Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2007 April 2

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April 2

Tower of London Tennis Court

A few years ago I was in London and was suprised to see a old, rather crapy looking, tennis court at the Tower of London. Why is it there? What is it for? I found this picture of it [1]--ChesterMarcol 01:42, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

It may be a sad remnant from an old community development project (see vacant lot for more information). Cernen Xanthine Katrena 01:59, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

It can't be, its on the grounds of the Tower of London.--ChesterMarcol 02:02, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

This is in the old moat, drained in the mid-nineteenth century as a health hazard. I imagine the tennis court was put there for the use of the Tower staff. Clio the Muse 02:18, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Portugal law: Pension for widows

Hi all. I'm trying to find the applicable law (in Portugal) for pension for widows. I'm interested in year 1977. I already know that in 1975 (after the Carnation Revolution) the law has changed, then several minor adjustments in the meanwhile and in 1984 a new law for the Social Security was issued (Lei de bases da Segurança Social). What I don't know is what was the effective law for pension for widows in 1977. Any ideas? Thanks in advance. --Lgrave 03:29, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Casanova - his educational qualifications?

I quote from Wikipedia's article on the famous Casanova "At the age of 16 he obtained his doctorate in Law from the University of Padua, where he had studied moral philosophy, chemistry, mathematics, and law". I have read of similar youthful achievements by other famous people and can't help but wonder that their actual educational prowess must have been at the very least sketchy. And that extends to those who qualified at British Universities in subjects such as medicine. Or am I being unfair? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 81.145.240.178 (talk) 09:30, 2 April 2007 (UTC).

It says in Education in Italy#School years that currently, high school ends at age 18 or 19, but I find it very likely that the educational system in the 18th century was quite different. Formal education probably did not consist of thirteen years of school preceding university. However, I am speaking from ignorance, and only speculate. − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 13:53, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

I think that before the 19th century, the main requirements for admission to university were 1) the means to support oneself and to cover one's tuition and 2) the ability to read and write in Latin. By the 18th century, there may also have been an expectation of a mastery of arithmetic, some familiarity with rhetoric and logic, perhaps the rudiments of ancient Greek, literacy in a modern language such as French, and a basic knowledge of history, geography, and perhaps a smattering of Newtonian physics. One was expected to have studied with capable tutors or to have attended a grammar school. I do not think that it would have been exceedingly difficult to qualify for admission to university by the age of 12 or so. At an 18th-century university, I don't think that there was a standard course of study that required so many years or credits of coursework. Instead, one was expected to demonstrate mastery of a given subject. For a doctorate, one would be examined by professors in that field, who would determine whether the candidate seemed fit to teach the subject in question. Considering that the body of knowledge in any subject area was much less than it is now, it would not be so surprising to achieve a doctorate after four years of focused university study. Marco polo 18:21, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

PLS HELP

i would like to know what is the different between colocation and subcontractor, pls help me to define it. Many thanks! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.218.89.76 (talk) 15:23, 2 April 2007 (UTC).

We can't do your homework, but wouldn't you know it! Colocation and subcontractor both have an article for you to read! − Twas Now ( talk • contribs • e-mail ) 15:29, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

environmental organisations

Give the names of 10 governmental (international and Indian) environmental organisations.61.1.233.117 18:22, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Sounds like home work. Why don't you try searching yourself? Try somthing like "list of environmental organizations". Go ahead it won't hurt. They might even already be organized by government and region. Wikipedia:Look_it_up -Czmtzc 19:01, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

environmental organisations

Name 10 non-governmental environmental (international and Indian) organisations.61.1.233.117 18:25, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

NGO and ENGO (though the latter is a stub) will help. They should provide you with a good basis. I'm guessing a few you could put in the list will be people like greenpeace and world wildlife fund. ny156uk 19:31, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

We have our very own List of environmental organizations conveniently divided for you into government and private. Vespine 22:42, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Haha so much for editing upwards, what's with the double post anyway;)Vespine 22:43, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Triple (see below). I noted there, while providing specific search info, that it's time for this to stop. -- Deborahjay 14:21, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

long replies

Why is it that whenever I reply to a comment on someones talkpage, such as this one, I usually find it easy to write long answers, explaining everything I want to say, whereas on a reference desk page I usually only answer with one of two short sentances, most of which don't say anywhere near as much as I want to. Is ther some reason why these answers are so much shorter? Has anyone else had similar problems articulating themselves on the reference desks, or am I just weird?

HS7 19:00, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

My guess is that you choose which talk pages to post to because you are already interested and knowlegable about their subject therefore the answers are longer, while reference questions require more work to answer resulting in shorter answers. -Czmtzc 19:05, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Take my word for it, when it comes to communication, briefer is better. Vranak

Freedom Trail

Does anyone know if any of the buildings along the Freedom Trail are federal buildings that have metal detectors? While I'm in Boston, I want to know if I should leave my pocket knife at the hotel. Dismas|^(talk) 20:29, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Greetings in advance from Boston, Dismas! I am fairly certain that there are metal detectors at the entrance to the Massachusetts State House on Beacon Hill. (I once worked there, by the way.) I think that you may also have to deal with metal detectors before entering the USS Constitution, which remains an official ship of the U.S. Navy. Marco polo 21:57, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Hmm, thanks. Looks like I'll be feeling naked for the next couple of days. Dismas|^(talk) 22:10, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Don't worry; Boston is pretty safe, especially the parts along the Freedom Trail. Marco polo 22:19, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Whenever I forget to shed my knife before going to the airport or wherever, I just leave the security area and find a convenient place to stash it. I've stuffed knives in the dirt of potted plants many times and come back to retrieve them a week later with no problem. I'm sure I'll be extraordinarily rendered for this behavior one day, but for now it's very convenient! --TotoBaggins 22:24, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Extraordinarily rendered = boiled until your fat turns into soap ? I don't think the US would do anything like that unless Dick Cheney was elected President. StuRat 19:46, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

I wasn't worried about being safe. I've carried at least one pocket knife at all times since I was about 12, so going without is a weird feeling. And I thought I was the only one who had thought of the potted plant idea. I've never had to use it but always keep it in mind. Dismas|^(talk) 15:26, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

I thought everyone knew that potted plants at the airport are a good place to find guns and knives. I've heard that story many times. Now that I think about it, I remember that I once left a pocket knife on a high window sill outside a courthouse, haha I forgot about that one. -- Diletante 19:53, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

Many of the museums on the National Mall in Washington, even the ones with metal detectors, allow knives. My brother has brought his US Army knife with him several times. Eran of Arcadia 18:53, 25 June 2007 (UTC)

Celtics 98, Cavaliers 96

Who won the Cavaliers game last night?

Well, if the score was Celtics 98 - Cavaliers 96, then it seems that the Boston Celtics won...Jamesino 00:54, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

The information you're missing is that it was a tag-team round of golf. (Hey, it's April 1 somewhere, right?). --Trovatore 00:59, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

book writing questions:

1. How long are most novels? 2. How long does it take to write one (usually)? 3. How does one find a publisher for their book and/or editor? 4. What is the youngest age anyone has started to write a book? sorry about all the q's, thanks! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 74.211.8.100 (talk) 23:33, 2 April 2007 (UTC).

How long is a piece of string? Have a dip into Fiction writing and associated links and take it from there. Daisy Ashford was only nine years old when she wrote The Young Visiters (and, yes, it was published with that spelling). Clio the Muse 00:37, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

• Here's what I know.
  

1. The length of a novel is highly dependant on its genre. In general, novels are not shorter than 50,000 words.
2. Again, how long it takes depends on a lot of things. Some people can take anything from 1 to 3 years or more, others write several novels in a year. 3. You write a query letter to either the publisher directly, or to an literary agent. Literary agents know what the publishers want and will approach the ones they think are interested in your work and negotiate the best deal for 15% of the money you get for it.
I recommend you read some websites and blogs by literary agents like http://www.misssnark.blogspot.com and http://www.writerbeware.com to get clued in on the way this process works. Don't send anything out unless you know how the publishing business works in order to avoid scammers. - Mgm|^(talk) 08:19, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

As an addendum to Mgm, generally speaking in only a few specialised genres is it acceptable to contact a publisher directly; the romance genre is one example. It is worthwhile to do some serious reading (no need to buy the books, go to your local library for 'how to' books) on how to determine the genre and market of your book, how to do an outline, etc. A lot of it is a waste of time (the trick is figuring out which part is the waste for you), but such things as outlines are critical because you can't get a publisher without one. Genre etc is also important, because marketing is soooo vital to the publishing biz these days; for example, if you write a fantasy novel you might not get published even by someone who likes your work, because that genre is stuffed to the gills with authors. But if you tweak the genre to youth fantasy, you might get a foot in the door. I find the sections on characterisation notes and back story useless, but they must work for some people because a lot of working authors recommend them. Personally the two books I found the most useful for writing were Stephen King's On Writing, and Writing Romance by Vanessa Grant. I'd also suggest tooling through THIS list of Yahoo groups, and join the ones that look promising. Promising as in related to your genre and level of expertise, and showing recent activity. Also check out your local community centre; almost every town or city has a 'novel writing' group, people who want to help each other get the job done. Good luck! Anchoress 08:39, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

Unfortunately, a lot of publishers have closed the door to unagented submissions (ones directly from an author) but a lot of publishing houses still accept them. Their website is the best source of finding out. Still, I recommend getting an agent. They will get you a better deal than you can ever get yourself and they deal with publishing contracts on a daily basis and are in most cases more knowledgeable about contract law than the author. - Mgm|^(talk) 08:00, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

Though this doesn't particularly answer any of your questions, you might be interested to check out NaNoWriMo. Icthyos 10:05, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

Many people are passionate about seeing their work in print - and not so passionate about making a fortune from doing it. If that is where you are coming from - or if you are convinced your book is good but nobody will publish it - then there are a lot of companies out there who will do "print on demand" work. You send them your book over the Internet and they will print as many or as few copies as you need - and offer you web space to advertise the book and where people can come to order copies. So the actual act of publishing is easy - however, without a major publisher behind you, you aren't going to get your books into book stores or get the kind of publicity that a block-buster needs. However, one or two of these books does become a best seller every year - so it's not impossible. Beware of Vanity publishers who attempt to make money from the author rather than book sales. [www.cafepress.com/cp/info/sell/products/books Cafepress] offer a true 'Print on demand' service - the resulting books cost 3 cents per page plus $7 for binding them. So a 300 page paperback novel will cost $16. You can add whatever profit margin you'd like to that - so you could charge people $17 per copy - and cafepress will print as many books as needed to fulfill your orders, deal with the posting and hassle with collecting money - and simply send you $1 for every copy they sell. You have to promote the book yourself of course...which is really the way you lose out by not having a big professional publishing house behind you. SteveBaker 14:42, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

This is original research, but from my experience, 1 novels are usually a few hundred pages, there is a specific range of the number of words around somewhere, if you want an official definition, but really it can be anywhere from 100-2000 pages. 2books can take just about any amount of time to write. personally I usually write about 80-100 pages each month, but most books tend to take a lot longer, it depends on how much spare time you have, and how often you want to redraft it. 3I have no idea, I am hoping to find out very soon, as I have a few almost finished books. 4The youngest person to have a book published was around 10 years old, I don't know exactly how old, but it will be in one of the guiness world record books. I started my first book aged 7, but gave up a little while later, and am considering finishing it soon. JS

Thanks for all of the info, it really helped. I am beginning to write a youth fantasy book about werewolves and I want to know how to get it done right. I'm 14 years old but I am at a college reading level, since I enjoy reading so much, and I want to be writer and/or journalist when I am older (or a writer right now :D). If there's anything else that I could know, I'd be glad to hear it, such as how to get ideas flowing and how not to get stuck on one page. I have about half of my outline done so far. Thanks!