Jump to content

Wikipedia:Reference desk/Miscellaneous

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Welcome to the miscellaneous section
of the Wikipedia reference desk.
Select a section:
Want a faster answer?

Main page: Help searching Wikipedia

   

How can I get my question answered?

  • Select the section of the desk that best fits the general topic of your question (see the navigation column to the right).
  • Post your question to only one section, providing a short header that gives the topic of your question.
  • Type '~~~~' (that is, four tilde characters) at the end – this signs and dates your contribution so we know who wrote what and when.
  • Don't post personal contact information – it will be removed. Any answers will be provided here.
  • Please be as specific as possible, and include all relevant context – the usefulness of answers may depend on the context.
  • Note:
    • We don't answer (and may remove) questions that require medical diagnosis or legal advice.
    • We don't answer requests for opinions, predictions or debate.
    • We don't do your homework for you, though we'll help you past the stuck point.
    • We don't conduct original research or provide a free source of ideas, but we'll help you find information you need.



How do I answer a question?

Main page: Wikipedia:Reference desk/Guidelines

  • The best answers address the question directly, and back up facts with wikilinks and links to sources. Do not edit others' comments and do not give any medical or legal advice.
See also:


December 7

[edit]

Australian companies

[edit]

Are there any Australian multinational companies? None comes to mind. There are many American multinational companies, but are there any Australian ones? --40bus (talk) 10:12, 7 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Googling "Australian multinational" suggests numerous companies. Shantavira|feed me 12:18, 7 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
BHP, Bailey Nelson, Boost Juice, Breville Group, CSL Limited, Canva, Commonwealth Bank, Donut King, Gloria Jean's Coffees, Harvey Norman, Incitec Pivot, Lendlease, MYOB (company), Macquarie Group, Ramsay Health Care, The Coffee Club, Westpac, Woolworths Group (Australia), Zambrero.  --Lambiam 22:52, 7 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

December 8

[edit]

What's the process regarding submitting a record-breaking joke to Guinness World Records?

[edit]

I'd like for my mother's 600-Bitcoin joke to be submitted to Guinness World Records for the most expensive joke ever told to anyone in the world, because 600 Bitcoin is now worth >$60,000,000.

She told me in 2014 that she had invested 600 Bitcoin in 2011. Years later, getting desperate about figuring out a way out of my student loans, I asked her to cash out a little of her bitcoin investments in order to pay off my loans, and my siblings', because it appreciated so much. She didn't know what I was talking about. So I reminded her about her 600 bitcoin investment claim that she told me in 2014.

Then she said "I was only joking."

Now I wonder whether that was the most expensive joke anyone has ever made in recent history. If there were more expensive jokes than that, may I know about them? But if not, how do I submit that joke to GWR for being the most expensive joke ever? What criteria do jokes have to meet to be recorded on Guinness World Records? Thanks. --2600:100A:B037:56CA:C994:6FC:E8CE:B0CE (talk) 04:08, 8 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know what you're talking about. How is that an expensive joke? What's expensive about it, anyway? An expensive joke would be a joke that led to some expenditure. --Viennese Waltz 06:39, 8 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
As it happens, I personally own the asteroids in the solar system, no joke. They contain quadrillions worth of gold. Reveal your identity, and I'll bestow all this wealth to you in my will.  --Lambiam 07:43, 8 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Shipping and handling extra. Clarityfiend (talk) 14:30, 8 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I think you'll find it's dwarfed by Russia's "joke" fine of Google to the tune of $20,600,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. April foolski! Clarityfiend (talk) 14:29, 8 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Chamberlain's joke turned out to be pretty expensive. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots18:23, 8 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Question about the bust of Lenin in the Tallinn City Museum

[edit]

In this photo I saw a bust of Lenin in the Tallinn City Museum, who know about its origin? -- Great Brightstar (talk) 06:14, 8 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Tallinn City Museum know about its origin. Contact details are on their website. Shantavira|feed me 09:43, 8 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
A reasonably thorough Google search failed to find anything. They have a whole park full of old Soviet statuary at Maarjamäe Palace.
Our Soviet-era statues article says: Statues of prominent socialist figures - particularly of Lenin - were mass-produced and installed in villages, towns and cities across the Soviet Union.
Alansplodge (talk) 14:50, 8 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

December 10

[edit]

Photo of a family of four enjoying a meal

[edit]

Is anything known about the members of the family in this photo? Mcljlm (talk) 04:21, 10 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

They are (probably unrelated) photo models hired for this lifestyle photo shoot. Here you can see another photo from the same shoot.  --Lambiam 06:56, 10 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. What suggests Lambiam they may not be related?
BTW would one of the other sections be more appropriate? I posted here as I wasn't sure which would be the best. Mcljlm (talk) 13:04, 10 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
There is nothing to suggest they would be related; they are paid models. Just like "families" shown in movies are not actually related; they are actors. Shantavira|feed me 15:16, 10 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
For use in such posed photographs there are many agencies that offer well-prepared socially presentable WASP models of whatever ages you specify at short notice and at competitive prices. To add the requirement that the models are related in real life is unnecessary, would incur greater hiring expense and is therefore less than probably done here. The ostensible mother could in that case be complimented on her fresh appearance after gestating and birthing the two siblings. Shantaviraj mentions movie stardom where being born to an established star has for many, with some salient exceptions, proven to be more a burden than a boon on their career. Philvoids (talk) 15:59, 10 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
They are models hired by one of the suppliers of stock images. Stanleykswong (talk) 06:51, 19 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

December 11

[edit]

If I ever opt to live in a group home for mental health clients, could my health insurance pay the rent and utilities?

[edit]

What is it like for mental health clients to live in group homes? What is paid out-of-pocket? What is paid by insurance?

As a diagnosee of schizotypal personality disorder and other disorders, and being thought to still be on the Autistic Spectrum by some therapists despite a rediagnosis to the above disorder, is there a group home near or in Hutchinson, KS for anyone with my types of disorders?

Could my Medicaid KanCare Sunflower health insurance pay for all expenses associated with living in the group home?

I hope to no longer have to pay $450/month in rent and over $100/month in energy bills as well as $70/month in Cox internet at 1 GBPs if I move into a group home and have health insurance pay for it all.

I would only intend to live there until all of my debts are paid off and once I have substantial investments saved up, including dividend stocks so I can live off of a passive income that pays for basic living expenses in a normal residence again.

And lastly, what freedoms might I possibly be giving up if I were to ever move into a group home? Thanks. --2600:8803:1D13:7100:7CBD:B058:3248:4DA3 (talk) 04:47, 11 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The only people who could possibly answer this are KanCare Sunflower health insurance. Look at the terms of your agreement or ask them directly on their help line. Shantavira|feed me 09:56, 11 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

December 12

[edit]

How to revert a company

[edit]

I received an unsolicited email soliciting a contribution to an upcoming issue of a biomedical journal. My contribution, they assured me, coming from an eminent researcher like me, would greatly enhance the quality of said issue. This may well be true, but, since my knowledge of biomedical issues has largely been formed by doing research to answer questions at the Reference desk, this does not bode well for the quality of this issue, even with my eminent contribution. I don't want my name to be associated with low-quality journals, so I'll refrain from contributing.

The email states at the bottom, in fine greyish print,

BioMed Grid LLC, California, USA. If you do not wish to receive this email, revert us.

I indeed do not wish to receive this email and would like to unreceive it. But I can't figure out how to revert this company. Can anyone help me? (There are some more companies I'd also like to revert.)  --Lambiam 09:19, 12 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I guess it means block them or tag it as spam. I assume you've read American Journal of Biomedical Science & Research. Shantavira|feed me 11:03, 12 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I believe it's just corporate talk for "email us back". See definition 14 in Wiktionary. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 20:09, 12 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Definition 14 has the label intransitive, while the spotted use has a transitive sense.  --Lambiam 10:03, 17 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I was about to add that it's Indian English - but the Wiktionary entry says it is now global. ColinFine (talk) 21:02, 14 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
But is it? I'd never seen this before. Our article on the journal states that the publisher, Biomedgrid LLC, was first registered in California in 2018 by Sasidhar Vontethina and Sushma Manchikanti, both Indian (more specifically Telugu) names.  --Lambiam 08:58, 15 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I also question this. I'd be befuddled if I was asked to revert a company. But then, I always wince when I hear "write me" rather than "write to me" (other than "write me a letter"). -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 19:27, 19 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

December 13

[edit]

LUFS meter vs. Audiosurf algorithm

[edit]

What are similarities and differences between LUFS meter (especially momentary) and Audiosurf's audio analysis algorithm (when comes to how tracks are colored in particular way depending on the song intensity)? Considering the color (when "fancy coloring" mode is enabled) of momentary LUFS bar on my own multichannel peakmeter when fed with the same song as the video, lines up with the color of the blocks and the tracks on this video and/or this sometimes and at other times, it doesn't line up assuming they somehow sync with the video. 2001:448A:3070:DCCD:D862:849B:9C69:6E43 (talk) 03:43, 13 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The article about the Audiosurf game tells that the game engine analyzes an imported song to create and save its dynamics in an ASH file. Reverse engineering these files to extract the generating algorithms is research that is beyond anyone here. This is proprietary information that the game creator Dylan Fitterer may choose to withold. Already as you look for correlation between your objective LUFS detector and the game screen, bear in mind that where the object of Audiosurf is more to entertain than analytical logging, some degree of randomity may be deliberately included. Philvoids (talk) 16:32, 14 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

December 15

[edit]

Meta physics

[edit]

about things beyond nature 105.113.11.194 (talk) 20:36, 15 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

See Metaphysics? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots21:34, 15 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Note that metaphysics is not about phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The usual term for these is "the supernatural".  --Lambiam 07:57, 16 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The word "meta" means “beyond” and “about”. The word “physics” means “nature”.  Therefore, metaphysics can be regarded as the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality and existence. Stanleykswong (talk) 06:45, 19 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Των μετά τα φυσικά
The Ancient Greek preposition μετά also means "next, after". It is generally thought that the title of Aristotle's book Των μετά τα φυσικά (Tōn metá ta phusiká), "Of the things after Physica", the etymon of our term metaphysics, was given to it (not by Aristotle but by the editor) simply because it was the next book in series, following Aristotle's book Physica, "Natural phenomena".  --Lambiam 11:22, 19 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

December 16

[edit]

My habit of feature requests scared a developer?

[edit]

Reading these posts (this and this) on a thread about foo_enhanced_spectrum_analyzer in HydrogenAudio forum about my doings that "scared" off a developer of foo_enhanced_spectrum_analyzer and foo_loudness_peakmeter components for foobar2000 player and yet, the developer of a spectrum analyzer plugin for MusicBee did implement my feature requests into this plugin despite I've not have written fanon wiki pages about future version of CoolEdit Nostalgia (like I did this and this before). So, why would they? 2001:448A:3070:EA0F:F1A2:31A3:43A5:587B (talk) 18:22, 16 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

What has this got to do with wikipedia or finding references for anything? Nanonic (talk) 19:34, 16 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@Nanonic: perhaps finding a reliable reference for what some bad habits when comes to feature requests that are likely to made software developers quit their job. 2001:448A:3070:EA0F:A59D:BE84:1D03:3CD (talk) 21:20, 16 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Your questions are scaring off the Reference desk respondents.  --Lambiam 09:57, 17 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Whatever drama you're involved with on that board, I suggest you keep it there and don't post about it here. --Viennese Waltz 10:02, 17 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

December 17

[edit]

Futures contract

[edit]

I don't understand finance, so I thought I'd ask. If I buy a futures contract for say a ton of corn at a specific price, and I hold it until the delivery date, will someone literally deliver a ton of corn to me? Thanks. Therapyisgood (talk) 00:04, 17 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The contract is likely to read "FOB Kansas City," or something like that. You'll probably have to move it from whatever transportation it is on (train, ship) yourself. Or, arrange (pay for) delivery. DOR (ex-HK) (talk) 01:38, 17 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
At the delivery date, the current buyer will have become the proud owner of a ton of corn somewhere. The identity of the buyer of the contract almost always changes, so the seller drawing up the contract does not know the identity of the eventual buyer at the delivery date. Therefore, wherever the "somewhere" may be, you as the buyer can be reasonably sure it will not be delivered to your doorstep.  --Lambiam 09:54, 17 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Oil futures have even been known to have a negative price, when the producers' local storage was full and demand was low. At that point the buyer of the contract is being paid to take it away. [1] --Amble (talk) 20:30, 17 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Most futures contracts are cash-settled and there is no physical transfer of the underlying asset. Stanleykswong (talk) 06:31, 19 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
True, but this depends on both parties agreeing to a new or modified contract. If the buyer does the unexpected and just sits it out, as suggested in the original question, and also does not agree to a new contract, the seller is obligated to produce the asset to the buyer, even if this means they need to go and buy it on the market.  --Lambiam 10:58, 19 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, a futures contract is ultimately for purposes of delivery of the specified contract in accordance with its terms. A standard corn futures contract is for 5000 bushels (although there is also a mini corn future for only 1000 bushels). A bushel of corn (maize) weighs 56 pounds, so at settlement the buyer owns 140 tons of corn (or, for a mini corn future, 28 tons).
But that is not going to be you. You are a retail investor and would trade through a commodity broker, who is probably not going to be willing to accept physical settlement on your behalf. John M Baker (talk) 00:41, 20 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Which Political Bloggers are Former Programmers?

[edit]

Such as Curtis Yarvin and Ruan Xiaohuan. Saedeer (talk) 13:45, 17 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Why do you ask that? I don't think the answer to this question can help you. Polygnotus (talk) 01:15, 20 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

December 19

[edit]

Who is the following unknown?

[edit]

When asked "WHO IS YOUR X?" (X still being unknown to me but is known to the respondents), here are the answers I get:

A answers: "A"
B answers: "C"
C answers: "C"
D answers: "F"
E answers: "F"
F answers: "F"

To sum up, the special phenomenon here is that, everybody has their own X (usually), and if any respondent points at another respondent as the first respondent's X, then the other respondent must point at themself as their X.

I wonder who the unknown X may be, when I only know that X is a natural example from everyday life. I thought about a couple of examples, but none of them are satisfactory, as follows:

X is the leader of one's political party, or X is one's mayor, and the like, but all of these examples attribute some kind of leadership or superiority to X, whereas I'm not interested in this kind of solution - involving any superiority of X.

Here is a second solution I thought about: X is the first (or last) person born in the year/month the respondent was born, and the like. But this solution involves some kind of order (in which there is a "first person" and a "last person"), whereas I'm not interested in this kind of solution - involving any order. 79.177.151.182 (talk) 12:11, 19 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Drummer?  Card Zero  (talk) 14:25, 19 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The OP also posted this question on the Math desk. What if everyone says "I'm Spartacus!" ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots14:30, 19 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I forgot to add an important point (so I've just added it, thanks to your response): Everybody has their own X (usually). 79.177.151.182 (talk) 14:58, 19 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
What do you mean by "everybody has an X"? A lot of folks have an "ex", but is that what you mean? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots15:08, 19 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I mean that everybody has their own X (usually), whether X is one's mayor, or X is the leader of one's political party, and so forth. Additionally, keep in mind that if any respondent points at another respondent as the first respondent's X, then the other respondent must point at themself as their X. 79.177.151.182 (talk) 15:21, 19 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
(ec)The statement "everybody has their own X" makes no sense to me, and I'm a native English speaker. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots15:36, 19 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
X is the usual symbol denoting an unknown (as in mathematical equations), but here the unknown is a person, like "a mayor", and the like. 79.177.151.182 (talk) 15:42, 19 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
There are too many possible answers that still don't involve order or superiority.
- Translator
- Publisher
- Spokesperson
- Copyeditor
- Cleaner
- Keyholder (person who closes a shop and responsible for turning up in cases of property related emergencies - sometimes it's a manager but sometimes it's merely someone who is willing to stay late or be early)
- Scribe
- Accountant
- Driver
Basically anything where there's a "role" in a group but usually only one (barring circumstances).
What are you hoping to accomplish by asking a question like this? Komonzia (talk) 15:34, 19 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Thx.
Resolved
79.177.151.182 (talk) 15:42, 19 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Street View

[edit]

Why Googlehas not launched Street View in mainland China? There do exist several user-submitted photos, mostly from landmarks and historical cities, but why Google cars have not traveled there yet? How likely is that in 2034, mainland China will have photos by Google cars if Street view is launched there?

And, why South Korea, a country with a large economy and almost no bans, still has large unphotographed areas with most minor cities and major freeways are not photographed entirely? And could North Korea ever get Street View by Google cars? --40bus (talk) 17:54, 19 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Here is some info: Google Street View in Asia There are some places in China where they have it. As to future predictions, Wikipedia can't do that. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots19:07, 19 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@40bus: https://webapps.stackexchange.com/a/160276 (and see also my comment below). could North Korea ever get Street View by Google cars That is unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future, and anything beyond that is unforeseeable. Polygnotus (talk) 01:12, 20 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
My dream would be every country in the world having full coverage. Is that likely in next 20 years? At least Belarus's lack of Street View should be corrected. I would like to see views from every country. --40bus (talk) 06:21, 20 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Though a multinational, Google is at base an American company, or at least is perceived as such.
Think about the political tensions between the Peoples Republic of China, and the West in general and the USA in particular. Now ask yourself – how might the Government of China feel about American-controlled spy-cars driving around the whole of China, photographing everything visible? {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.1.223.204 (talk) 20:51, 19 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
That is (obviously) not the reason; your tin foil hat is malfunctioning. The USA does not require something as lowtech as a 360 camera mounted on a car to drive through an area to spy on that area. The reason is that Google does not want to waste its money. And China has a habit of creating local state-owned alternatives to foreign services, allowing those to rip off the foreign tech, and then massively disadvantaging the foreign company. They have done this many times before. Polygnotus (talk) 01:10, 20 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I'm not suggesting that the US would want (or need) to do this. I'm asking how the Chinese Government would welcome the appearance of it, particularly in the perception of their own people. International relations and management of internal perceptions are all about opinions, beliefs, and what can be spun, regardless of truth.
Recently, in my own country, Chinese visitors and personnel from an ostensible language school fomented a totally spurious 'incident' at a London railway terminus, by approaching a well-known busker and YouTuber filming his and others' performances on a public piano, and then insisting that he stop filming, complaining to police present that he was violating their rights by filming them. This was not done for any valid reason, but (presumably) to try to manipulate public opinion within China, and create a spurious 'grievance' to use in diplomatic discussions. Such games go on all the time. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.1.223.204 (talk) 01:36, 20 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I'm asking how the Chinese Government would welcome the appearance of it I have answered the original question; please don't hijack this thread to ask a vaguely related question and then bring up unrelated stuff (which was not recent but a year ago, and a storm in a teacup, and your conspiracy theory is not supported by evidence). There are plenty of diplomatic incidents between China and the UK; neither side has a need to manufacture one. If you want to ask a new question, please post it in a new section. Thank you, Polygnotus (talk) 01:44, 20 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Telling a user "your tin foil hat is malfunctioning" is offensive, and is by itself a "hijacking" of this section. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots02:20, 20 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Incorrect (on both counts). And posting 2 conspiracy theories in 1 thread is a clear sign of a malfunctioning tin foil hat. Polygnotus (talk) 02:21, 20 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
If you love the Chinese government so much, maybe you should have your own "tin foil hat" checked for malfunctions. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots02:49, 20 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Considering Restrictions on geographic data in China, it seems correct to mention the Chinese Government as a cause. Baidu and Tencent have presumably obtained authorization, because they're not foreign organizations. This incidentally functions as protectionism. I tracked the piano thing down to Brendan Kavanagh#St. Pancras Station piano dispute, and I suppose there is a tenuous connection since it involves the UFWD and image rights.  Card Zero  (talk) 03:32, 20 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

December 20

[edit]