Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2007 April 19

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April 19

kenya

who knows a popular kenyan figure who met his wife while running for office

A number of senior Kenyan politicians have multiple wives, some of whom were married during their political careers. See Vice-President of Kenya and President of Kenya for a few of them. Rockpocket 06:19, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

After you win the trivia contest, will you be sharing your winnings with us?

Atlant 12:33, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

i always share the loot with my buddies by donating part of my bounty otherwise how will i eat tomorrow and the next day.but still i havent gotten the answer.the link still hasnt been of much help.

I'm sorry thats not helfpul, but without more information we cannot be more specific, as as least three of the people in those lists match you description. Rockpocket 17:08, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

give me their names.its not kijana wamalwa.al narrow them down.and another clue he is still alive

Another handwriting question

What is the nature and extent of the link between handwriting and nationality? I've noticed that many North Americans' handwriting is very similar; it's hard to describe, but it looks italic and cursive. Anecdotally, many French people's handwriting also seems to have similar characteristics. In Britain, handwriting styles seem to vary a lot more. I guess this might have something to do with the way handwriting is taught in schools. Anyone else noticed what I'm talking about? --Richardrj ^{talk email} 08:28, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

I certainly have. A number of European-born friends (Germany, Russia, Yugoslavia) of mine seem to have a similar distinctive handwriting, quite unlike that of people from other parts of the world. JackofOz 08:37, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

North America is a big place. What kind of writing are you referring to? English Alphabet--Kirby♥time 08:54, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

I know it's a big place. If I could find an example image file, I'd post it here. I'm just saying that some North Americans' (Americans and Canadians) handwriting is recognisable as being by someone from that part of the world. The same applies to other nationalities, I think. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 09:03, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

I agree with Richardrj, and I suspect it's the template that elementary school teachers use to teach handwriting. Anchoress 09:23, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

hi richard i think it may have something to do with 'fashion' of the time, i remember that at primary school, in the early eighties, nearly everyone espically girls, started writting in a 'bubble' style of writing, curvey and not 'joined up'this was opposite to the style taught, rigid, 'joined up' writing, i think it was due to a bubble like font used in teen magazines but i could be wrong - sorry the area i live in is east coast scotland, but i have noticed this type of writing at uni, in other area's of scotland again, predominatley females using itPerry-mankster 09:54, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

You're quite right Perry, that's another aspect I hadn't thought of - how handwriting differs by gender. I know exactly the style you are talking about, and you're right it's an exclusively female thing - very rounded letters, circles rather than dots over the i, and so on. --Richardrj ^{talk email} 12:24, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

It's absolutely NOT an exclusively female thing. It's not as common in males, but it's definitely there. That having been said, in teenagers certainly handwriting is very recognisable by gender, and if I may say so, by generation too. All my great-grandparents' friends, my grandparents' friends, and my parents' friends had handwriting that looked the same. A lot of my friends have similar penmanship too (I don't say handwriting because it went out of style in favour of a kind of loopy lettering during my generation). Anchoress 22:57, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

or, (any given detiy) forbid little love hearts above their i's...--Perry-mankster 12:51, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Ramen to that!

Atlant 15:40, 19 April 2007 (UTC) (whose cursive handwriting is probably unintelligible to everyone on the planet, even him!)

I think Anchoress is probably correct that handwriting studies in the US at least are pretty standardized, or at least they were when I was in school. --24.147.86.187 22:52, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

I recall being taught D'Nealian script as a primary penmanship style in preparing to learn cursive; this might be a main contributor. Also, see Regional handwriting variation for some interesting info. V-Man - ^T/_C 02:27, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

(addition) Mostly what I see in my handwriting as well as that of others that is at variance with the D'Nealian script are the letters i, k, and t, those being revised to more closely resemble standard print; the rest has their curves straightened, basically. V-Man - ^T/_C 02:53, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

market planning

1. discuss factors affecting marketing planning 2. discuss key players in market planning

• Please read the instructions at the top of the page. These questions are too general and sound very much like homework. - Mgm|^(talk) 08:54, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

market planning

players in market planning

How about Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, or maybe Ben Bernanke? disclaimer:I've never taken any type of economics class and do not know what I'm talking about.

Market planning is very different from marketing planning. Marco polo 13:13, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

planning marketing

factors affecting marketing planning

I've heard rumor of some sort of invisible hand being a factor...

Books could be written on this subject, and have been, most of them rather boring. For example, there is the newly published Marketing Management: A Strategic Decision-Making Approach by John W. Mullins. You will find this, and many others like it, at your local business school library or on Amazon.com. Marco polo 13:12, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Percent deaths by race

What is the percent of people by race who have died for America in war? 71.100.175.14 12:34, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Which war? The percentage of casualties by race will have changed dramatically over time, as the racial make-up of the US has changed and as the military forces have changed their policies regarding who can and cannot serve in combat roles. For example, I would guess that the percentage of military Civil War casualties who were of African descent would be significantly smaller than the same statistic calculated for the Vietnam War. - Eron ^Talk 12:56, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

All countries, all wars, all races, recorded to date. 71.100.175.14 16:53, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Some of this information would be very difficult, if not impossible, to find out, especially for wars hundreds of years ago.

Races are a social construct! Hundreds of years ago the mankind had other concepts for "race" as some have today ;-). Europe has other race-cronstructions as the U.S. A race can be a stamp in our identification papers, it might exist in human brains, but it never was a ontological reality... Sei Shonagon 15:50, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

Air conditioners

Where is a good source for free info on air conditioners?129.112.109.252 13:50, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

What type of information are you looking for? Air conditioner would be a good start, of course. --LarryMac 13:55, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Did you want reviews of available models? Info on how they function? What type of free info were you looking for? If you'd like reviews, and you're in the U.S., there is a magazine called Consumer Reports that is published monthly. They do a lot of tests on various household items and rate them. I would think that they have reviewed air conditioners before, probably very recently with spring in the air, and you should be able to find some good reviews there. Back issues should be available at your local library. Dismas|^(talk) 19:03, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

They also have a significant portion of their archives online. While their site requires a monthly subscription, they have a one-month free trial available. You might consider using that, too. — Lomn 19:20, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Small caliber cannons on elephants.

In the Wiki article about war elephants, someone makes a passing mention of culverins having been mounted to war-elephant mahouts at one time or another. I have searched and searched databases and journals to the extent of my ability to do so, and absolutely nowhere have I found an account of whether or not this was even possible, let alone a description of its actually having been implemented.

Can someone direct me to a reliable source that might describe the use of cannons on elephants, or a debate as to whether or not this ever could have occurred?

The general consensus among my peers is that it was never used or even possible, but I haven't yet read a peer-reviewed article on the subject.

67.8.42.116 17:43, 19 April 2007 (UTC)Ken

I remember reading in one of my college history books that someone once tried very unsuccessfully to try that, I think it may have been the Persian empire but I'm not sure about that.Ken 20:44, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

MeltBanana posted this link to a picture of a camel with a small cannon on its back in response to a similar question last August. However, the general conclusion of that discussion, as well as my Google search on the subject, suggest that cannons being mounted on elephants is mere speculation and has no immediately visible references. V-Man - ^T/_C 03:41, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

flights

If i were to randomly go to detroit airport on a weekday sometime in june and ask around the desks what is the likelihood i could get a flight to new york laguardia (return for 2/3 days later). Being from england i dont know how busy flights tend to be over there. Would the cost of buying a ticket at the airport be cheaper or more expensive than buying online. Dont worry no exact figures nesecarry, just trying to figure out what ill do seeing as i most likely wont know a firm date ill be going, untill maybe day or two before i go if that makes sense. Rickystrapp 17:47, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

I don't have any data on how busy flights are, but some quick research on Expedia indicates that there are only two airlines that fly non-stop from Detroit to LaGuardia, Northwest and American. If you were willing to fly to JFK, Delta would be added to the list. Two of the US low-cost carriers, Airtran and Southwest, have service in Detroit, but no direct flights to New York. My gut feeling is that using an internet travel site would be less time-consuming and cheaper than buying at the airport. --LarryMac 18:05, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

You can expect to pay many times more if trying to get a last minute flight, unless you fly "standby", meaning you go on the next available flight (when some of the seats are empty because not everyone showed up). If I were you, I'd make online reservations for the last date you may have to leave, and just spend any extra days in Detroit. You can go to the Ren Cen, eat at the revolving restaurant and see Windsor, Ontario across the Detroit River. Then you can go to the Henry Ford Museum, check out the Rosa Parks bus, the chair in which Lincoln was assassinated, the limo in which Kennedy was assassinated (as well as all the other presidential limos), an IMAX film, etc. Go to the Detroit Institute of Arts and check out the Diego Rivera mural. Go to the Detroit Film Theatre and see an obscure foreign film. Then go to the Detroit Science Center: [1]. Let me know if you need any more ideas. StuRat 21:52, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

The price is not much different in person or online. But as Sturat says, tickets bought less than a week in advance tend to be expensive. That said, I just checked the price (online) of a ticket two days from now from Detroit to LaGuardia on Northwest and found that it is only $180. I had expected about five times that. If you flew with US Airways and changed planes in Washington DC (lengthening your trip from 2 hours to more than 4), you could do it for $152 (per Travelocity.com). This is not bad. Whether these relatively low prices for last-minute flights will still be available in peak season is hard to predict. Marco polo 01:12, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Why is an entry 'redirected' to another entry of the same name?

Hi, I'm looking at the People magazine entry and I noticed that under the title of the article, it says "Redirected from People magazine." When I click on the other entry I noticed that the information is not the same as that of the first entry?

Thank you.

This should probably be asked at Wikipedia:Help Desk, but I'll try to explain it to you. You're talking about the article at People (magazine). You searched for People magazine, which is redirected to the People (magazine) article. This is a convenience for users, and it lets people look for things in Wikipedia which might be known by more than one name. If you click on the link to go back to the "People magazine" page, you see a "Redirect" command, which tells the software which runs Wikipedia to just keep on going to the page in the "Redirect" link. Corvus cornix 18:27, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

As for why the article is named "People (magazine)" and not "People magazine" it's because the actual name of the magazine is just simply "People". If you go to People you'll see that the page is about humans. You, me, everybody. There are also many things that are referred to by the word "People" so to disambiguate between them, words are often put in parentheses to seperate them. The words in parentheses aren't meant to be read as the actual name of that thing, just as a means to tell one from the other. Dismas|^(talk) 19:00, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

And disambiguation (disambiguation) disambiguates disambiguation.--Shantavira 19:25, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Managerial accounting: treatment, prevention and discouragement of "freebie abuse"

Can someone relay to me the formal name and treatment of "freebie abuse"? Suppose you are a customer of the local photocopy shop for example. You may notice there are "free" paperclips and tape and other incidental items for customers. Obviously, their use is predicated on the fact that you are a paying customer, but what if customers went crazy and started using more than a "reasonable amount" of these incidental items? Im looking for general treatment of this issue, especially as it relates to small businesses that sometimes offer "special conveniences" to distinguish themselves and please customers. NoClutter 19:11, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Sounds to me like a specific case of the tragedy of the commons. I don't know that any treatment for the propensity to abuse "free" resources has been found; this page would suggest that none has so far. - Eron ^Talk 20:34, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Architecture

What is the current training required, current courses available to students,local institutions wich offer appropriate training and the nature, length and cost of such training in South Africa?

If you are actually interested in this then you would be much better off actually asking one of the institutions. It shouldn't be hard to find a higher learning institute in south africa and they usually have course councellors and things like web sites and open days which are designed to inform people about exactly the kind of things you are asking. Vespine 00:01, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Here is a link to the architecture program at the University of Cape Town. Here is one to the architecture program at the University of the Witwatersrand. No doubt other universities in South Africa have such programs. You can start your research with our List of universities in South Africa. Marco polo 01:18, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

3 questions

1. What is the song you hear in the background of advertisements for Fox's new show, Drive?

2. I keep hearing a song on the radio but can't figure out what it is. It's about Alice in Wonderland and has the lyrics "remember... what the doorman said... and ...and the white night". That's about all I can remember.

Sounds like Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit to me. - Eron ^Talk 20:35, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

3. There was a music video filmed in Butte, Montana about twenty years ago that was about the mines being closed. It had the name "Down the River" or "Sold Down the River" or something like that. I know that the band was British and that supposedly they liked the story about Butte and the mining because it reminded them of their hometown.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks, --69.51.87.130 20:22, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

For #2, it sounds like White Rabbit (song), a quite old song by the Jefferson Airplane. It is dormouse, not "doorman", and white knight. --LarryMac 20:37, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Thanks. I actually knew that it was white "knight", but I spelled it wrong. --Captain Wikify ^Argh! 20:54, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

For #3, "Sold me down the River," by The Alarm. The video was filmed I think at the Anselmo Mine in Butte. Cheers Geologyguy 23:24, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Logic: Identity of indiscernibles (two objects possessing the exact same properties are one and the same?)

This is a question about the Identity of indiscernibles article in wikipedia. Does a "property" (or "predicate") of an object include its position in space and time? If not, how are there not objects which have the same properties but aren't one and the same (eg. 2 elementary particles). If so, then isn't the only relevent property of an object its position in space and time? 67.70.29.221 20:36, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

But then you'd be excluding non-physical objects. Recury 20:54, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

see also Pauli exclusion principle. V-Man - ^T/_C 03:46, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

This is a bit 'out there' but you could also think about the idea that (I believe) Feynmann came up with that because positrons have identical properties to what a time-reversed electron would have - then you could imagine that when an electron and a positron annihilate - or when an electron-positron pair materialise spontaneously out of free space - that this is merely a single electron reversing in time and heading off in the opposite direction. Since all electrons are indistinguishable, it would be possible to claim that there is only one electron/positron in the entire universe and it spends all of it's existance shuttling back and forth in time - appearing to be in many places at once. SteveBaker 15:45, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

World map of flags

I am looking for a world map with flags overlayed onto each respective country. Basically, I want the images at right, but for all countries on the same map, rather than individually. If anyone knows of an image like this, that would be greatly appreciated. If you know how to edit pictures, it would be fantastic if you could make one for me. Thanks!!! Reywas92^Talk 21:19, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

I don't have the skills to do what you want but I thought I'd mention something. How big did you want this map to be? The reason I ask is that for countries like Liechtenstein, you could have something as small as a single pixel or if you wanted to actually be able to tell that there was a flag with different colors there, you would need to blow the image up so far that even a mid-sized country like Germany would be absolutely huge! Not to mention the bigger countries such as China, the U.S., Canada, or Brazil. Dismas|^(talk) 21:31, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

I found this - according to the program's site, "Advanced formatting options are easily accessible as each country (or any section of the map) can be customized with different label, background and fill options. Here [it shows a picture] country backgrounds are set to flag images and label sizes and formatting customized." --Ali 21:37, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

I don't really care about the size; smaller countries will just be unseen. Ali, your link seems to be great, but what is already made is only Europe. I could probably do that. Thanks! Reywas92^Talk 22:53, 19 April 2007 (UTC) Oh wait, I have to download it and such. That won't work. Reywas92^Talk 23:16, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

One issue with that map of Europe is that Corsica and Portugal both appear red only, suggesting they are different parts of the same country. And Sardinia appears green only, which might suggest it's a part of Libya. Both of these would be incorrect inferences. I guess the maps of France and Italy respectively would need to be downsized to show all 3 colours. JackofOz 02:23, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

They still make paper, and they do coloured pencils now.

Conjugal Visits

I don't even know if I'm posting this in the right spot, so if I'm not, I'm truely sorry. I have a question about Conjugal visits. Why is it that only 6 states allow them? I would think they would work well in a lot more states. Just curious and if anyone has the answer please let me know.

MommaRyan 21:38, 19 April 2007 (UTC) -- (copied in from Village Pump) - Tony Fox (arf!) 22:26, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Something to do with prison being meant as a deterrent & punishment. Vranak

That SOUNDS nifty, Vranak, but as an answer, it seems to have no basis in fact. Instead, a look at our conjugal visit article and at the state laws which do allow conjugal visits suggests that the function of the conjugal visit, where it is allowed, is to serve the unjailed spouse, not the inmate:

Come now, of course it's meant as deterrent & punishment. Vranak

The question isn't "what is prison for"? Of all the possible reasons why it MIGHT be that conjugal visits are not allowed in 44 US States, there is no evidence of any sort that "because prison is meant as a deterrent and punishment" underlies this lack. And our article and the court cases cited suggests that there IS evidence of other, specific reasons behind the 44-state lack. I fail to see why saying "come now, of course it is" is consistent with even the laxest interpretation of the function of a reference desk. Jfarber 22:54, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

"Why is it that only 6 states allow [conjugal visits]?" contains within it the question "what is prison for?". Vranak

Correct. Unfortunately, the purpose of prison does not have wide agreement within society. Among possible purposes of prison are punishment, deterrence, removal from society, reform, and salvation. Conjugal visits aren't necessary for any of those, and actively harm use of prisons for punishment and deterrence. StuRat 13:29, 21 April 2007 (UTC)

The generally recognized basis for permitting such a visit is that, even though the inmate has lost their rights with incarceration, their spouse still has the right to enjoy sexual intimacy, and should not be required to divorce or commit adultery in order to enjoy conjugal rights.

They do also mention that providing conjugal visit facilities is pretty elaborate; were we to allow original guesses, I'd also suggest that CJs cost "too" much, since supporting conjugal visits is a bit expensive for the state, and probably hard to sell to budget-watchers.

As for the original question: though Washington does still allow conjugal visits, the case history here alludes to an incident in which a conjugal visit turned into a rape/shootout, which in turn caused the state to significantly tighten the parameters under which they would allow conjugal visits to continue in the state. I wonder, given that, if many states believe that the conjugal visit establishes too high stakes an environment, one which they cannot control, and thus one which they cannot support, lest they be held responsible for what might happen during a conjugal visit. Jfarber 01:10, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Since this question requires an opinion, I've answered here: [2]. Note that my first opinion matches that of Vranak above. StuRat 05:28, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Facebook

Is it possible to join Facebook so that you can see other people's pages at your school but not have a page of your own at all? I'd occasionally like to see what people put about themselves but I don't want a page of my own of any sort. Just curious. --140.247.10.155 22:50, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Just make a page of your own under a random alias and never use it. Or tell anyone about it. Яussiaп F 01:15, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

You can hide your page in the privacy settings such that you are the only one who can see it. You won't even show up in searches for your name. anonymous6494 19:11, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

The problem is, to see people in your school's network (if you are at a high school)), you must generally join the school's network, and have a friend who is already in the network to confirm you. Unless their privacy settings are extemely low! --Ali 00:19, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia reference desk

Hi, I was wondering what sort of qualifications are necessary to help staff the reference desk. Thanks,

Casey 208.140.9.250 23:06, 19 April 2007 (UTC)sunlizard

No qualifications needed. This is totally volunteer. --Fastfission 23:07, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

A desire to help answer questions. We are working on some guidelines, however they are not fully established yet. Feel free to jump in! --LarryMac 23:11, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Patience, spare time, courtesy and a sense of humour help:) Vespine 23:58, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

Time on your hands, hands (or other methods of typing), and a few neurons that have been used recently. Clarityfiend 00:26, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

----

You must be this tall to help staff the Wikipedia Reference Desks. Jfarber 01:30, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

It helps to have a deep sense of regret that you didn't do enough of your own homework as a child. --TotoBaggins 01:49, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Aw crap, all of those? That's it; I'm done. - Eron ^Talk 03:06, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

What if I don't have that regret? --Wirbelwindヴィルヴェルヴィント (talk) 06:06, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

I think it's important to come here with the expectation that you will spend more time researching questions for other people than you will be able to answer off the top of your head. Hence - whilst theoretically we are here to teach - the practical upshot is that we learn more than the questioners do. In short, it's an excuse to stuff our heads full of trivia! SteveBaker 12:19, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Yes! It appears that you must not be a banned user. 8-)

Ontario colleges

Which Ontario colleges served history course?

I would think that nearly every college in Ontario offers at least one history class. Here is a list of colleges in Ontario. Click on the links to research those that interest you. Marco polo 01:25, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Few if any of the colleges listed in that link will teach history, since history is generally a university subject, not a college subject. Universities are not called "colleges" in Canada (although at some universities, specific faculties might be called "colleges" for historical reasons). Colleges teach things such as secretarial arts, dental hygiene, welding technology, aircraft maintenance and the like. Try List of universities in Ontario. --Charlene 03:43, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Image of unknown army voucher

I found and scanned an interesting note, but I do not even know where to start looking to find an appropriate article for it. Can it be identified and dated? J Are you green? 23:14, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

I think this could very well be a BAF-a British Army Forces voucher, issued during the period 1945-1958 for the use of soldiers stationed in Germany. Have a look at item two here [3] Clio the Muse 23:41, 19 April 2007 (UTC)

<Applause> Well done! As a matter of interest, how did you get to that? --Anonymous, April 20, 2007, 00:58 (UTC).

Thank you! I googled 'British Army Forces vouchers' and came up with the Wardrobe site. It was no more scientific than that! Clio the Muse 09:06, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Thank you for the identification. I added the image to voucher, but since I am pretty unfamiliar to the numismatics portion of Wikipedia, I wonder if there are any other articles that might benefit from this scan. J Are you green? 21:08, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

If I read the relevant copyright information correctly, this may not go out of copyright until 2009, fifty-one years after the last date it could have been published (1958). Edited for typing while chewing gum. --Charlene 03:11, 21 April 2007 (UTC)