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= August 29 = | |||
= December 27 = | |||
== Why are train systems in large old cities like London and New York so complicated? == | |||
{{anchor|Why do none of the 3 New York commuter railroads go to ]? (August 23)}} | |||
== ], Melissa Nathan,&U.S. presidential candidates == | |||
It's true that services from both Waterloo and Victoria funnel into Clapham Junction, which is the gateway to the south and the south west, but as I understand it services from the south east which do not terminate at London Bridge or Cannon Street stop at Waterloo (East) before reaching Charing Cross. Also, some Victoria services don't go anywhere near Clapham Junction and serve the south east. Indeed, I once made the mistake of boarding a train at London Bridge for Victoria only to find it took a circuitous route and didn't get there for over an hour. (The same journey can be done in the reverse direction). Passengers from Southend have a choice of two commuter routes, one into Fenchurch Street and one into Liverpool Street. Some trains on the Fenchurch Street line run into Liverpool Street. Passengers for Cambridge can travel from either King's Cross or Liverpool Street, for Oxford from Marylebone or Paddington, and for Reading from either Paddington or Waterloo. Do the train services of other countries' capital cities display this flexibility? Our article ] says it is the busiest station in Europe. Are there others elsewhere which are busier, and if so, which are they? ] (]) 18:01, 29 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
:I'm sorry, but you're header asks about New York, but your question lists places in London. I'm not sure I follow. To answer in general, transport systems are generally a bit heirarchical: There are ] systems that serve to get people mainly from the ]s and ]s to the central city, then there are ] options in the central city, like ] and ] and ] which are designed to get around the central city. So you really have to consider what the purpose is: Are commuters trying to get from the outside of the city ''in'' to the city? Or are the commuters trying to get from one part of the city to another? Different purposes require different systems. ] can be ]: You basically need to deal with two ]s, mostly everyone coming in in the morning, and everyone going out in the evening. Once in the city, there's much less directionality and timing, as people are going ''from'' anywhere ''to'' anywhere, so bus and subway routes will often keep regular schedules throughout the day. You don't want the ''same'' trains getting people into the city ALSO being used to move people around the city, because those are two different purposes. For example, a train from ] into ] is basically running everyone in during the morning, and running everyone home again in the evening. That's a very different schedule than trying to get people between any two stations in central London, which are basically running everyone in all directions at all times. To keep the system efficient, you need two systems (in this case ] and the ]). TfL rail becomes inefficient if it also has to run people back and forth between local stops in London, and the Underground would not work well if they had to take time to run people all the way out to Brentwood every morning and evening. Of course, real systems are a bit messier, but in general, efficient public transportation doesn't run ''everything'' to ''all locations'' at ''all times''. You need to understand ''who'' is traveling ''where'' and ''at what times'' and then design a system that gets them where they need to go efficiently. --]] 19:14, 29 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
:* I would like to add that are a lot of railway networks that do combine the two roles of linking suburbs to the city ''and'' connecting points within the city. There's not really a good English term for them, but transport nerds often use the German term and call them ]s. ] is possibly the most extreme example of a "do everything" railway in an English-speaking country - it runs far out into the towns around ], but also forms a dense underground network in central Liverpool and ]. In terms of timetabling, a big spidery network can actually be quite efficient: the Merseyrail ] for instance has four branches, which means that to get a train every 5 minutes around the central loop, each branch only needs a service every 20 minutes or so. Similarly, the ] has 8 lines sharing the tunnels through central Frankfurt, with a train every 2-3 minutes - but each one takes a different branch once outside the city, and those only need a quarter-hourly or half-hourly service. ] 08:09, 30 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
::Have you forgotten already that you (and others) answered the header question about New York a few days ago? It's now been archived, see . For some reason best known to himself, the OP of the London question (who was one of the respondents to the New York question) has reused the New York heading for the London question, instead of making a new heading. --] 07:25, 30 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
:You also need to remember that the British railway network was built by private, commercial companies who were in competition with each other for passenger and freight traffic. The current network has been simplified, but there are still quite a few duplicate routes which originate with that competition. It would have been even worse if each company had not needed an Act of Parliament to allow them to build a line. ] (]) 20:25, 29 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
::Response to both above and below: New York and other American cities are not so different in that regard: The systems in many American cities were originally built by private companies, and only rationalized and made to work together when they became public companies and consolidated into a single system. New York has 3 separate commuter rail systems (], ], and the ], which itself consolidated about a half-dozen other rail systems) which use two different central hubs (] and ]), while the ] as it exists today is also three separate systems (the ], ], and ]) which have been married into one system. You'll find that in ''most'' cities around the world with extensive public rail networks, it is only systems which started after about the middle 20th century (like the ]) which were centrally planned as a single public project from the beginning. --]] 12:15, 30 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
Black Cube has a wikipedia article, Melissa Nathan is mentioned in the article ]. Both are googleable. My question is if either Black Cube or Melissa Nathan were ever hired to discredit ] or ]? I realize that in Melissa Nathan's case, if she had been hired for that, it would probably have been before she formed The Agency Group PR.] (]) 06:52, 27 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
*Our article on ] explains why London's arrangement is somewhat unique - the railway companies weren't able to built right into the centre, or to create a cross-city network. That's why there are so many different terminals. Most other countries don't have this "flexibility" because they don't need it. For instance, ] takes virtually all intercity trains - the station is shaped like a giant cross in the centre of the city, with both north-south and east-west lines. ] 08:09, 30 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
:The link should have been to ]. --] 19:16, 27 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
:I assume that "busiest" in connection with Clapham Junction refers to the number of trains stopping at the station. ] in Tokyo would be the busiest station in the world, at least in terms of passengers using the station. ] in Paris is also referred to as the busiest in Europe, but again that would be in terms of passengers: Gare du Nord is a true terminus station, so every passenger has to get off or on a train there, whereas at Clapham Junction, a through station, many passenger would just remain on the train they're on. --] (]) 07:55, 30 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
:In addition to what Wymspen said, ] gives an impression of the sheer number of railway companies who competed in building the British railway network. --] (]) 08:00, 30 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
::Railways are a British invention. After nationalisation there was British Railways and London Transport. After de - nationalisation Transport for London began taking over routes from the railway companies. The development of the railway was the responsibility of Network Rail. With the resurgence in rail travel the stakeholders looked at ways of making it more efficient. This is why although most of the routes acquired by TfL were consolidated into London Overground TfL Rail is operated independently prior to its rebranding as the Elizabeth Line. Those commuters from Brentford didn't see why they had to de - train at Liverpool Street and look for alternative means of continuing their journey. ''The Elizabeth Line is a response to public demand''. The commuters love the Elizabeth Line trains. Their only grouse is that there are no lavatories on them - TfL expect them to get off, use the platform facilities on the station and catch a later train. | |||
::The radial bias of the railway system means that sometimes people are forced to travel into London, cross it and then travel out again to where they want to go. When there was a direct link from Oxford to Cambridge it was quicker to do this than take the direct train. Beeching cuts meant that cross - country freight had to be diverted hundreds of miles to travel through London because there was no other route. Cross - country services have since been improved. From the very beginnings of the system railway companies have seen the benefits of cross - London railways and have built accordingly. This is why there is a railway which runs from Richmond in the south west to Willesden in the north west and Stratford in the east. With one change passengers can get to Tottenham in the north, Walthamstow in the north east and Barking in the east. A circular route has been constructed linking Clapham Junction in the south west with Dalston in the north, Whitechapel in the east and Brixton in the south. To be quite honest, without these railways, given the state of the roads, suburban travel would grind to a standstill. Of course tube (subway) services have a part to play but they are incredibly slow compared to standard rail services. ] (]) 15:35, 30 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
:You ask about other capital cities. In many countries different railway companies built railways to their own terminus station in the capital. They could rarely agree on using a shared station even when approaching the city from the same direction, building a line right through the city was very expensive (often had to be underground or elevated) and lines to the capital were expected to be very profitable, so many were built. This even happened in countries were construction of railways was dominated by the government, as private construction was allowed. Later on, as governments took a more active role (somewhere between 1860 and 1960), these terminus stations could be connected. Brussels built an underground north-south link, Amsterdam an elevated east-west link and Berlin both, allowing all trains to reach the same central station. Amsterdam (well, the national government) later added bypasses (passengers only) along the south and west, serving the new business district in the south and providing access to the airport, so nowadays trains to Amsterdam serve either Central station or South station (or Sloterdijk station, for local trains from the north taking the west bypass to the airport). | |||
:Why is London different? Although not too different from Paris. When the first railways were constructed, London was already a large city. There were more terminus stations than in other capitals and farther away from each other, making it harder to connect them all together via cross-city links via a new central station – I think. With Thameslink and the Elizabeth Line, Farringdon gets a similar position in the network as Berlin Hbf in Berlin, but I doubt all intercity trains will go there. ] (]) 19:16, 30 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
::In fact, London was the largest city in the world from 1825 to 1914 according to ]. It is still by far the largest in Western Europe, only Istanbul and Moscow are larger (]). ] (]) 12:05, 1 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
== Griggsville, Missouri? == | |||
:::And at the time of the American Revolution, Philadelphia was the world's second largest city. That doesn't affect the fact that this thread was created by the banned ]. ] (]) 00:53, 3 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
The ] article claims (without a source) that he was born in ]. I can find no evidence whatever that such a place has ever existed. There is a ], which is about 20 miles northeast of the IL/MO border (which I think is the river, and presumably was in 1889). Was there really a Griggsville in Missouri, or is this a simple mistake? The only substantive author (to the biographical part of the article) is long departed Misplaced Pages. -- ]'''··–·'''] 20:12, 27 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
::::Philadelphia wasn't that big ] | |||
:I can't find an obit for Fiske in Newspapers.com, and the Findagrave entry simply says he was born in Missouri. ←] <sup>'']''</sup> ]→ 21:37, 27 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
:::::"At the time of the nation’s independence the total population in the U.S. was 2.5 million. Philadelphia was the largest city with 40,000 residents". | |||
: I wondered if it might be something to do with the Mississippi changing its course, but it seems not. However, if Griggsville, Illinois is correct, he could be added to that article's '''Notable person''' section, doubling its complement! | |||
:::::In 1750: Amsterdam 229,000, Beijing 900,000, Berlin 90,000, Copenhagen 80,000, Istanbul 625,000, Kyoto 526,000, Naples 310,000, Osaka 400,000, Seoul 187,000 etc etc (see ]). ] (]) 16:07, 3 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
:The 'Missouri' inclusion was (as you may have noted) in the article as created in 2005, so at least we know it's not the result of vandalism. | |||
:I notice that the <u>Un</u>reliable sources IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and the Internet Broadway Database also state Griggsville, Missouri, which may of course have been taken from Misplaced Pages, and Find a Grave gives merely Missouri. However, The Movie Database does give Griggsville, Illinois. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} ] (]) 21:42, 27 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
::Indications in Ancestry.com are that he was merely born "in Missouri", not a specific city that I've found. Even though the original article writer has been offline for over 9 years, maybe his email still works? ←] <sup>'']''</sup> ]→ 21:54, 27 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
:: I'm wondering if there is some circular ] between ourselves, Findagrave, and IMDb. I too considered the "moving river" hypothesis, but it's much too far away. -- ]'''··–·'''] 22:42, 27 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
= August 30 = | |||
::: '''' (1977) confirms he was born in Griggsville, Missouri. No danger of citogenesis there. The search term "Griggsville, MO" throws up a few non-Fiske results on Google and Google Books, but I can't find precisely where it is. --] (]) 09:22, 28 December 2024 (UTC) Ah, here we are, it's in ] . --] (]) 10:00, 28 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
::::Griggsville, IL, is also in ] and if you given on that web site you also land in Illinois. The two Pike Counties are direct neighbours, but there's no indication of any common history or even a shift in the state border. --] (]) 10:15, 28 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
:::::That sounds ominous. Also, the more of my Google and Google Books hits I follow up, the fewer check out. The evidence that this place ever existed outside of Fiske's say-so looks rather slight. is one cite from 1907, and there are one or two more from the 19th century, but confusion with Griggsville, IL can't be ruled out. --] (]) 10:46, 28 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
: Thanks everyone. I'll flag the birthplace in the article is questionable (and the whole article as poorly sourced), but I think there's enough uncertainty for me to not "fix" it. And I'll refer to this discussion on the talk page, for the (probably very unlikely event) that some future person cares enough about this rather minor actor to do more thorough research. Thank you. -- ]'''··–·'''] 08:04, 29 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
== Why are people "houseproud"? == | |||
::One thing I noticed in Newspapers.com is that Missouri papers that referred to Griggsville usually made it clear that they were talking about the one in Illinois. ←] <sup>'']''</sup> ]→ 14:08, 1 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
], I just ran a ] search, and all three results were Illinois-related. GNIS sometimes misidentifies locations, e.g. many historic plantations in Tidewater Virginia are misidentified as unincorporated communities, but the concept of them outright omitting something as obvious as a settlement — which certainly would show up on USGS quads — is extremely unlikely. ] (]) 01:07, 8 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
: Thanks for following up on this. This leads me to be sure enough that the rather poor source for this claim in the article is just wrong (whether Griggsville, Missouri, or both), and we're better off saying nothing than repeating a claim this weak. -- ]'''··–·'''] 18:41, 8 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
What are the psychological factors behind housepride? | |||
= December 28 = | |||
I am not voicing disapproval, but I simply don't empathise.--] (]) 12:39, 30 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
== Why do news reporters name the programme they are reporting for? == | |||
:Your question seems to imply that your definition of houseproud refers to people who have an obsessive compulsive need to constantly tend to the appearance of their home. That is not what it means. That is taking the definition to an extreme and then applying it to everyone who takes time to mow their lawn once in a while. ] (]) 13:05, 30 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
is an example by BBC News. ―<span style="font-family:Poppins, Helvetica, Sans-serif;">]</span> ] 05:44, 28 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
:Seems to be a UK English word meaning: "attentive to, or preoccupied with, the care and appearance of one's home". Let's see, one reason could be to attract mates, akin to ]s. In humans that could include attracting better mates for your children (if your house is a mess, some parents may not allow their kids to visit). More generally, impressing others with your wealth can improve ] and make for opportunities, such as jobs, political office, or joining clubs which lead to jobs or political offices. There may also be legal requirements, from local ]s and ]s. For example, keeping the lawn mowed may be required. | |||
:You have linked to a BBC TV program where at 0:40 the presenter introduces "''Our science correspondent ]"'' who signs off his report "''Pallab Ghosh, BBC News''". His report includes statements by two experts each identified by name and affiliation. The video typifies the high standard of journalism where BBC emphasize distinction between source and editorial content. Incidentally, a good BBC TV reporter tends to become a ] (the likes of ], ], ], ], ], Michael Buchanan and more). <small>Edit: I apologise to Pallab Ghosh for initially misspelling his name and thank Antiquary for correcting me.</small> ] (]) 11:19, 28 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
:Some people also just have an innate need to be orderly. (Give small children 2 colors of marbles and some will feel the need to separate them, while others do not.) ] (]) 16:30, 30 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
::], but I'm sure he's used to it. --] (]) 11:29, 28 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
::As I understand the question, it is not why reporters identify <u>themselves</u>, but why for instance Ghosh does not sign off by simply saying "''Pallab Ghosh''", full stop. --] 10:29, 31 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
:::It's a standard practice, which might even be in their contracts. ←] <sup>'']''</sup> ]→ 11:55, 31 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
::::I seem to recall American channels using clips from the BBC. Such sign offs would serve to identify the source in these cases.--] (]) (]) 17:22, 1 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
::::: THat was my thinking, too. These days they tend to have on-screen watermarks, but reporters still sign off with "Jennifer Superior Bitch, Infinity News. Alex". -- ] </sup></span>]] 20:55, 1 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
== Navigation lights == | |||
:Some people don't really care what others think, and simply prefer to live someplace nice rather than a dump. ] (]) 19:42, 30 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
Does the fact that aeroplane/ship navigation lights are green and red cause problems for pilots who are red-green colour blind? How do they deal with that? Can they even become pilots? ―<span style="font-family:Poppins, Helvetica, Sans-serif;">]</span> ] 22:49, 28 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
:Zoning laws can figure into it too. If you're in breach of zoning laws (for example, by having junk piled in your yard), you might be subject to fines. ←] <sup>'']''</sup> ]→ 20:56, 30 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
:I couldn't be a pilot because of my red-green colour blindness, but people with a mild version can apparently - is a link to the UK's Civil Aviation Authority's guidance on colour vision requirements. ] (]) 23:25, 28 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
: Have you ever dropped in to see a friend unannounced, and they apologise for the state of the house? You might not think there's anything to apologise for, as it's neater and cleaner than your place; or even if it isn't, you know they weren't forewarned, so no drama. But they hate ever being seen to be less than a perfect house keeper. It's irrational, in the sense that we all cook and eat, and things get messy and dusty, and there are often times when less than perfection prevails, and most of us don't have a servant or housekeeper to do these tasks, and we lead busy lives and sometimes other things take priority, but we get around to the cleaning and tidying eventually, and in the meantime .... Nobody is immune from this, but some people like to present a perfectly clean and tidy house 24/7, because one never knows when there'll be a knock on the door. There may be a fear of judgment at base of it. -- ] </sup></font></span>]] 22:41, 30 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
::How fascinating. Thanks. ―<span style="font-family:Poppins, Helvetica, Sans-serif;">]</span> ] 00:21, 29 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
:Similarly, red-green colourblind people may not be able to become helmsmen. | |||
:You might think it would have been more convenient to make those lights red and cyan, as far fewer people are red-blue colourblind, but when navigation lights on ships were introduced, bright blueish lights couldn't be made. That only became possible with ]s. Traffic lights and railway signals these days (often using ]s) use a slightly blueish green, so that most colourblind people can see the difference between red and green. ] (]) 11:55, 29 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
::They could have agreed (and still could agree) on assigning distinct flashing patterns, like •••'''——''' and '''—'''••'''—'''• . --] 20:48, 29 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
:::Flashing patterns would be a very poor method for aircraft and probably ships also. Navigation lights are meant to give a quick indication of the relative position and heading of another aircraft/vessel. When seeing navigation lights a pilot instantly has an indication of the relative flight direction of the other aircraft based on which red/green/white lights are visible. Also there are already the ]s, red flashing beacon on the tail at least and white flashing strobes on the wingtips and tail. How could a pilot possibly decode flashing lights reliably enough and quickly enough to determine relative heading? ](]) 18:06, 1 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
::Wouldn't that be a problem because the sky/ocean is blue? I understand that the lights are used at night so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. ―<span style="font-family:Poppins, Helvetica, Sans-serif;">]</span> ] 22:39, 29 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
:::It would involve more complex lighting circuits/equipment and massive world-wide retrofitting, which (I suggest) would be prohibitively expensive, to solve a relatively minor 'problem' more easily answered by simply not employing colour-blind people in the relevant positions. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} ] (]) 13:12, 31 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
::::Flashing lights have been used on lighthouses for a long time. They use an assembly of lenses and shutters rotating around a fixed light, using a low-friction bearing. This works fine for stationary lighthouses, but is more problematic on moving ships. There's more wear and the lens assembly could jam or rotate at variable speed. Better to use an electric light, switched repeatedly by a rotating switch powered by an electric motor (all available late 19th century), but both switch and lamp have to switch reliably at least a million times. No problem today, but there's still the issue of recognising a flashing pattern if it's intermittently obscured. It's considered acceptable for lighthouses and buoys, which are usually more or less where you expect them to be, but a moving ship may be a different matter. ] (]) 14:45, 1 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:When I answered telephones and sold passenger tickets for Eurostar I had to pass an ], the same as ] and ]. ] (]) 21:27, 29 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
::Depending on the signalling system, train drivers may also have to discriminate red from yellow/amber. This is less important for road users. And states of tracks and signals are colour-coded on the computer monitors of signalmen, but it should only take a simple software update to accommodate colourblind signalmen. (Yes, there're still some old-fashioned signal boxes in some countries; I've passed the one at ] on my way to Wales.) I don't see the objection against colourblind ticket sellers. ] (]) 11:58, 31 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
= December 29 = | |||
*OR My mother used to hang an embroidered declaration that '''"My House is Clean Enough to be Healthy and Messy Enough to be Happy"'''. She threw it out during a housecleaning. ] (]) 21:20, 1 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
== Domains == | |||
:: I love the irony. -- ] </sup></font></span>]] 23:08, 1 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
Are Eritrea's .er and Belarus's .by ever used in domain hacks? .er could be used in shortcut to Blogger, blogg.er, like goo.gl and youtu.be, and .by could be used in domains such as drive.by and in Nordic place namesmas ''by'' means "village" in Swedish and "city" in Norwegian and Danish. And can South Africa's .za and India's .in be used directly after the main part, such as in piz.za and drive.in? Also, can .pl, .cz, .sk and .hu addresses contain diacritics, such as gdańsk.pl, česko.cz, košice.sk and magyarország.hu? --] (]) 10:10, 29 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
:::Now, if only you also loved ironing, I'd send you my whites, as we used to do to China in the 1800's. ] (]) 00:48, 3 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
:See ]. ] (]) 11:30, 29 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
= August 31 = | |||
:Plusimpavidus has only answered the last sentencee. | |||
:The answer to the first part is entirely dependent on the policy of the controller of the ccTLD in question, and that controller may or may not publish a policy. Technically, of course they could be used: the government of Tonga sells ] domains to any interested party, as I presume you know. | |||
:According to our article ] {{tq|The Operations and Analysis Centre under the President of the Republic of Belarus allows for anyone (not only for those who reside in Belarus) to register a second level domain such as something.by}}, and it also says {{tq|he .by code is used for domain hack by institutions from the German state of Bavaria (German: Bayern), such as bayern.by, the Bavarian Tourism Agency. Since "by" means "town" or "city" in Norwegian, it's also used by some Norwegian newspapers, such as osl.by for an Oslo newspaper, and trd.by for a Trondheim newspaper}}, however, neither of these statements appear to be sourced. When I just tried it, trd.by seems to redirect to a Norwegian casino site. | |||
:Our articles ] and ] say nothing about whether the ccTLDs are available to anybody outside Eritrea and South Africa respectively. ] doesn't explicitly address the question, but in talking about the use of subdomains it repeats "in India" several times. ] (]) 20:38, 29 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
== Colored asphalt markings == | |||
== Nuclear weapons are keeping the world at peace == | |||
What's the purpose of on street grounds? I've seen them in multiple places in ] (typically in non-traffic places, such as sidewalks) where they've stayed for several months or even years without being erased. From what I've read, those marks can be made for some roadworks, but I'm not sure. ]<sup>]</sup> 20:06, 29 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
I just developed the theory that the presence of nuclear weapons in several nations may have kept much of the world at peace; does anybody agree?. Since the invention of the first nuclear weapon in 1945 and used it to end World War II, none of the nuclear-armed nations went to war (except for getting involved in fighting for another nation, such as U.S. in Syria. The Cold War between U.S. and Soviet Union was closest ever to the war between these two. If one of these nuclear-armed nation go to war with one another, the result could be catastrophic. The reason for the peaceful world since the end of the Cold War was because of the measures taken to prevent such wars from happening that would use nukes. Right now, the tensions are rising between U.S. and North Korea. I read one article that they're ''preparing for war to preserve peace''. They might not actually go to war, but threaten one another with preoccurring scenarios. For example, if North Korea nukes one of U.S. cities, the U.S. would respond by nuking Pyongyang, which is the only big city in NK. Therefore in order to preserve the nation, they would not nuke U.S. ]] 06:23, 31 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
:I've seen them used for several purposes, mostly for marking the course of some underground pipe or cable, but also for marking a distance such as 500m from a given spot. In the first case, there is a sequence of similar markings, not too far apart from each other. In the second case the marking is usually accompanied by a number or some code. --] 20:55, 29 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
:You have not developed this theory. It has been around since the end of World War II. See ]. --] 06:47, 31 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
::See ]. --] (]) 22:09, 29 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
:In my experience (UK) they appear in preparation for invasive ground works, most recently in our road prior to the installation of the third set of broadband cables under our pavement. Apparently, existing suppliers and their customers get sniffy if new upstart suppliers not only add their own cables, but put a shovel through the existing cables in the process! Different colours may denote gas, water and telecommunication lines. | |||
::Also see ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], who were some key concepts and historical figures regarding the OPs idea. Indeed, it's as old as nuclear weapons are, and as a coherent concept has been around since the 1950s. It actually forms the basis of '']'', one of the best cold war satires ever filmed. Indeed, one of the best ''satires'' of any era ever filmed. --]] 12:38, 31 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
:There is also an occasional rash of markings that outline potholes; whether this is done to guide the repairers of potholes, or as a placebo to pacify local road users, is not always clear. It is possible that the process accompanies the calculation of a cost for the work; the expenditure may not be forthcoming.{{cn}} <span class="nowrap">] <sup>]</sup><sub>]</sub></span> 21:24, 29 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
::Thanks all. ]<sup>]</sup> 11:31, 2 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
= January 1 = | |||
:::Once again, you are wrong, Jayron. It is one of the best films ever filmed. ] (]) 21:43, 31 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
:::: <small>Your undescended spiritual testicles are showing through again, Divine Ms M. Jayron's statements were completely correct. As was yours. -- ] </sup></font></span>]] 22:32, 31 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
::::I have no problem with that assessment. --]] 16:45, 1 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
:::::I too, agree that Jack's right (save for the apocryphal undescended testicles), as Jayron's claim was not false, just narrow, and not in contradiction to my opinion. ''''''] (]) 17:05, 1 September 2017 (UTC)</small> | |||
:Also see ] to understand how this concept long predates nuclear weapons. The idea there is that if everyone has equal military capability, none will attack another, as that would mean years of stalemate, like ], where the cost to each nation is far more than any benefits from captured territory. ] is one of the first to write these theories down, although they likely predate him, as well. Nuclear weapons do take this to a new level, though, as they cause massive destruction without directly capturing anything of value. | |||
== Peugeot's rivalry == | |||
:As for NK, the problem there isn't so much that they will use them, as that they will be able to threaten to use them to extort money from the rest of the world. They've already done so when they promised to stop developing nukes for money. They also randomly attack their neighbors. They kidnapped many Japanese civilians when they wanted translators, shelled SK, killed a US peacekeeper on the border with an ax, recently killed a US student who was visiting and stole a banner, etc. With the ability to nuke everyone, they would have even less reason to exercise restraint, as they would fear no retaliation. ] (]) 13:45, 31 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
Did Peugeot have any rivalry with other auto manufacturer that became famous or was famous but forgotten, like Lancia and Audi in 1983 and Ford and Ferrari in the 1960s? --Donmust90-- ] (]) 19:15, 1 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:When does competition rise to the level of rivalry? ] was unexpectedly beaten in speed by ] in the ] race of June 1895. --] 00:07, 2 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
::Relative to the first half of the last century it is. ] (]) 15:37, 31 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
:::Not just this century, we are returning to the peace levels during the Holy Roman Empire. Since the Thirty Years War through WWII, war deaths have been highly elevated with periodic, very short-term drops. ] (]) 17:23, 31 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
::::Statistically, the world is roughly more peaceful today than at any time in history: . Which is not to say that it is without war, just that on the balance there have been less war deaths since the end of world war II, and a continuous downward trend in war death. Knowing that ], I would not conclude anything about why, buy the statement that ..."given that the world isn't at peace" is a flawed one, because relative to the past, it is more peaceful. --]] 19:24, 31 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
::Peugeot, Citroën, Renault and ] were the big four French automakers post World War II - and therefore rivals. The first two have merged, Renault is still around, but Simca has disappeared. ] (]) 11:40, 2 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:::::<small> : "at any '''other''' time in history" . ] (]) 23:20, 31 August 2017 (UTC) </small> | |||
:::While the Simca brand, after having been acquired first by Chrysler and then PSA Peugeot Citroën, has disappeared, the factory in ] that Simca acquired from Ford France in 1954 is still in full operation. | |||
::::::<small> Today is not history. Yesterday is when history starts. "Other" is redundant when the comparison is to the now. --]] 01:22, 1 September 2017 (UTC)</small> | |||
:::The Lancia–Audi and Ford–Ferrari rivalries alluded to in the question were not about rivalry between companies, but rivalry between racing teams; see '']'' and '']''. --] 16:03, 2 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
::::::::<small> "Today" doesn't necessarily mean literally the current 24 hours, especially in this context. ] (]) 00:52, 2 September 2017 (UTC) </small> | |||
:::::::<Small>But in that case I'm not convinced the claim is entirely true. Yes you said 'roughly' but if you're only talking about today as in literally right now, rather than in terms of very recent history you make your claim less true than it would have been. Well I mean I don't know, since we don't have estatistics, but it's easily possible today is not more peaceful today than it was on 2004. We know from the available statistics that many todays in 2007 were not more peaceful in terms of war deaths than 2004 as one example. It seems more meaningful to do as Clarityfiend did and rather than referring to literally today, use it more generally to mean very recent history so such issues to not arise ] (]) 04:15, 1 September 2017 (UTC)</small> | |||
::::::::<small>are we arguing the grammatical point or the statistical one? Because the answer depends on which is in dispute. I was, just here, only dealing with the former. What you're on about is a different matter entirely. --]] 12:15, 1 September 2017 (UTC)</small> | |||
= January 3 = | |||
:::::Looking at the link provided to claim that we are currently at the most peaceful time in history, it is clear that we are NOT in the most peaceful time in history. Just look at the graph. The red line representing deaths is higher at the far right (now) than at many places on the graph (the past). Don't be fooled by the blue line. That is military deaths only, not total deaths. We don't have that data for the most recent years, so the red line ends before the blue line. Looking at the blue line (and considering genocides that are still happening), civilian deaths are on the rise. ] (]) 16:24, 1 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
== British weather website == | |||
*]: '''''''''' ] (]) 21:47, 31 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
Is there any British weather website which has daily data for stations in the United Kingdom? The starlingroot.ddns.net is not working anymore, it worked a few months ago. The "Historic station data" page on MetOffice's website has only monthly data, and the MetOffice WOW - Weather Observations Website has only hourly data. And is there any English-language website having weather observations for different cities and countries in Europe, similar to e.g. Infoclimat? --] (]) 13:16, 3 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
I think U.S. would've went to war with Soviet Union if nuclear weapons weren't invented. Knowing that the use of nukes would result in a probable global catastrophe, they would not just use it without hard thinking and making very very very accepting decision, therefore tensions would have to be really really high for such attack to take place. Over the history, they only have it, test it, and set it up for strike in order to threaten one another, but won't actually attack one another. Now the history is repeating with U.S. and North Korea. Again if nuclear weapons weren't invented, this same amount of tension between US and NK would've result in war, but because both sides got nuclear weapons, they're not fighting in war now. Actually using nuclear weapons in war was OK or even good for the world at one point in history. U.S. nuking Japan was used to end World War II, which was OK because no other nation had nukes at the time. If bombs weren't dropped on Japan, World War II would've kept on going. Having nuclear weapons was a contributor towards a more peaceful world. Nations having nuclear weapons was mainly used to protect themselves and use it to retaliate if it was attacked by one another. If those two nations were attacked (first strike then retaliate), then these two would keep nuking one another, resulting in crippling of the nation. So the only way to preserve the offending nation is not have even a first strike. Even going to war with using just conventional weapons may result in the one using nuclear weapons to attack the offending nation, so the best course of action between nations in tension is to not fight in war using weapons of any kind. That's how the presence of nuclear weapons are used to prevent wars. I heard about the agreement towards disassembling all nuclear weapons to end the risk of nuclear apocalypse, but counterintuitively following the ban, there will be more wars. ]] 01:49, 1 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
:You might find windfinder.com useful. Although primarily aimed at coastal leisure activities, it also covers inland areas. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} ] (]) 03:07, 4 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:::"Have went"? Unpossible!] (]) 17:09, 1 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
:wunderground.com used to have this. IDK about now. ] (]) 18:47, 4 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
= January 4 = | |||
:What no one has pointed out yet is the nature of our human jungle. Unlike other animals, we employ and develop technology. However, this 'current' peace is just winding up the spring. The longer it gets wound the more suddenly and violently it will release that built up tension. As is often quoted: "Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it." <br> | |||
:A verse from ]:<br><i> | |||
:And on the pedestal these words appear:<br> | |||
:'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:<br> | |||
:Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'<br> | |||
:Nothing beside remains. Round the decay<br> | |||
:Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare<br> | |||
:The lone and level sands stretch far away<br> | |||
:Anchent eychipt grease and rome <br></i> | |||
:There is nothing our 'elected' politicians (''who don't appear to inhabit our real world'') can do to avoid leading us into oblivion again by their own ignorant volition, unless 'we all' hammer some common sense into them at every opportunity. </rant> ] (]) 13:13, 1 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
== Goal number one == | |||
:: <small>I'm actually related to him. My formal title is "'''Aussie Mandias, King of Things'''", but I rarely use it, preferring to go among my subjects unrecognised, spreading beneficence wherever it may be needed. -- ] </sup></font></span>]] 23:07, 1 September 2017 (UTC) </small> | |||
:::Where did you find the "Anchent eychipt grease and rome" line, ]? I'm sure it wasn't there when I went to school. ] (]) 16:13, 3 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
How do you forgive and forget? <small>(not sure if that's off-topic for the reference desk. if it is, sorry in advance.)</small> ]<sup><small>TM</small></sup> <small>(])</small> 05:47, 4 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
== Western billionaires in Congo mining == | |||
:By deciding to. ←] <sup>'']''</sup> ]→ 06:05, 4 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
::One can decide to forget, but will it work? --] 09:22, 4 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
: is an essay on the topic, by a practitioner of ], that you may (or may not) find helpful. More advice: , and (written from a Christian perspective) . --] 09:32, 4 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:(], in that I have no published sources for this, though I was taught it by others): Forgiving does not necessarily mean forgetting - it also doesn't necessarily mean condoning. It means not carrying ill will. In my experience, once I see the cost (to me) of bearing the resentment, and how illusory are the apparent benefits of doing so, it is easy to choose to let it go. ] (]) 14:25, 4 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
Shall we forgive the OP for forgetting that we don't offer advice?] (]) 17:38, 4 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
Are there any other Western billionaires or very rich individuals (excluding family members) involved in Congo mining, currently or recently? | |||
:{{small|I'd suggest searching the web. ←] <sup>'']''</sup> ]→ 17:47, 4 January 2025 (UTC)}} | |||
:The injunction does not apply to all advice, but is aimed specifically at giving <u>medical</u> or <u>legal</u> advice. --] 23:14, 4 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
== Westminster Coroner's Court == | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
I'm trying to research a sudden death that occurred in the London Borough of Merton. Please help me find information about ], also known as "Inner West London Coroner's Court". They appear to have no website, and publish no court listings. They claim that coroners records are closed to public access for 75 years. | |||
] (]) 22:18, 31 August 2017 (UTC) | |||
But other coroners courts in the UK, for example "London Inner South Coroner’s Court", and say that inquests are public and anyone can attend. | |||
:I have removed from your list an unreferenced item. Do you have any point beyond asking for a list of presumably evil businessmen? We provide references, not doxxing. ] (]) 17:21, 1 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
Why is there are difference? Why is "London Inner South Coroner’s Court" open to the public, but "Inner West London Coroner's Court" is not? Surely all coroners courts operate under the same laws? | |||
::Is there a rule that a reference question has to provide citations? If necessary I can do so but it doesn't seem to be a rule. Instead I think you are acting inappropriately by editing my question without my permission. I have put back in the full text of my question. I have not said anything about people being evil. ] (]) 11:34, 2 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
Thanks for your help ] (]) 12:41, 4 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:As you can see from coroners' courts are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. I can assure you, however, that inquests held by the Westminster coroner are as public as inquests held by any other coroner. ] (]) 14:56, 4 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:::What rule has been violated? How do you justify your censorship? ] (]) 03:44, 3 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
::::You alleged without any reference that an unlinked individual, since removed from the list, was involved in mining in the Congo. WP:BLP applies to Talk pages and these ref desk pages. Actually, you appear to be on dangerous ground with <s>3</s> 2 of the other entries too. It looks like only Lundin, Gertler and Forrest are involved in mining in that country. ] (]) 05:09, 3 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
:::::I think only ] is a possible problem of those remaining going solely by our articles. ] and ] mention in our articles involvement in mining in DRC. (Well I didn't check the sources, but if the articles are not properly sources I think we should be worrying about the articles, not a list here.) ] says he's the founder and chairman of ] and Lundin Mining says have operations in DRC with specific mention of developing Cobalt and Copper deposits. ] doesn't mention Congo in the article text, but the title of one of the sources is "Robert Friedland’s Ivanhoe Mines Announces Updated Economic Assessment for Copper Project in Congo" and the source confirms the title isn't misleading. Beny Steinmetz as hinted doesn't seem to give any indication of involvement in mining in the Congo. The again a quick search finds a lot of mentions of him having investments or involvement in Congo although most of these although mentioning he is a mining magnate etc don't explicitly mention these investments/business/whatever were mining related. But I finally found which does explicitly mentioning involvement in mining in DRC. Frankly, in the case of Beny Steinmetz, our article and these sources suggest that simply involvement in mining in DRC is less concerning than the various allegations surrounding him mentioned in our aricle and these sources, including the DRC investments whatever they were. ] (]) 15:14, 3 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
== Where can I find unmarried men list in Science/Maths? == | |||
= September 1 = | |||
Like ], ], ], ]. | |||
== Book pricing == | |||
I want to ] ] due to his ], ] as he have ] and ] who has ] out of wedlock. ] (]) 14:08, 4 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
Can someone explain to me the pricing difference between a 'paperback' and a 'mass market paperback' of ? I would think that the mass market paperback would be cheaper but the regular paperback is $1.29 cheaper. Thanks, †<span style="font-family:monospace;">]</span>†|] 01:24, 1 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
:I'm not sure what the difference in formats is, but I'm seeing the 'regular' paperback at $9.66, and the mass market edition at $8.86 (and both have terrible representations of The Luggage). ] (]) 05:28, 1 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
::{{u|Rojomoke}}, maybe I get shown a different price due to being logged into my account? Wait... I just checked again and am seeing the prices that you're seeing. Which are different than what I saw last night. †<span style="font-family:monospace;">]</span>†|] 18:07, 1 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
: I'd never heard of a "mass market paperback" before now. There's some explanation of it (though not an answer to Dismas's question). ] (]) 07:39, 1 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
::{{u|AndrewWTaylor}}, we also have an explanation at ]. †<span style="font-family:monospace;">]</span>†|] 18:07, 1 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
:Do you have any reason to suppose that such a list exists, @]? ] (]) 14:27, 4 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:Sometimes the prices of stuff do not make sense. For example, one would expect getting a deep discount on shoes if Kanye West had anything to do with them, but no, people are willing to pay more for them. (((]))) (]) 07:44, 1 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
::Just to encourage ] ] (]) 14:30, 4 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:::So, you've come here to ask people how to remove from a list that doesn't exist, some names that would probably belong only the list if it existed, because you have some private meaning of "unmarried"? ] (]) 12:56, 5 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:::If some men don't (appear to) have sexual relationships with women, they're not necessarily demonstrating celibacy - they might be otherwise inclined. ] (]) 11:37, 6 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
: Why did you pipe the correctly-spelled "Isaac" Newton to the incorrectly-spelled "Issac" Newton? -- ] </sup></span>]] 18:37, 4 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:"]" just means the common paperback size with pages about 4 × 7 inches (10 × 17 cm). These are usually the cheapest editions of a book. Paperbacks with larger pages similar to hardcover books are sometimes called "trade paperbacks" and usually cost more, but it's always possible that you may find cheaper ] copies. I have no idea what you should expect if it just says "paperback" and there are other paperback editions. --] (]) 09:40, 1 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
::And do the same strange thing to Nikola Tesla? ] (]) 23:03, 4 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
== Champagne explosion == | |||
:::Thank you. As I said above, I'm now seeing different prices. So, maybe there's no understanding of Amazon's pricing... †<span style="font-family:monospace;">]</span>†|] 18:07, 1 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
I had an unopened bottle of cheap champagne (Barefoot Rosé if that matters) left over from NYE, and about 10 minutes ago the thing spontaneously exploded. It had been just sitting there at room temperature. No serious damage but there is champange and broken glass all over the place now, and I'm in the process of cleaning it up. Are these explosions a usual occasional occurrence? I'm used to champagne bottles being thicker than regular wine bottles for obvious reasons, but this one seems on the thin side in retrospect, maybe as an economy measure. Could that be? I'm surprised it doesn't happen on store shelves if it happens at home. Thanks. ] (]) 18:39, 4 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
::::I sell on Amazon. The last two books I sold cost the customers $37 and I got an even $16.00. The price is based on supply, demand, taxes, shipping, and Amazon's markup, $12 in this case. ] (]) 21:30, 1 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
:I does happen.<sup></sup> Sometimes a cause can be identified. When a bottle of champagne is stored in a freezer, or a fridge whose temperature setting is too low, the contents may freeze, causing it to expand. This can lead to minute cracks in the glass, weakening its strength. Thawed in a relatively warm environment, the pressure of the gas can then result in fracture. Another potential cause is premature bottling, when fermentation has not run its fill course ands the wine still contains yeast and sugar. (Almost all wine sold as "champagne" in the US, also when labelled "Brut", contains residual sugar to accommodate the local taste.) When warmed up, fermentation resumes and pressure increases. Finally, a small fraction of bottles is damaged in handling or comes with production defects, not detectable through visual inspection. --] 22:42, 4 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
::IP 69 has it right. When I was a kid, there were no fiction ]s, just the smaller "]" sized ones. In the 90's "trade paperbacks" came into style. Many books that had been sold in mass-market style were no longer printed in that size, as trade books cost more and were more "prestigious". The reason they often cost less is that there are many more copies and they are often sold on remainder (the black magic marker defacing of the edge gives this away) meaning that the publisher has been told the book is unsellable. ] (]) 17:16, 1 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
::Thanks. No idea about refrigeration before I bought it, but I got it off the shelf at a big supermarket, carried it home, and it sat in the exact same place in the room for several days before going kablooie. All I can think of is that carrying it home might have bumped it around or something. Oh well, no big deal in the scheme of things. ] (]) 01:20, 5 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
::The traditional method of making ] requires freezing it in the bottle, so I suppose most bottles are designed to handle that – although freezing from the bottom up is safer than top-down, as it creates no plug of ice between the liquid and the gas. If not using the traditional method, or if the wine doesn't come from the Champagne region, many countries (including all of the EU) forbid selling it under the name Champagne. The US however hasn't got that restriction. | |||
::Wines freeze around -5°C, so accidental freezing in a fridge set too cold seems unlikely. ] (]) 11:15, 5 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:::In this case the bottle had not been opened, but the cold liquid carbonated contents of a closed bottle may freeze upon opening due to cooling by ] of the CO<sub>2</sub>. --] 13:57, 5 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
Once upon a time ] used to come in ] glass bottles, and I read somewhere that this would happen from time to time with the larger sizes. And indeed, sometime around 1980 a large bottle of Coca-Cola, probably 1.5 liters, exploded while sitting in my cupboard. --] (]) 02:51, 5 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:::Speaking as an UK ex-bookseller in the 70s & 80s (and a lifelong reader/collector): not so far explicitly mentioned above is the "B-format paperback" at about 5 × 7.75 inches, intermediate in size between "A-format/mass-market" and C-format/trade (variably sized, matching their parent Hardbacks). They were around in the 70s as more literary/prestigous imprints of the mass-market publishers (for example, Pan Book's Picador imprint and Corgi's Black Swan), but around 1980 (as I recall) started to be introduced as an intermediate publishing stage between the previously two-stage sequence of hardback and mass-market, which was able to extract around £1.00 extra (initially) from more impatient paperback purchasers. Some previously mass-market titles were even cynically reprinted as more expensive B-formats, merely having more blank paper surrounding the identical typesetting. | |||
== Organizations == | |||
:::(Re Dismas's query, I think the "paperbacks" in the ad are B-formats (or a US equivalent) and the "mass market paperbacks" are smaller A/Mass-market/Pocketbook formats – the illos look as if they've been resized for the web page.) | |||
Are there any international organizations headquartered in Australia, similar to UN and World Bank are headquartered in the US? --] (]) 22:04, 4 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:::Shortly afterwards (1982-ish?), Hardback-sized "Trade paperback" fiction books began to appear, being merely the same printing as the Hardbacks with a paper cover rather than boards. This had long been standard in non-fiction, especially textbooks, where for example lecturers and libraries might want (and could afford) a durable edition while students wanted a cheaper alternative, but had not previously been significant in fiction publishing. For a time it was not unknown for a book to appear in four different formats (and prices) over little more than a year – Hbk & TPbk (simultaneously), followed by B-format, followed by M-m. | |||
:We have a ]. --] 23:05, 4 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:Isn't this more or less ]? ]|] 09:55, 5 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
::An international organization is a completely different thing from a multinational company. --] 11:38, 5 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:::yes but both questions are easily answered with even the most cursory research and 40bus here seems to have a habit of asking research questions. ] (]) 17:37, 7 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
= January 6 = | |||
:::During the last ten years in the UK, I've noticed that Mass-market editions have been dwindling and B-formats are increasingly the norm: most of my new M-m purchases now are imports of US M-ms or their slightly smaller "Pocketbook" equivalent. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} ] (]) 03:35, 2 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
==Replacement for my My Yahoo page== | |||
= September 2 = | |||
Not sure this is the correct venue, but here goes. | |||
Yahoo have shut down all personal My Yahoo pages. For those who don't use Yahoo, your My Yahoo page was sort of your own personal webpage, where you could have various modules that interested you displayed (e.g. cartoons, horoscopes, travel, finance etc). Yahoo have closed My Yahoo down. A big feature of my personal My Yahoo page was that it had loads of links to my favourite websites. This loss is the one that is hurting most. | |||
== Right to work / live in other countries == | |||
Any suggestions as to a replacement? ] (]) 10:15, 6 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:MSN.com does that pretty well. --] 10:25, 6 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:] has a table of various countries' immigration policies. ←] <sup>'']''</sup> ]→ 02:23, 2 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
::Could you explain in more detail how one can go about to create a personalized web space using ]? --] 12:29, 6 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
::: would be a start. That link is for UK users, presumably you can customize it to your own country. --] 13:38, 6 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:Perhaps one of the content curation tools listed , some of which are free, will serve your purposes. I have no knowledge of any of these tools beyond what you find there. --] 12:34, 6 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:No modules, but there is ]. Actually, I may misunderstand: perhaps you seek a kind of home page which is online but available to you only, mainly for collecting bookmarks. ] ] 13:53, 6 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
::For those answering, while it appears to be a question asking how to make a basic list of links, it is not. Yahoo's links page was created by selecting modules through a GUI and then customizing the settings. For example, I could select the comics GUI and then select which comics I want to show up in my links. I don't need to know any of the URLs. I just place a check next to the comics I like. For finance, I add the module with a click and then type in the ticket symbols for the stocks I care about. It automatically creates a daily stock thumbnail with links to news articles about those stocks. So, it is true that there are many available options to create a list of links, there are not as many options to create a custom content page for multiple areas of personal interest. ] (]) 15:35, 6 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:::The IP is correct, but as I said above, I can live without horoscopes, comics etc. The ability of easily store links to favourite websites is the biggest loss. {{re|Card_Zero}} - it doesn't have to be for me only. I think that using a subpage of my user space will fall foul of ] #5, even though many (but not all) of the websites are used in Misplaced Pages research. ] (]) 15:39, 6 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
::::Does it have to be a website in that case? Why not browser bookmarks? In fact, I believe these days some browsers will let you select bookmarks for a "start page" or "start screen" that is displayed when you open a new window/tab. And if they don't, you can probably find a browser extension that will do that. -- ] (]) 17:20, 6 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
== Major traffic fatality incident, Denmark, 2019 == | |||
:] (((]))) (]) 13:43, 2 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
In 2019, Denmark had a minor spike in traffic fatalities. I feel that the spike is most likely the result of a single accident with multiple fatalities. However, I cannot find any news about multiple-fatality accidents in Denmark in 2019. Everything that I find is related to train accidents, which I do not think Denmark includes in "traffic fatality" counts. Can anyone find a list of accidents or news about a single large-scale accident that might skew the yearly count for 2019? ] (]) 15:25, 6 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
== relative pricing of beef == | |||
:First of all, where are you seeing this spike and is it a reliable source? ]|] 09:55, 7 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
::And is it even statistically significant? With unrelated events happening by chance, there will always be fluctuations in number of events by time period. Spikes will occur every now and then, entirely by chance. --] 13:05, 7 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:::I found (pdf) which seems to go into this matter in great detail. I don't read Danish, but I ran it though Google Translate. The table on page 28 shows that there were 199 traffic-related fatalities in Denmark in 2019, which is more than the two previous years but less than some earlier years. So I agree with the above posters that there is not enough here to constitute a spike. The document doesn't list individual accidents, btw. --] 14:24, 7 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
::::The mean number of fatalities of the 10-year sample given in this Danish report is 194.9, while its ] is 27.3. This means that the 2019 value deviates from the mean by 0.15 ], which is more remarkable by how little the deviation is. --] 23:54, 7 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:I saw this before and perhaps you are trying to recreate it. In 2019, traffic fatalities in Denmark increased 20%. But, they were so low that it was a small bump to make that 20% jump. The reason it matters is because the increase was used as the basis to use government funding for more bicycle lanes and improving intersections. But, the increase was not statistically significant and didn't mean anything, so it should not have been used as justification for any changes. Now, from memory, it was a multi-car, weather-related accident in January that added more than 10 fatalities to the yearly count. That was overshadowed by a train accident due to the same snowstorm which killed 8 (I remember it was 8 because most new articles listed 6, but some stated that a few days later, two more bodies were found). So, my gut feeling is that you are intending to show that this "20% spike" in traffic fatalities is really a data artifact created by a single large-scale accident and not representative of general driver behavior in Denmark. Unfortunately, I do not know how to search Danish news. But, if my memory is correct, you can use the date of the well documented train accident in Denmark in 2019 to get the date of the multi-car accident and then, hopefully, find that as well. I doubt you will find it in any English-based news repository. You will have to search Danish repositories. ] (]) 16:17, 7 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
::Yes. That is what I am doing. I found multiple overblown newspaper headlines like "Biggest increase in traffic fatalities in five years! Your mind will be blown when you see the numbers!" and I am using that to demonstrate that while it is technically true that there was a 20% increase in fatalities, the proper context around that increase is that it is negligible and the result of a single event that could have happened on any other year. Basically, it is a presentation on applying context to data and how it is often done improperly. Now that I know there was a multi-vehicle traffic accident at the same time as the train accident I keep finding, I decided to read those articles and many of them comment on the car accident as well as the train accident, but I didn't read through the articles to notice previously. ] (]) 13:15, 8 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:::According to the document linked by @], there were 199 deaths in 2019, compared to 171 the year before. That's a 16% increase, not 20%. On the other hand, it's an extra 28 people - so more than the result of a single incident. It just looks like random variation in a decade (the 2010's) that saw about 200 people killed every year on Denmark's roads. This decade it's been more like 150 a year, so if they spent a lot of money in 2019 it was worth it. You can further eamine annual figures and . ] (]) 13:23, 9 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
== Neurodiverse dating site == | |||
I remember when ] was a relatively cheap cut; now (when I find it at all) it's higher than most other steaks. What happened? New uses for it? —] (]) 22:48, 2 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
Is there website that shows with neurodiverse person goes well with which other neurodiverse, e.g. ADHD with Autism, Autism with HPI, HPI with dylexsia etc? --Donmust90-- ] (]) 15:55, 6 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:WHAT!?!? Flank steak is crap. You have to pound, marinate, and chop it to even get it to the point where you can swallow it. Does it have to do with the fact that you are an elf? Please provide more details, as I was a broiler chef for years, and we wouldn't even serve flank steak to our patrons' dogs. ] (]) 00:10, 3 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
:: You can do lots of good stuff with flank steak. I just made ] the other day and it was delectable. Marinade 2 hour in a good citrus mojo, grill hot and fast to medium doneness, and most importantly, slice as thin as possible across the grain. --]] 02:21, 3 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
:* I never claimed to be an elf. <s>But then, I never claimed not to be an elf. Circumstances being what they are, neither admission could be of any benefit.</s> It has to do with my recently buying a wok and wanting to try a recipe that calls for flank steak (cut into strips). —] (]) 07:01, 3 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
:For any combination of forms of neurodiversity, some persons will go well with each other, while others will not. This depends mainly on other factors, in particular the ] and personal ] of each. --] 12:57, 7 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
:What happened? Trends and fashions that's what happened. What the ] crowd is in to, ] culture, etc. | |||
:Case in point: ] for ] used to be dirt cheap, almost ] for peasants and poor people. But a few ] articles and trend-setting opinion pieces later, the prices for oxtails were skyrocketing at ], ], and other high-end ] grocers across the USA. Even at the height of this nonense, oxtails were dirt cheap at ethnic food markets. Pro-tip: shop for trendy meats at smaller urban ethnic markets if you can, they DGAF about our NYT whitey trends. | |||
:(Anyone who may disbelieve OP's premise, check out this BS sales site, or this April 2017 listicle pumping flank steak.) ] (]) 00:22, 3 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
::Both oxtail and flank steak are essential ingredients in making authentic (homemade) ] and, as such, have never been cheap at "ethnic markets" here in my area of California where there are a LOT of Southeast Asians. They are just as expensive as the supermarket (if not more so) and you have to get to the market early because they sell out fast.--] <sup>]</sup><sup>]</sup> 02:58, 3 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
:::Huh, that's honestly surprising to me, I usually see oxtail about 1/2 price at the Chinese market compared to the general grocery store. And the price at the general grocery store (if they had it) was much higher in 2015 than <2000. The place where I noticed the biggest price difference was in IL, in an area that had lots of Asian markets. ] (]) 13:49, 3 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
= January 8 = | |||
*Well, the Carne Asada article makes my point, innit? You gotta pound, marinate, assault, carve up, and molest the cut before you can even pretend it's edible. And I ate oxtail regularly when I was living with Mexicans during the first Gulf War, so it;s not like there's a racial component. ] (]) 13:12, 3 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
::I agree you have to do a lot to flank steak to make it tender and tasty, I'm just saying that that feature doesn't prevent it from going through swings in price due to popularity. ] (]) 13:49, 3 September 2017 (UTC) | |||
== Anthropology Misplaced Pages page == | |||
= September 3 = | |||
Does anyone know why the Misplaced Pages page for "Anthropology" jumped to 6 million views on Dec. 25, 2024?https://pageviews.wmcloud.org/?project=en.wikipedia.org&platform=all-access&agent=user&redirects=0&start=2024-12-18&end=2025-01-07&pages=Anthropology | |||
] (]) 23:28, 8 January 2025 (UTC) | |||
= January 9 = |
Latest revision as of 13:32, 9 January 2025
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December 27
Black Cube, Melissa Nathan,&U.S. presidential candidates
Black Cube has a wikipedia article, Melissa Nathan is mentioned in the article It Ends with Us. Both are googleable. My question is if either Black Cube or Melissa Nathan were ever hired to discredit John Kerry or Hillary Clinton? I realize that in Melissa Nathan's case, if she had been hired for that, it would probably have been before she formed The Agency Group PR.Rich (talk) 06:52, 27 December 2024 (UTC)
- The link should have been to It Ends with Us (film). --Lambiam 19:16, 27 December 2024 (UTC)
Griggsville, Missouri?
The Robert Fiske (actor) article claims (without a source) that he was born in Griggsville, Missouri. I can find no evidence whatever that such a place has ever existed. There is a Griggsville, Illinois, which is about 20 miles northeast of the IL/MO border (which I think is the river, and presumably was in 1889). Was there really a Griggsville in Missouri, or is this a simple mistake? The only substantive author (to the biographical part of the article) is long departed Misplaced Pages. -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 20:12, 27 December 2024 (UTC)
- I can't find an obit for Fiske in Newspapers.com, and the Findagrave entry simply says he was born in Missouri. ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 21:37, 27 December 2024 (UTC)
- I wondered if it might be something to do with the Mississippi changing its course, but it seems not. However, if Griggsville, Illinois is correct, he could be added to that article's Notable person section, doubling its complement!
- The 'Missouri' inclusion was (as you may have noted) in the article as created in 2005, so at least we know it's not the result of vandalism.
- I notice that the Unreliable sources IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and the Internet Broadway Database also state Griggsville, Missouri, which may of course have been taken from Misplaced Pages, and Find a Grave gives merely Missouri. However, The Movie Database does give Griggsville, Illinois. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.1.223.204 (talk) 21:42, 27 December 2024 (UTC)
- Indications in Ancestry.com are that he was merely born "in Missouri", not a specific city that I've found. Even though the original article writer has been offline for over 9 years, maybe his email still works? ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 21:54, 27 December 2024 (UTC)
- I'm wondering if there is some circular WP:CITOGENESIS between ourselves, Findagrave, and IMDb. I too considered the "moving river" hypothesis, but it's much too far away. -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 22:42, 27 December 2024 (UTC)
- Who Was Who on Screen (1977) confirms he was born in Griggsville, Missouri. No danger of citogenesis there. The search term "Griggsville, MO" throws up a few non-Fiske results on Google and Google Books, but I can't find precisely where it is. --Antiquary (talk) 09:22, 28 December 2024 (UTC) Ah, here we are, it's in Pike County, Missouri . --Antiquary (talk) 10:00, 28 December 2024 (UTC)
- Griggsville, IL, is also in Pike County, Illinois and if you look up the zip code (62340) given on that web site you also land in Illinois. The two Pike Counties are direct neighbours, but there's no indication of any common history or even a shift in the state border. --Wrongfilter (talk) 10:15, 28 December 2024 (UTC)
- That sounds ominous. Also, the more of my Google and Google Books hits I follow up, the fewer check out. The evidence that this place ever existed outside of Fiske's say-so looks rather slight. Here is one cite from 1907, and there are one or two more from the 19th century, but confusion with Griggsville, IL can't be ruled out. --Antiquary (talk) 10:46, 28 December 2024 (UTC)
- Griggsville, IL, is also in Pike County, Illinois and if you look up the zip code (62340) given on that web site you also land in Illinois. The two Pike Counties are direct neighbours, but there's no indication of any common history or even a shift in the state border. --Wrongfilter (talk) 10:15, 28 December 2024 (UTC)
- Who Was Who on Screen (1977) confirms he was born in Griggsville, Missouri. No danger of citogenesis there. The search term "Griggsville, MO" throws up a few non-Fiske results on Google and Google Books, but I can't find precisely where it is. --Antiquary (talk) 09:22, 28 December 2024 (UTC) Ah, here we are, it's in Pike County, Missouri . --Antiquary (talk) 10:00, 28 December 2024 (UTC)
- I'm wondering if there is some circular WP:CITOGENESIS between ourselves, Findagrave, and IMDb. I too considered the "moving river" hypothesis, but it's much too far away. -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 22:42, 27 December 2024 (UTC)
- Thanks everyone. I'll flag the birthplace in the article is questionable (and the whole article as poorly sourced), but I think there's enough uncertainty for me to not "fix" it. And I'll refer to this discussion on the talk page, for the (probably very unlikely event) that some future person cares enough about this rather minor actor to do more thorough research. Thank you. -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 08:04, 29 December 2024 (UTC)
- One thing I noticed in Newspapers.com is that Missouri papers that referred to Griggsville usually made it clear that they were talking about the one in Illinois. ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 14:08, 1 January 2025 (UTC)
Finlay McWalter, I just ran a GNIS search, and all three results were Illinois-related. GNIS sometimes misidentifies locations, e.g. many historic plantations in Tidewater Virginia are misidentified as unincorporated communities, but the concept of them outright omitting something as obvious as a settlement — which certainly would show up on USGS quads — is extremely unlikely. Nyttend (talk) 01:07, 8 January 2025 (UTC)
- Thanks for following up on this. This leads me to be sure enough that the rather poor source for this claim in the article is just wrong (whether Griggsville, Missouri, or both), and we're better off saying nothing than repeating a claim this weak. -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 18:41, 8 January 2025 (UTC)
December 28
Why do news reporters name the programme they are reporting for?
This is an example by BBC News. ―Panamitsu (talk) 05:44, 28 December 2024 (UTC)
- You have linked to a BBC TV program where at 0:40 the presenter introduces "Our science correspondent Pallab Ghosh" who signs off his report "Pallab Ghosh, BBC News". His report includes statements by two experts each identified by name and affiliation. The video typifies the high standard of journalism where BBC emphasize distinction between source and editorial content. Incidentally, a good BBC TV reporter tends to become a "household name" (the likes of Clive Myrie, Fiona Bruce, Sophie Raworth, Reeta Chakrabarti, Steve Rosenberg, Michael Buchanan and more). Edit: I apologise to Pallab Ghosh for initially misspelling his name and thank Antiquary for correcting me. Philvoids (talk) 11:19, 28 December 2024 (UTC)
- Pallab Ghosh, but I'm sure he's used to it. --Antiquary (talk) 11:29, 28 December 2024 (UTC)
- As I understand the question, it is not why reporters identify themselves, but why for instance Ghosh does not sign off by simply saying "Pallab Ghosh", full stop. --Lambiam 10:29, 31 December 2024 (UTC)
- It's a standard practice, which might even be in their contracts. ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 11:55, 31 December 2024 (UTC)
- I seem to recall American channels using clips from the BBC. Such sign offs would serve to identify the source in these cases.--User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 17:22, 1 January 2025 (UTC)
- THat was my thinking, too. These days they tend to have on-screen watermarks, but reporters still sign off with "Jennifer Superior Bitch, Infinity News. Alex". -- Jack of Oz 20:55, 1 January 2025 (UTC)
- I seem to recall American channels using clips from the BBC. Such sign offs would serve to identify the source in these cases.--User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 17:22, 1 January 2025 (UTC)
- It's a standard practice, which might even be in their contracts. ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 11:55, 31 December 2024 (UTC)
Navigation lights
Does the fact that aeroplane/ship navigation lights are green and red cause problems for pilots who are red-green colour blind? How do they deal with that? Can they even become pilots? ―Panamitsu (talk) 22:49, 28 December 2024 (UTC)
- I couldn't be a pilot because of my red-green colour blindness, but people with a mild version can apparently - this is a link to the UK's Civil Aviation Authority's guidance on colour vision requirements. Mikenorton (talk) 23:25, 28 December 2024 (UTC)
- How fascinating. Thanks. ―Panamitsu (talk) 00:21, 29 December 2024 (UTC)
- Similarly, red-green colourblind people may not be able to become helmsmen.
- You might think it would have been more convenient to make those lights red and cyan, as far fewer people are red-blue colourblind, but when navigation lights on ships were introduced, bright blueish lights couldn't be made. That only became possible with gas discharge lamps. Traffic lights and railway signals these days (often using LEDs) use a slightly blueish green, so that most colourblind people can see the difference between red and green. PiusImpavidus (talk) 11:55, 29 December 2024 (UTC)
- They could have agreed (and still could agree) on assigning distinct flashing patterns, like •••—— and —••—• . --Lambiam 20:48, 29 December 2024 (UTC)
- Flashing patterns would be a very poor method for aircraft and probably ships also. Navigation lights are meant to give a quick indication of the relative position and heading of another aircraft/vessel. When seeing navigation lights a pilot instantly has an indication of the relative flight direction of the other aircraft based on which red/green/white lights are visible. Also there are already the anti-collision lights, red flashing beacon on the tail at least and white flashing strobes on the wingtips and tail. How could a pilot possibly decode flashing lights reliably enough and quickly enough to determine relative heading? fiveby(zero) 18:06, 1 January 2025 (UTC)
- Wouldn't that be a problem because the sky/ocean is blue? I understand that the lights are used at night so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. ―Panamitsu (talk) 22:39, 29 December 2024 (UTC)
- It would involve more complex lighting circuits/equipment and massive world-wide retrofitting, which (I suggest) would be prohibitively expensive, to solve a relatively minor 'problem' more easily answered by simply not employing colour-blind people in the relevant positions. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.1.223.204 (talk) 13:12, 31 December 2024 (UTC)
- Flashing lights have been used on lighthouses for a long time. They use an assembly of lenses and shutters rotating around a fixed light, using a low-friction bearing. This works fine for stationary lighthouses, but is more problematic on moving ships. There's more wear and the lens assembly could jam or rotate at variable speed. Better to use an electric light, switched repeatedly by a rotating switch powered by an electric motor (all available late 19th century), but both switch and lamp have to switch reliably at least a million times. No problem today, but there's still the issue of recognising a flashing pattern if it's intermittently obscured. It's considered acceptable for lighthouses and buoys, which are usually more or less where you expect them to be, but a moving ship may be a different matter. PiusImpavidus (talk) 14:45, 1 January 2025 (UTC)
- It would involve more complex lighting circuits/equipment and massive world-wide retrofitting, which (I suggest) would be prohibitively expensive, to solve a relatively minor 'problem' more easily answered by simply not employing colour-blind people in the relevant positions. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.1.223.204 (talk) 13:12, 31 December 2024 (UTC)
- They could have agreed (and still could agree) on assigning distinct flashing patterns, like •••—— and —••—• . --Lambiam 20:48, 29 December 2024 (UTC)
- When I answered telephones and sold passenger tickets for Eurostar I had to pass an Ishihara test, the same as signalmen and train drivers. DuncanHill (talk) 21:27, 29 December 2024 (UTC)
- Depending on the signalling system, train drivers may also have to discriminate red from yellow/amber. This is less important for road users. And states of tracks and signals are colour-coded on the computer monitors of signalmen, but it should only take a simple software update to accommodate colourblind signalmen. (Yes, there're still some old-fashioned signal boxes in some countries; I've passed the one at Severn Bridge Junction on my way to Wales.) I don't see the objection against colourblind ticket sellers. PiusImpavidus (talk) 11:58, 31 December 2024 (UTC)
December 29
Domains
Are Eritrea's .er and Belarus's .by ever used in domain hacks? .er could be used in shortcut to Blogger, blogg.er, like goo.gl and youtu.be, and .by could be used in domains such as drive.by and in Nordic place namesmas by means "village" in Swedish and "city" in Norwegian and Danish. And can South Africa's .za and India's .in be used directly after the main part, such as in piz.za and drive.in? Also, can .pl, .cz, .sk and .hu addresses contain diacritics, such as gdańsk.pl, česko.cz, košice.sk and magyarország.hu? --40bus (talk) 10:10, 29 December 2024 (UTC)
- See URL#Internationalized URL. PiusImpavidus (talk) 11:30, 29 December 2024 (UTC)
- Plusimpavidus has only answered the last sentencee.
- The answer to the first part is entirely dependent on the policy of the controller of the ccTLD in question, and that controller may or may not publish a policy. Technically, of course they could be used: the government of Tonga sells .to domains to any interested party, as I presume you know.
- According to our article .by
The Operations and Analysis Centre under the President of the Republic of Belarus allows for anyone (not only for those who reside in Belarus) to register a second level domain such as something.by
, and it also sayshe .by code is used for domain hack by institutions from the German state of Bavaria (German: Bayern), such as bayern.by, the Bavarian Tourism Agency. Since "by" means "town" or "city" in Norwegian, it's also used by some Norwegian newspapers, such as osl.by for an Oslo newspaper, and trd.by for a Trondheim newspaper
, however, neither of these statements appear to be sourced. When I just tried it, trd.by seems to redirect to a Norwegian casino site. - Our articles .er and .za say nothing about whether the ccTLDs are available to anybody outside Eritrea and South Africa respectively. .in doesn't explicitly address the question, but in talking about the use of subdomains it repeats "in India" several times. ColinFine (talk) 20:38, 29 December 2024 (UTC)
Colored asphalt markings
What's the purpose of such blue, green, pink marks on street grounds? I've seen them in multiple places in Warsaw (typically in non-traffic places, such as sidewalks) where they've stayed for several months or even years without being erased. From what I've read, those marks can be made for some roadworks, but I'm not sure. Brandmeister 20:06, 29 December 2024 (UTC)
- I've seen them used for several purposes, mostly for marking the course of some underground pipe or cable, but also for marking a distance such as 500m from a given spot. In the first case, there is a sequence of similar markings, not too far apart from each other. In the second case the marking is usually accompanied by a number or some code. --Lambiam 20:55, 29 December 2024 (UTC)
- In my experience (UK) they appear in preparation for invasive ground works, most recently in our road prior to the installation of the third set of broadband cables under our pavement. Apparently, existing suppliers and their customers get sniffy if new upstart suppliers not only add their own cables, but put a shovel through the existing cables in the process! Different colours may denote gas, water and telecommunication lines.
- There is also an occasional rash of markings that outline potholes; whether this is done to guide the repairers of potholes, or as a placebo to pacify local road users, is not always clear. It is possible that the process accompanies the calculation of a cost for the work; the expenditure may not be forthcoming. -- Verbarson edits 21:24, 29 December 2024 (UTC)
- Thanks all. Brandmeister 11:31, 2 January 2025 (UTC)
January 1
Peugeot's rivalry
Did Peugeot have any rivalry with other auto manufacturer that became famous or was famous but forgotten, like Lancia and Audi in 1983 and Ford and Ferrari in the 1960s? --Donmust90-- Donmust90 (talk) 19:15, 1 January 2025 (UTC)
- When does competition rise to the level of rivalry? Peugeot was unexpectedly beaten in speed by Panhard et Levassor in the Paris–Bordeaux–Paris race of June 1895. --Lambiam 00:07, 2 January 2025 (UTC)
- Peugeot, Citroën, Renault and Simca were the big four French automakers post World War II - and therefore rivals. The first two have merged, Renault is still around, but Simca has disappeared. Xuxl (talk) 11:40, 2 January 2025 (UTC)
- While the Simca brand, after having been acquired first by Chrysler and then PSA Peugeot Citroën, has disappeared, the factory in Poissy that Simca acquired from Ford France in 1954 is still in full operation.
- The Lancia–Audi and Ford–Ferrari rivalries alluded to in the question were not about rivalry between companies, but rivalry between racing teams; see Race for Glory: Audi vs. Lancia and Ford v Ferrari. --Lambiam 16:03, 2 January 2025 (UTC)
- Peugeot, Citroën, Renault and Simca were the big four French automakers post World War II - and therefore rivals. The first two have merged, Renault is still around, but Simca has disappeared. Xuxl (talk) 11:40, 2 January 2025 (UTC)
January 3
British weather website
Is there any British weather website which has daily data for stations in the United Kingdom? The starlingroot.ddns.net is not working anymore, it worked a few months ago. The "Historic station data" page on MetOffice's website has only monthly data, and the MetOffice WOW - Weather Observations Website has only hourly data. And is there any English-language website having weather observations for different cities and countries in Europe, similar to e.g. Infoclimat? --40bus (talk) 13:16, 3 January 2025 (UTC)
- You might find windfinder.com useful. Although primarily aimed at coastal leisure activities, it also covers inland areas. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.6.84.253 (talk) 03:07, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
- wunderground.com used to have this. IDK about now. 2601:644:8581:75B0:0:0:0:DA2D (talk) 18:47, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
January 4
Goal number one
How do you forgive and forget? (not sure if that's off-topic for the reference desk. if it is, sorry in advance.) TWOrantula (enter the web) 05:47, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
- By deciding to. ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 06:05, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
- One can decide to forget, but will it work? --Lambiam 09:22, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
- Here is an essay on the topic, by a practitioner of mindfulness, that you may (or may not) find helpful. More advice: , and (written from a Christian perspective) . --Lambiam 09:32, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
- (OR, in that I have no published sources for this, though I was taught it by others): Forgiving does not necessarily mean forgetting - it also doesn't necessarily mean condoning. It means not carrying ill will. In my experience, once I see the cost (to me) of bearing the resentment, and how illusory are the apparent benefits of doing so, it is easy to choose to let it go. ColinFine (talk) 14:25, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
Shall we forgive the OP for forgetting that we don't offer advice?DOR (ex-HK) (talk) 17:38, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
- I'd suggest searching the web. ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 17:47, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
- The injunction does not apply to all advice, but is aimed specifically at giving medical or legal advice. --Lambiam 23:14, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
Westminster Coroner's Court
I'm trying to research a sudden death that occurred in the London Borough of Merton. Please help me find information about Westminster Coroner's Court, also known as "Inner West London Coroner's Court". They appear to have no website, and publish no court listings. They claim that coroners records are closed to public access for 75 years.
But other coroners courts in the UK, for example "London Inner South Coroner’s Court", publish their court listings and say that inquests are public and anyone can attend.
Why is there are difference? Why is "London Inner South Coroner’s Court" open to the public, but "Inner West London Coroner's Court" is not? Surely all coroners courts operate under the same laws?
Thanks for your help Cylopi (talk) 12:41, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
- As you can see from coroners' courts are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. I can assure you, however, that inquests held by the Westminster coroner are as public as inquests held by any other coroner. 2A00:23D0:54D:2001:7843:31E3:192B:798 (talk) 14:56, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
Where can I find unmarried men list in Science/Maths?
Like Brahmagupta, Issac Newton, Nicola Tesla, Arthur Eddington.
I want to exclude Archimedes due to his unknown marital status, Leonardo da Vinci as he have romantic relations and Galileo Galilei who has 3 children out of wedlock. HarryOrange (talk) 14:08, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
- Do you have any reason to suppose that such a list exists, @HarryOrange? ColinFine (talk) 14:27, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
- Just to encourage celibacy HarryOrange (talk) 14:30, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
- So, you've come here to ask people how to remove from a list that doesn't exist, some names that would probably belong only the list if it existed, because you have some private meaning of "unmarried"? ColinFine (talk) 12:56, 5 January 2025 (UTC)
- If some men don't (appear to) have sexual relationships with women, they're not necessarily demonstrating celibacy - they might be otherwise inclined. Chuntuk (talk) 11:37, 6 January 2025 (UTC)
- Just to encourage celibacy HarryOrange (talk) 14:30, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
- Why did you pipe the correctly-spelled "Isaac" Newton to the incorrectly-spelled "Issac" Newton? -- Jack of Oz 18:37, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
- And do the same strange thing to Nikola Tesla? Cullen328 (talk) 23:03, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
Champagne explosion
I had an unopened bottle of cheap champagne (Barefoot Rosé if that matters) left over from NYE, and about 10 minutes ago the thing spontaneously exploded. It had been just sitting there at room temperature. No serious damage but there is champange and broken glass all over the place now, and I'm in the process of cleaning it up. Are these explosions a usual occasional occurrence? I'm used to champagne bottles being thicker than regular wine bottles for obvious reasons, but this one seems on the thin side in retrospect, maybe as an economy measure. Could that be? I'm surprised it doesn't happen on store shelves if it happens at home. Thanks. 2601:644:8581:75B0:0:0:0:DA2D (talk) 18:39, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
- I does happen. Sometimes a cause can be identified. When a bottle of champagne is stored in a freezer, or a fridge whose temperature setting is too low, the contents may freeze, causing it to expand. This can lead to minute cracks in the glass, weakening its strength. Thawed in a relatively warm environment, the pressure of the gas can then result in fracture. Another potential cause is premature bottling, when fermentation has not run its fill course ands the wine still contains yeast and sugar. (Almost all wine sold as "champagne" in the US, also when labelled "Brut", contains residual sugar to accommodate the local taste.) When warmed up, fermentation resumes and pressure increases. Finally, a small fraction of bottles is damaged in handling or comes with production defects, not detectable through visual inspection. --Lambiam 22:42, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
- Thanks. No idea about refrigeration before I bought it, but I got it off the shelf at a big supermarket, carried it home, and it sat in the exact same place in the room for several days before going kablooie. All I can think of is that carrying it home might have bumped it around or something. Oh well, no big deal in the scheme of things. 2601:644:8581:75B0:0:0:0:DA2D (talk) 01:20, 5 January 2025 (UTC)
- The traditional method of making Champagne requires freezing it in the bottle, so I suppose most bottles are designed to handle that – although freezing from the bottom up is safer than top-down, as it creates no plug of ice between the liquid and the gas. If not using the traditional method, or if the wine doesn't come from the Champagne region, many countries (including all of the EU) forbid selling it under the name Champagne. The US however hasn't got that restriction.
- Wines freeze around -5°C, so accidental freezing in a fridge set too cold seems unlikely. PiusImpavidus (talk) 11:15, 5 January 2025 (UTC)
- In this case the bottle had not been opened, but the cold liquid carbonated contents of a closed bottle may freeze upon opening due to cooling by adiabatic expansion of the CO2. --Lambiam 13:57, 5 January 2025 (UTC)
Once upon a time soda pop used to come in reusable glass bottles, and I read somewhere that this would happen from time to time with the larger sizes. And indeed, sometime around 1980 a large bottle of Coca-Cola, probably 1.5 liters, exploded while sitting in my cupboard. --142.112.149.206 (talk) 02:51, 5 January 2025 (UTC)
Organizations
Are there any international organizations headquartered in Australia, similar to UN and World Bank are headquartered in the US? --40bus (talk) 22:04, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
- We have a Category:International organisations based in Australia. --Lambiam 23:05, 4 January 2025 (UTC)
- Isn't this more or less the same question that you asked a month ago? Shantavira| 09:55, 5 January 2025 (UTC)
- An international organization is a completely different thing from a multinational company. --Viennese Waltz 11:38, 5 January 2025 (UTC)
- yes but both questions are easily answered with even the most cursory research and 40bus here seems to have a habit of asking research questions. 208.121.35.65 (talk) 17:37, 7 January 2025 (UTC)
- An international organization is a completely different thing from a multinational company. --Viennese Waltz 11:38, 5 January 2025 (UTC)
January 6
Replacement for my My Yahoo page
Not sure this is the correct venue, but here goes.
Yahoo have shut down all personal My Yahoo pages. For those who don't use Yahoo, your My Yahoo page was sort of your own personal webpage, where you could have various modules that interested you displayed (e.g. cartoons, horoscopes, travel, finance etc). Yahoo have closed My Yahoo down. A big feature of my personal My Yahoo page was that it had loads of links to my favourite websites. This loss is the one that is hurting most.
Any suggestions as to a replacement? Mjroots (talk) 10:15, 6 January 2025 (UTC)
- MSN.com does that pretty well. --Viennese Waltz 10:25, 6 January 2025 (UTC)
- Could you explain in more detail how one can go about to create a personalized web space using MSN.com? --Lambiam 12:29, 6 January 2025 (UTC)
- would be a start. That link is for UK users, presumably you can customize it to your own country. --Viennese Waltz 13:38, 6 January 2025 (UTC)
- Could you explain in more detail how one can go about to create a personalized web space using MSN.com? --Lambiam 12:29, 6 January 2025 (UTC)
- Perhaps one of the content curation tools listed here, some of which are free, will serve your purposes. I have no knowledge of any of these tools beyond what you find there. --Lambiam 12:34, 6 January 2025 (UTC)
- No modules, but there is Neocities. Actually, I may misunderstand: perhaps you seek a kind of home page which is online but available to you only, mainly for collecting bookmarks. Card Zero (talk) 13:53, 6 January 2025 (UTC)
- For those answering, while it appears to be a question asking how to make a basic list of links, it is not. Yahoo's links page was created by selecting modules through a GUI and then customizing the settings. For example, I could select the comics GUI and then select which comics I want to show up in my links. I don't need to know any of the URLs. I just place a check next to the comics I like. For finance, I add the module with a click and then type in the ticket symbols for the stocks I care about. It automatically creates a daily stock thumbnail with links to news articles about those stocks. So, it is true that there are many available options to create a list of links, there are not as many options to create a custom content page for multiple areas of personal interest. 68.187.174.155 (talk) 15:35, 6 January 2025 (UTC)
- The IP is correct, but as I said above, I can live without horoscopes, comics etc. The ability of easily store links to favourite websites is the biggest loss. @Card Zero: - it doesn't have to be for me only. I think that using a subpage of my user space will fall foul of WP:NOTWEBHOST #5, even though many (but not all) of the websites are used in Misplaced Pages research. Mjroots (talk) 15:39, 6 January 2025 (UTC)
- Does it have to be a website in that case? Why not browser bookmarks? In fact, I believe these days some browsers will let you select bookmarks for a "start page" or "start screen" that is displayed when you open a new window/tab. And if they don't, you can probably find a browser extension that will do that. -- Avocado (talk) 17:20, 6 January 2025 (UTC)
- The IP is correct, but as I said above, I can live without horoscopes, comics etc. The ability of easily store links to favourite websites is the biggest loss. @Card Zero: - it doesn't have to be for me only. I think that using a subpage of my user space will fall foul of WP:NOTWEBHOST #5, even though many (but not all) of the websites are used in Misplaced Pages research. Mjroots (talk) 15:39, 6 January 2025 (UTC)
- For those answering, while it appears to be a question asking how to make a basic list of links, it is not. Yahoo's links page was created by selecting modules through a GUI and then customizing the settings. For example, I could select the comics GUI and then select which comics I want to show up in my links. I don't need to know any of the URLs. I just place a check next to the comics I like. For finance, I add the module with a click and then type in the ticket symbols for the stocks I care about. It automatically creates a daily stock thumbnail with links to news articles about those stocks. So, it is true that there are many available options to create a list of links, there are not as many options to create a custom content page for multiple areas of personal interest. 68.187.174.155 (talk) 15:35, 6 January 2025 (UTC)
Major traffic fatality incident, Denmark, 2019
In 2019, Denmark had a minor spike in traffic fatalities. I feel that the spike is most likely the result of a single accident with multiple fatalities. However, I cannot find any news about multiple-fatality accidents in Denmark in 2019. Everything that I find is related to train accidents, which I do not think Denmark includes in "traffic fatality" counts. Can anyone find a list of accidents or news about a single large-scale accident that might skew the yearly count for 2019? 68.187.174.155 (talk) 15:25, 6 January 2025 (UTC)
- First of all, where are you seeing this spike and is it a reliable source? Shantavira| 09:55, 7 January 2025 (UTC)
- And is it even statistically significant? With unrelated events happening by chance, there will always be fluctuations in number of events by time period. Spikes will occur every now and then, entirely by chance. --Lambiam 13:05, 7 January 2025 (UTC)
- I found this document (pdf) which seems to go into this matter in great detail. I don't read Danish, but I ran it though Google Translate. The table on page 28 shows that there were 199 traffic-related fatalities in Denmark in 2019, which is more than the two previous years but less than some earlier years. So I agree with the above posters that there is not enough here to constitute a spike. The document doesn't list individual accidents, btw. --Viennese Waltz 14:24, 7 January 2025 (UTC)
- The mean number of fatalities of the 10-year sample given in this Danish report is 194.9, while its estimated standard deviation is 27.3. This means that the 2019 value deviates from the mean by 0.15 sigma, which is more remarkable by how little the deviation is. --Lambiam 23:54, 7 January 2025 (UTC)
- I found this document (pdf) which seems to go into this matter in great detail. I don't read Danish, but I ran it though Google Translate. The table on page 28 shows that there were 199 traffic-related fatalities in Denmark in 2019, which is more than the two previous years but less than some earlier years. So I agree with the above posters that there is not enough here to constitute a spike. The document doesn't list individual accidents, btw. --Viennese Waltz 14:24, 7 January 2025 (UTC)
- And is it even statistically significant? With unrelated events happening by chance, there will always be fluctuations in number of events by time period. Spikes will occur every now and then, entirely by chance. --Lambiam 13:05, 7 January 2025 (UTC)
- I saw this before and perhaps you are trying to recreate it. In 2019, traffic fatalities in Denmark increased 20%. But, they were so low that it was a small bump to make that 20% jump. The reason it matters is because the increase was used as the basis to use government funding for more bicycle lanes and improving intersections. But, the increase was not statistically significant and didn't mean anything, so it should not have been used as justification for any changes. Now, from memory, it was a multi-car, weather-related accident in January that added more than 10 fatalities to the yearly count. That was overshadowed by a train accident due to the same snowstorm which killed 8 (I remember it was 8 because most new articles listed 6, but some stated that a few days later, two more bodies were found). So, my gut feeling is that you are intending to show that this "20% spike" in traffic fatalities is really a data artifact created by a single large-scale accident and not representative of general driver behavior in Denmark. Unfortunately, I do not know how to search Danish news. But, if my memory is correct, you can use the date of the well documented train accident in Denmark in 2019 to get the date of the multi-car accident and then, hopefully, find that as well. I doubt you will find it in any English-based news repository. You will have to search Danish repositories. 12.116.29.106 (talk) 16:17, 7 January 2025 (UTC)
- Yes. That is what I am doing. I found multiple overblown newspaper headlines like "Biggest increase in traffic fatalities in five years! Your mind will be blown when you see the numbers!" and I am using that to demonstrate that while it is technically true that there was a 20% increase in fatalities, the proper context around that increase is that it is negligible and the result of a single event that could have happened on any other year. Basically, it is a presentation on applying context to data and how it is often done improperly. Now that I know there was a multi-vehicle traffic accident at the same time as the train accident I keep finding, I decided to read those articles and many of them comment on the car accident as well as the train accident, but I didn't read through the articles to notice previously. 68.187.174.155 (talk) 13:15, 8 January 2025 (UTC)
- According to the document linked by @Viennese Waltz, there were 199 deaths in 2019, compared to 171 the year before. That's a 16% increase, not 20%. On the other hand, it's an extra 28 people - so more than the result of a single incident. It just looks like random variation in a decade (the 2010's) that saw about 200 people killed every year on Denmark's roads. This decade it's been more like 150 a year, so if they spent a lot of money in 2019 it was worth it. You can further eamine annual figures here and here. Chuntuk (talk) 13:23, 9 January 2025 (UTC)
- Yes. That is what I am doing. I found multiple overblown newspaper headlines like "Biggest increase in traffic fatalities in five years! Your mind will be blown when you see the numbers!" and I am using that to demonstrate that while it is technically true that there was a 20% increase in fatalities, the proper context around that increase is that it is negligible and the result of a single event that could have happened on any other year. Basically, it is a presentation on applying context to data and how it is often done improperly. Now that I know there was a multi-vehicle traffic accident at the same time as the train accident I keep finding, I decided to read those articles and many of them comment on the car accident as well as the train accident, but I didn't read through the articles to notice previously. 68.187.174.155 (talk) 13:15, 8 January 2025 (UTC)
Neurodiverse dating site
Is there website that shows with neurodiverse person goes well with which other neurodiverse, e.g. ADHD with Autism, Autism with HPI, HPI with dylexsia etc? --Donmust90-- Donmust90 (talk) 15:55, 6 January 2025 (UTC)
- For any combination of forms of neurodiversity, some persons will go well with each other, while others will not. This depends mainly on other factors, in particular the personality and personal value system of each. --Lambiam 12:57, 7 January 2025 (UTC)
January 8
Anthropology Misplaced Pages page
Does anyone know why the Misplaced Pages page for "Anthropology" jumped to 6 million views on Dec. 25, 2024?https://pageviews.wmcloud.org/?project=en.wikipedia.org&platform=all-access&agent=user&redirects=0&start=2024-12-18&end=2025-01-07&pages=Anthropology 136.26.125.34 (talk) 23:28, 8 January 2025 (UTC)