Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2010 June 19

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June 19

Where to go to offer services as an online private tutor?

Craigslist is blocked for non-us users. I need a free classified ads web-site--83.54.228.138 (talk) 11:32, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

There are Craigslists for lots of non-US locations. As your IP geolocates to Spain, the list of ones for Spain is here. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 11:44, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

I know, but craigslist happens to be not very active here. Besides that, I want to be a Spanish tutor, a service not many here need.--83.54.228.138 (talk) 11:59, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

You may wish to contact the British Embassy as there are thousands of ex-patriate Britons in Spain, who need to learn how to speak the local lingo and the Embassy may keep lists of Spanish tutors. I understand there are English language radio stations in Spain too. My contact in Spain's on holiday otherwise I'd ask him for you. --TammyMoet (talk) 15:22, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

I don't know if this will work for you, but you could try using Tor and hope to get to an open proxy that happens to be in the US. (I don't know if Craigslist blocks posts from open proxies like Wikipedia does.) Comet Tuttle (talk) 16:09, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

I'm confused. Are you looking for online services to advertise your own online services? Or are you looking for online services to advertise your real world local services? If the latter, then Tammy's suggestion of going to embassies and such is a good one. No, it's not online advertising but then it's targeted. Other things in that direction are American schools and US military bases. Dismas|^(talk) 16:17, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

How about http://www.gumtree.com? (Besides the UK, it has partner sites in many other countries, see the list at the foot of that page.) 213.122.25.172 (talk) 16:33, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Do you have any relevant qualifications or experience teaching Spanish? If so, you might be able to find an agency that will find you work. That would probably be better than just advertising on a generic website. If you don't have any qualifications or experience then you may struggle to find an agency that will accept you. --Tango (talk) 16:42, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

The Beard?

"The Beard" at some time was informal term for Fidel Castro ? Jon Ascton  (talk) 16:44, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Yes, "The Big Beard" - "El Barba Grande" according to this [1]. Caesar's Daddy (talk) 08:48, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Unfortunately, the link provided by Caesar's Daddy is to a joke blog, and not one written by a person who speaks Spanish, as it would be "La Barba", not "El Barba". Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:24, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Doh!! Caesar's Daddy (talk) 17:31, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

I would trust you anyway :) Chevymontecarlo 15:34, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

At last, an answer to the question "What do Fidel Castro and Katie Holmes have in common?" 63.17.50.124 (talk)

Confusable elevator companies

Can the largest Japanese elevator company be confused with a Japanese automobile manufacturer? --84.62.192.52 (talk) 19:43, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Yes. Anything can be confused if you aren't playing close enough attention. Even more so if things aren't in your native culture or language. However, it is entirely possible that the two are in fact the same company. Mitsubishi, for example makes both cars and elevators. Japanese comglomerates do everything. 24.83.104.78 (talk) 20:35, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

It's a little inaccurate to think of Mitsubishi as a single company. Technically each member company is separate and autonomous, but joined under the same banner. It's like the European Union, only different. I believe that's the case for a large number of Japanese firms, where there are separate companies in diverse industries, all joined under the same branding (see Keiretsu, also Zaibatsu and Chaebol). You sometimes see a similar structure in the US too, where a single holding company will oversee a number of (technically) separate businesses, which may share similar branding. -- 174.24.195.56 (talk) 20:50, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Well, people can confuse anything with pretty much anything. I don't know how reliable it is, but this suggests Mitsubishi Kakoki Kaisha, Ltd. (a member of the Mitsubishi group of companies) is the biggest elevator manufacturer in Japan, so confusion is understandable. Karenjc 20:42, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

This is the same guy who asked about "Mitsubishi car" earlier. I don't know what his deal is but I'm sure he thinks it's very amusing. Adam Bishop (talk) 20:51, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Maybe he's stuck in an elevator and can't work out whether to press the call button or engage reverse gear? Karenjc 20:56, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Much the same way that Yamaha is known for both motorcycles and pianos — hardly items that one would conjure in the same thought. — Michael J 23:28, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

My motorbike's got A♭... 81.131.2.69 (talk) 00:38, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Actually, didn't some work Yamaha did to improve tone in it's brass instruments , trnalsted to make better (more effcient) bike engines? Sfan00 IMG (talk) 19:15, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Mitsubishi also makes good CDR & DVD+/-R of course sold under the Mitsubishi brand name in Asia and Verbatim (which they bought a while time ago) in much of the world with the MCC (Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation) media code Nil Einne (talk) 03:07, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Virgin is another example of this. I mean, they have a record company, airline, publishing company (although that's part of a different company now) and finance company all making up the brand. Chevymontecarlo 15:32, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

Coupon cash value follow up

And now, following up from the question on the 16th, the rest of the story. Okay, after calling the Pizza Hut complaint line, I received a call from a girl at the corporate office letting me know that my complaint was being expedited. Later that day, I got a call from a Regional Manager who asked me to explain the situation to him. He told me that he'd never heard of anyone trying this during his 36 years there. He said he'd contact the Vice President of Marketing in Dallas and get back to me. Today I heard back. They had a shiny penny and a plaque for me, and they requested that I take a picture with the store manager. So, in the end, I got my penny for my twenty coupons. It can be done. 76.27.40.75 (talk) 22:58, 19 June 2010 (UTC)

Congratulations. Don't suppose this is going to be covered by local news, is it? It'd make an interesting read, I'm sure. Vimescarrot (talk) 00:35, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

You got your penny but what a measly sum they have paid you for a fantastic publicity occasion! Great story. Caesar's Daddy (talk) 07:58, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Write to The Consumerist and get it broadcast through the land. Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:21, 20 June 2010 (UTC)

Yay! A happy ending! APL (talk) 03:07, 21 June 2010 (UTC)