 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Gofer? Bus stop (talk) 19:45, 21 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

January 19

Random vehicle registration plates

In my country, vehicle registration plates are issued sequentially in ascending order, and I imagine this applies pretty much everywhere. But has any jurisdiction ever issued them in random order? For example, after CRX-385 comes VGQ-109, then BVW-687, then TES-984 .... -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 07:38, 19 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

In Britain there is a 7-character plate. 1 and 2 are two letters identifying the issuing office. 3 and 4 are the last two digits of the year (if registered between 1 March and 31 August). Registrations in the next six months have this number augmented by 50. 5, 6, and 7 are three letters allocated randomly. 81.139.249.156 (talk) 08:43, 19 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

How about we provide a reference? [[9]] is Wikipedia's article about this topic, which explains the British system in detail with plenty of citations. --Dweller (talk) Become old fashioned! 11:45, 19 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I linked that article in my question. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 21:35, 19 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I always assumed that plates were pretty much issued in order. When I registered both my cars in South Carolina, at the same time, on the same day, I expected to have plates that were similar. One car got "598-4FU" and the other got "227-3JA". They weren't similar at all, but they were taken as the top two plates off the stack of new plates at the DMV. So, since then, I figured that plates aren't necessarily in order. 71.85.51.150 (talk) 12:51, 19 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

There's likely a distinction here between "issued" and "manufactured". Think of it this way, the plates could be made by a series of machines. One machine is doing ABC followed by three numbers, the next is doing DEF and three numbers, and so on. As each plate is stamped, it rolls down a conveyor into a box for delivery to the DMV. The box is filled by multiple machines and the order isn't necessarily in any strict order. Then when you were issued the plate, the worker at the DMV just grabbed the first two plates off the stack and you got them. So, they were issued in order but never manufactured, or rather boxed, in order.

That said, whenever I've received new plates, I always had them mailed to me. I've never received them from the DMV in person. Also, when I was a kid, my parents has sequential plates. UG 4417 and UG 4418. So, (pun intended) your mileage may vary. †dismas†|^(talk) 22:42, 19 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, I understand about plates getting out of sequence at the DMV and you get whatever you're given. But I'm talking about production and issue of plates in random order as an explicit government policy. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 20:56, 20 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

This is an illustration of a license plate assembly line. Or this. Or this. Bus stop (talk) 16:56, 21 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. That tells me a human is needed to change a die for each new plate, and that's just for one different letter or number. Having 6 or more characters changed each time would be a nightmare. So, I guess the answer to my question is No, at least not using current technology. Thanks, all. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 21:19, 21 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Resolved

Well that specific issue would only seem to apply if number plates are centrally manufactured using that manufacturing system. This may be common but I don't think it's universal. While I can't find any sources specifically discussing the production of new plates in Malaysia, my impression is it's not the case in Malaysia. See these sources [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] Vehicle registration plates of Malaysia.

Notably our article mentions borderless vehicle registration, which would seem difficult if the office also has to issue the plates. I mean it's possible that each office keep a stack of plates for all 16 states and territories but this still seems very complicated. My understanding is the registration numbers (which include letters) are issued by the JPJ offices, these plates themselves are normally produced by the vehicle supplier or sometimes buyer, or someone contracted by them. My impression is that the plates tend to be issued before the car is sold, I'm not sure if the supplier is listed as the owner or the registration is only part completely or I'm simply wrong. (One reason many jurisdictions use centralised production of standard plates is to make it more difficult to produce fake plates & also ensure consistency which as the sources attest is an issue in Malaysia. That said, you could imagine a place with a good rule of law system where the production is not centralised but well regulated.)

Plates there were and I think still generally have their letters either printed on, or premolded letters stuck on. Using most modern computer printing systems, I don't believe there will be that much difference between printing consecutive plates or completely different ones. For premolded letters, it would likely be significantly easier to produce consecutive plates. (For a human, you could simple remember what you are producing and then get a whole bunch of the right letters and numbers.)

But if I'm right and the production system is largely decentralised, I'm not sure whether this is really the big issue. (How many are normally produced at a time? 100?). Especially since Malaysia is still a fairly low wage economy when you considered the exploitative use of migrant labour. A bigger problem is in the pre-computerised world ensuring uniqueness is a lot more complicated. I guess the simplest is filing the registration details alphanumerically and so when you file the details for the newly issued registration, you'll come across it if that number has already been issued. But this is a lot more complicated than simply issuing consecutive numbers, and also what do you do with multiple independent offices issuing registrations? The alternative is not worrying about duplicates being issued, but given the purpose of number plates that doesn't generally work. (You could issue very long number plates so the chance it would happen by chance is very low, but that would mean remembering it becomes difficult.) Plus you'll probably still want to file the registration details alphanumerically, otherwise how are you going to find it if needed? In modern times, if you're willing to rely on your computer system, you can trivial issue unique numbers, but that would mean changing your existing system.

Nil Einne (talk) 05:31, 22 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

As I said above, "the answer to my question is No, at least not using current technology". -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 07:46, 22 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Rainfall in Israel

“Israel should have been a water basket case,” says Siegel, listing its problems: 60% of the land is desert and the rest is arid. Rainfall has fallen to half its 1948 average, apparently thanks to climate change, and as global warming progresses, Israel and the whole Levant are expected to become even drier – and from 1948, Israel’s population has grown 10-fold.

https://www.haaretz.com/science-and-health/how-israel-can-help-a-thirsty-world-1.5392651

The claim in bold seems too extraordinary to believe. Is there anywhere in the world that has undergone such dramatic change in climate in that period? Muzzleflash (talk) 13:50, 19 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Responding on the unanswered question ("too extraordinary to believe" -> is it true?) Data for rainfall in Israel is here. I'm not skilled enough to interrogate if the premise is accurate. --Dweller (talk) Become old fashioned! 14:34, 19 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I've made a graph of the data from that website here, extending the full date range of the website data, and with y-axis starting at zero, so no cherry picking and no sensationalist graphs. The fall is not 50%, but the downward trend is certainly visible (my PC estimated it at -0.5mm/yr). That being said, it's not impossible that some places (perhaps even larger cities) have indeed seen a 50% fall. And naturally, being that Israel is fairly close to the equator, the effects of global warming there will have been relatively low. At the moment, locations closer to the poles are having much bigger problems. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.142.70.141 (talk) 02:02, 20 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for your graph. This "And naturally, being that Israel is fairly close to the equator, the effects of global warming there will have been relatively low. " -- ^{[citation needed]}, and frankly I don't think it's true. At best, it's a worrisome oversimplification. For example, many impacts of global warming have been shown in tropical forests, and many more are predicted by experts. See e.g. here [15] for a Nature paper or here [16] for a Science paper detailing some of the effects. SemanticMantis (talk) 13:44, 20 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I meant in terms of temperature deviations and such -- unlike Alaska, Israel will probably have not yet seen a 4.4°C warming, for example; sorry for not clarifying that. Of course, it takes far less than that to wreak havoc to ecosystems. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.142.65.22 (talk) 15:10, 20 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

See also these research papers Here (Fig. 3), and here (summary), and here, which says "The large-scale oscillations and the global temperature explain 83 % of the variance on the inter-decadal time-scale, half of it explained by the global temperature alone." In short, the claim does not seem unreasonable based on my quick skim of the evidence.

As for where else in the world has undergone dramatic shifts, this paper [17] has lots to say about that. SemanticMantis (talk) 17:16, 19 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Yes. September 1 Arctic sea ice volume. Last 8 years average half of last 38 years average (technically 1979-2016 vs 2010-17) Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 17:25, 19 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Israel is arid. That means that agricultural irrigation relies on pumped water, not direct rainfall. So control of the aquifers is crucial. The six-day war of 1967 gave Israel four times the land area, but more importantly, twice the water supply. Control of these aquifers is a keystone of Israeli politics and conflict with the Palestinians.[18] [19] [20] Andy Dingley (talk) 00:02, 20 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Its likely a political Alarmism attempt, in hope that a government ramps up support for the water biz, which is already big in Israel and its neighbor states. But in fact the whole continental area has been desert and arid land for as long as human history exists and its even exceptionally well known. Remember Jesus walk into the desert or Moses walk tru it? --Kharon (talk) 17:58, 20 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The whole of human history bit is way overstated. Lebanon was famed for its forests, many river courses in the area are now covered in sand. The desertification of North Africa and the Middle East has been attributed to the rise of animal husbandry, and overgrazing by goats, which destroyed the plant cover which held in place soil that retained water. This topic has been discussed here several times, I suggest searching the archives for it, as I don't have time right now to find the links. μηδείς (talk) 17:48, 21 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

To add to this, Asian elephants used to roam current-day Syria and Iraq in the 1st millenium BCE. This is a little hard to imagine in the current climate. 93.136.126.95 (talk) 19:23, 21 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

January 20

Parcel

1) Which company possess the highest rating on parcel systems?

2) What is the fragile system delivery called?

3) I was reviewing FedEx and Royal Mail, can't find the information I am looking for stated above and the following i.e., do they cover lost and damaged product? If so, by what means. If not, which company does...

119.30.47.127 (talk) 15:03, 20 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Please define your terms by links to articles or websites, show us what you have looked at already using url's. We are very unlikely to google you when you can google yourself. μηδείς (talk) 02:23, 21 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Ignore Medeis, he's like that with everyone and he doesn't speak for all of us – certainly not for me. Here are some web pages that you may find useful in comparing parcel systems: [21] [22] [23]. A quick google search didn't turn up anything specific in relation to your last query, but I am sure insurance of some kind is available from all couriers. But the best way to avoid damaging fragile items is to pack them securely – see here for advice on this. Feel free to come back with additional questions. --Viennese Waltz 10:24, 22 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you [all] valuable Wikipedian[s] for your assistance; as always. I'm grateful as always. 119.30.47.189 (talk) 14:51, 22 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

If you check out the specific T&C for any insurance or compensation offered, you'll probably find it doesn't cover cases when the content aren't considered sufficiently packed anyway. (That said, there are plenty of cases where packaging is sufficient or at least you're given the benefit of the doubt, but the contents are damaged.) Nil Einne (talk) 15:00, 22 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

January 22