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February 24

What's the image in this autostereogram?

This is a screenshot from Gravity Falls, and I'm pretty sure that's an autostereogram. Normally I can do those, but when I look at this poster and focus my eyes correctly, there doesn't seem to be anything there. It's just a pattern without an image hidden inside. Others who can view stereograms, do you see anything? --Ye Olde Luke (talk) 03:25, 24 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I cannot see an image inside the pattern, but it looks to me like the poster has a big hole with the horse and dancer being part of the poster while the pattern is behind the poster and seen through the hole. PrimeHunter (talk) 03:40, 24 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
FWIW, I can't see anything. I have to cross rather than 'de-cross' my eyes, which usually gives the intended image sunk rather than raised (or vice-versa depending on what's intended) but I'm getting nothing on this one. Hypotheses: (a) it's a bluff; (b) the detail is too degraded in this repro of the original. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 212.95.237.92 (talk) 14:22, 24 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
This page [1] claims that it is an autostereogram, but does not say what the intended 3D image is... SemanticMantis (talk) 16:44, 24 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
It's an autostereogram of a flat plane. —Tamfang (talk) 19:55, 24 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Nothing there. It's just a tiled pattern that looks like an autostereogram. Presumably it "is" an autostereogram within the world of the cartoon, just like a white rectangle with lines and squiggles could "be" a newspaper. --Amble (talk) 22:48, 24 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Black Ink

Why is it that, in the UK, with many official forms you may have to fill in, you are required to write in black ink? Why specifically black? Why not blue? Is it something to do with the copying process they may have (black may stand out more on a scanner, for example)? KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 21:07, 24 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Yea, probably because it copies better. Consider if you were using a 3-color copier that was out of blue toner or ink. StuRat (talk) 21:10, 24 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yes. Some colors blue do not copy well. See Non-photo blue RudolfRed (talk) 21:11, 24 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Not only do some colors not mimeograph well (google), other colors like red may be reserved for use by the office for special mark-up purposes, and they don't want you distracting them. Many modern forms do seem to allow either blue or black ink. μηδείς (talk) 21:16, 24 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Here in the UK, hospital pharmacists use green pens for the same reason that early photocopies reproduced it better than blue. I've recently noticed too that the black pen requirement for official forms is seldom stated now. --Aspro (talk) 21:33, 24 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I suspect this is now largely a fossilised requirement but, as others have indicated above, early photocopying equipment reproduced blue poorly. In fact, this could sometimes be a feature rather than a bug. In Publishing as there was (perhaps still is) a procedure of of writing instructions on 'camera-ready mechanicals' (which are photographed to produce printing plates) for the Production Department using special sky-blue pencils (see RudolfRed's link above) that were/are not picked up by the cameras used. In the publishing house where I edited, the high-quality (for the period) photocopiers also didn't reproduce these pencil marks, which was useful when trial-copying the material to check that it looked correct.
In addition to this, publishing/printing (in the pre-computer era) used different coloured pens for different purposes: green was used by printers on the galley-proofs they produced to indicate their own mistakes that they had already noted, red was used by the editor to indicate the printers' errors for which the publisher was not liable to pay, and (ordinary) blue for amendments to the copy (due to auctorial or editorial changes) which did have to be paid for above a certain percentage. Apologies for digressing from the OP's original point {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 212.95.237.92 (talk) 13:23, 25 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I've actually owned digital scanners (home computer peripherals) that wouldn't image all blue inks - so it may be that going way back to when documents were microfiched for archival, the "black ink" only requirement was adopted to make sure all handwritten entries on a given document (initials and signatures, particularly) were captured for posterity. loupgarous (talk) 19:36, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Fire at The Marina Torch

How was the recent fire at The Marina Torch in Dubai managed in such a way that it caused no casualties, let alone no fatalities? If a building starts burning on the 50th floor, and then spreads to dozens of other floors, what mechanisms are in place to manage this kind of event? The Rambling Man (talk) 21:58, 24 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The fire was only up one side, as far as I can tell. Buildings such as this generally do have multiple stairwells, so evacuation would be able to be carried out as effectively as possible. KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 22:18, 24 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I worked at 140 West Street, across the street from the North Tower during 9/11, and it was very severly damaged. The building was built in the 20's, yet still had four corner escape stairways with fire doors at each exit. You'd basically have had to bomb or set on fire each of the four stairwells to prevent safe exit, and although debris from the World Trade Center fell into the building, there were no casualties. One would assume a more modern building would be at least as well designed. μηδείς (talk) 01:16, 25 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
One problem in the evacuation of tall buildings is getting everyone out in a timely manner. The best approach is to do a zone by zone evacuation, where people in the areas of immediate danger are evacuated first, while the rest wait. This avoids having the stairwells become clogged with people. There can also be an issue with smoke in the stairwells, but there are emergency ventilation systems to deal with that. StuRat (talk) 02:45, 25 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Stairwells should have auto-closing doors at each of the floors, to minimise smoke getting into them. Rules against propping them open should ideally be strictly enforced. I don't know about other countries, but here in Australia you often see signs saying "fire door. do not obstruct. do not keep open". Of course, in an evacuation, the doors get left continuously open by virtue of the human traffic, but the auto-closing design rule still helps minimise the problem once the floor has emptied. 101.160.63.123 (talk) 09:14, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
It probably helped that (according to our article) the fire was at 2 o'clock in the morning - even the most conscientious office worker would have gone home by then. Alansplodge (talk) 11:24, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
It's residential building, not an office block, so it would have been full of sleeping people (although some residents did return from partying to find it aflame). — Preceding unsigned comment added by LongHairedFop (talk • contribs) 13:58, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
D'oh! Alansplodge (talk) 16:04, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Our article is not very clear, but it appears that only the external cladding burnt, and the fire didn't spread into the building's core. This means that the fire escapes (and other sides of the building) would be safe. LongHairedFop (talk) 14:09, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

February 25

Chromium Picolinate

What are natural sources of Chromium Picolinate, as in foods, etc. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bluebottle103 (talk • contribs) 03:59, 25 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Chromium picolinate μηδείς (talk) 05:34, 25 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
That article doesn't provide any information whatever to answer this question. This says: It is relatively easy to get safe and adequate amounts of chromium (11 to 45 micrograms per day) by eating a variety of foods like broccoli, grape juice, whole grains, potatoes, orange juice, and turkey. - but doesn't say that this is in the form of the Picolinate. SteveBaker (talk) 06:30, 25 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The link was for those who were curious what the substance was. You'll note I made no claims, nor even formed a sentence.
So I should stop licking the front of 1950's cars to get my daily chromium allowance ? :-) StuRat (talk) 06:37, 25 February 2015 (UTC) [reply]
Sorry, we can't give medical advice here. Also, you might inadvertently ingest a significant amount of insect protein. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 10:15, 25 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
But would that be a feature or a bug? {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 212.95.237.92 (talk) 13:25, 25 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
And the user wins a cigar! ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 14:24, 25 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
But we can't advise you either to smoke it or definitely not to smoke it, as that would be medical advice. -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 21:06, 25 February 2015 (UTC) [reply]
If it's a bubble gum cigar, I feel safe advising not to smoke it. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 21:47, 25 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
No, Jack, he won a cigar. This does not necessarily mean he has to smoke it. Just like if I won a Ferrari. I wouldn't have to drive it - I have never had a driver's license anyway, and can't be bothered with insurance and road tax and petrol. I prefer a mountain bike or public transportation. It's still a prize that he can possibly sell (maybe not for as much as for a Ferrari, but anyway). KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 23:23, 25 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Try selling that Ferrari after I've licked it. :-) StuRat (talk) 23:50, 25 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I think we should have an article on Car Licking Fetish, even though there seems to be only one known case in the history of the world, as evidenced by the comment above. :) KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 11:32, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Since there's at least one well-documented case in which a cigar was used as a marital aid, I feel safe in saying the proud winner of Bugs' bubble gum cigar doesn't have to smoke it. However, is it "medical advice" to advise him to use a condom or other barrier method of STD prophylaxis if he chooses to emulate former President Clinton's use of Monica Lewinsky's nether regions as a humidor? loupgarous (talk) 19:26, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Are you're suggesting he maintained an intimate association with Ms Lewinsky's nether regions after his time at the White House came to an end. Perfectly possible, to be sure; just that I've never read or heard that this was the case. Maybe you're in a position to know. If that wasn't the case, maybe you meant to write "then-President Clinton's use". -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 19:51, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I was more worried about whether he inhaled her or not.... KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 01:21, 27 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
For anyone who's mystified about my oft-used cigar joke, here's its source.[2] ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 21:40, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I knew that, but I'm still wondering what a bubble gum cigar is. -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 10:56, 27 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
It's one that blows up in your face, Jack..... God, colonials, away from civilisation for so long.... :D KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 15:02, 27 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
For that one you get the cigar today. :) Anyway, go to Google Images and look for "bubble gum cigars". Basically, bubble gum in the shape of cigars, like for handing out when a child is born, when you're not into actual cigars. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 15:31, 27 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I thought that candy etc in the shape of tobacco-related products was very much frowned upon these days, if not banned outright in most civilised countries. I mean, they'd never allow bubble gum in the shape of erect penises, for example, but they're much less toxic than cigars. -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 18:57, 27 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
That depends. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 21:56, 27 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Jack, yes, civilised countries. We are talking about America here. Different ball game. :) KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 01:03, 28 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
If you say so, KT. I, myself, personally wouldn't know, for I am but an uncivilised colonial. Thank God we have you to advise us about such things.  :) -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 01:42, 28 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Only doing my duty, Jack, as a representative of your head of state, and the land whose flag is covering part of yours. :) KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 18:49, 28 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Grrrrr ... -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 19:02, 28 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Placement of Attribution Statement

Hello: If a book contains several articles from Wikipedia, should the attribution and license statement be placed as a footnote at the beginning of each wiki article, or should all attribution/license statements be placed in a separate section at the end of the book? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Prsaucer1958 (talk • contribs) 15:25, 25 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Good question. The correct board to ask this question on would be Wikipedia:Media copyright questions. People who patrol that board specialize in answer questions just like this one. --Jayron32 15:28, 25 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I'd say the best source to ask is the company that's publishing the book. Publishers have to deal with books that contain excerpts from other books all the time, so they'll have suitable standard techniques to use. --70.49.169.244 (talk) 20:46, 25 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Application i.e. worldwide

Facebook application is a worldwide application. Is it controlled from one place or they have bases in different countries? -- (SuperGirlsVibrator (talk) 18:16, 25 February 2015 (UTC)) [reply]

Moved to Computing desk
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
What did they say when you asked them? Nanonic (talk) 18:32, 25 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Or what did our article say? KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 18:44, 25 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
BTW, you might have been better asking this in the computing desk. www.facebook.com and api.facebook.com resolve to different IP addresses, depending on where you are located (api means Application Program Interface, and describes how two bits of a program communicate, or an application communicate with its server). I haven't checked, but I would assume that the addresses are routed to separate datacentres, at least one on each continent. LongHairedFop (talk) 10:45, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, that's what I was thinking at first, which is the reason I asked. Thanks for introducing me to 'api'; new to me. -- (SuperGirlsVibrator (talk) 19:57, 26 February 2015 (UTC))[reply]

Thanks friends -- (SuperGirlsVibrator (talk) 19:57, 26 February 2015 (UTC))[reply]

February 26

in car Cameras

Does anyone know of an in car camera available in the UK that is compatable with Apple Mac computers please?85.211.204.66 (talk) 07:40, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Polaroid Cube is what I use for mountain biking. You can get a dash-cam mount for it, I believe, for use in the car. It uses a micro-SD, which you can plug in to your Mac for storage (with an adapter, which generally comes with a micro-SD). KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 13:41, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

How should it be done ?

For years when thinking of people using a bow and arrow, I always thought that one had the arrow rest on the side of the bow and not crossed over. What I mean is, being right handed, I would pull back the string with my right hand, holding the bow with my left, and the arrow would rest on the thumb of my left hand, and against the right hand side of the bow as I looked at it, but only recently have I noticed a lot of archers put the arrow over through the space between the bow and string, and if right handed, it is resting against the left hand side of the bow - all this time I had never noticed this. If You do not get what I mean, consider the scene where Rambo shoots the North Vietnamese officer near the Waterfall after he had killed the girl helping Rambo - Stallone uses his bow left handed, but the arrow crosses over the other side, and rests against the right hand edge of the bow as he would look at it, and I wonder if this is the way all archers do it, or can they choose, and is there a reason for crossing the arrow over ? Thanks, Chris the Russian Christopher Lilly 12:18, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

You may find these videos interesting: [3] and [4] RomanSpa (talk) 12:35, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
One of my roles at work is an archery instructor, for which I hold a qualification from the Grand National Archery Society, the governing body of the sport in the UK. I don't think I've ever seen a right-handed archer shoot from the right hand side of the bow, although a novice might find this intuitive, it's not how it's done. Alansplodge (talk) 13:14, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Exactly. In the old days of bow and arrow warfare, the left hand always carried the bow, and the right hand was the one to draw the arrow and fire it. Bringing it up from the left hand side, and steadying the aim using the bow itself, was more intuitive. It would take longer to do so if trying to fire from the right hand side. KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 13:48, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
It may also depend on the style of bow involved. Though not myself a toxophilist, I recall (based on reading and on conversations with a friend who is an advanced archer) that some traditional Oriental bows, (Thumb release bows, for example) need the arrow placed on the opposite side to traditional European bows. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 212.95.237.92 (talk) 14:04, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Quite right. All the images on our Kyūdō (Japanese archery) page show the arrow being drawm from the "wrong" (to Western eyes) side of the bow. Alansplodge (talk) 14:50, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I had a quick Google for some pictures of medieval archers; some like this one show the conventional draw with the arrow to the left of the bow, while others like this show the arrow to the right. It's possible that the artist didn't know anything about archery of course. I've seen several archers shooting traditional longbows; there is no arrow rest, the arrow rests on the knuckles of the bow hand which is protected by a leather glove. Alansplodge (talk) 16:18, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Well, I stand corrected, and Thank You All who responded. What amazed me most, is not necessarily that this is the way it is normally done, but rather that, in 47 years, I had simply not noticed. The thing is, 11 years ago we did Archery at a camp in the Hutt Valley, North of Wellington, and I must have used the bow and arrow the way I normally thought it should be done, with the arrow touching the right hand side of the bow, and hit nothing, but no one corrected me, and I have never heard any mention of the way shown was how it was supposed to be done, although I do admit I have done very little archery, and have certainly never been formerly taught. These images of like Errol Flynn, Orlando Bloom and others I had seen years ago, as well of course of Stallone, but had simply never noticed, and yet I guess this way could make sense, as then the arrow will not go off a bit to the right as it might the way I would do it. Some day I might give Archery a proper go and find all this out. Thanks Again. Chris the Russian Christopher Lilly 11:09, 28 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Extinguishing fires in tall buildings

So the The Marina Torch caught fire recently, yet nobody died, moreover it appears nobody was injured. How are fires like this extinguished on tall buildings? The Rambling Man (talk) 19:33, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The first line of defense against fires in tall buildings is manual containment by fire extinguisher; then a ceiling-mounted fire sprinkler sprays water on fires severe enough to trigger the sprinkler mechanism (the temperature necessary to cause the sprinkler to spray ranges from 100 F/38 C to 625 F/329 C). The fire suppression fluid is usually water, sprayed or released in a deluge, but carbon dioxide, Halon or other fire suppression agents are used in spaces where electrical and high-value computer or medical equipment are located where water could create considerable damage on its own. The drawback to these, of course, is that they work by depriving fires of oxygen, and can asphyxiate people in the area where they are used.
During or after the local fire suppression methods are used, Fire fighters spray large, dense streams of water into the areas of these buildings accessible by spray hoses (which can direct streams of water far higher than the tallest ladders available), using water from fireplugs or tanker fire engines as sources of water for the pumps carried by most fire engines. If fire fighters can access the floor or floors on fire, a large bore pipe with a fire hose fitting on it known as a standpipe can supply dense streams of water to fire hoses brought up to the floor. Many tall buildings already have coiled fire hoses attached to large bore water pipes, stored in glass-faced red metal boxes. loupgarous (talk) 20:05, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Awesome answer loupgarous - really impressed with the level of detail... gazhiley 12:05, 28 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Internet Charity Company

How can I create an internet charity company, without a home and a place address? I’m happy just to have a bank account and some e-mailed documents to prove that the internet charity company is mine… I wish to work in it, for it… I understand Wikipedians cannot provide legal advice, I would be happy with basic information or basic knowledge. Whatever advice you all provide, it will just be a background knowledge for me; so that I know what to do in the near future… -- (SuperGirlsVibrator (talk) 20:10, 26 February 2015 (UTC))[reply]

No matter where you are, there are going to be laws about how charities are to be set up. There's no escaping a visit with your lawyer. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 21:32, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I know, I just can't afford one, and don't want to even in the near future because I'm not gonna do anything bad... My friends done it all by themselves, that was years back. I'm recalling and matching with the information I receive now. I tried to guide the other guy, it's just, there is a saying, 'no one can do it better than myself', something like this... -- (SuperGirlsVibrator (talk) 20:33, 27 February 2015 (UTC))[reply]
... and I'm sorry but I wouldn't donate to your charity without an address and some confirmation that it was genuine (such as a listing on an official website in your country). You might find a few internet users willing to send funds to an unknown bank account, but probably not many, unless you create a very convincing web presence. Dbfirs 23:18, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I'm happy you mentioned this, large sum donaters are not allowed in my charity company. Per people; have to donate out of their 'free will'... no more I can say... -- (SuperGirlsVibrator (talk) 20:33, 27 February 2015 (UTC))[reply]
Not even to a Nigerian princess who depends on the kindness of strangers? Shame on you. Clarityfiend (talk) 00:28, 27 February 2015 (UTC) [reply]
lol. -- (SuperGirlsVibrator (talk) 20:33, 27 February 2015 (UTC))[reply]
Russell.mo, I wonder if the charity has anything to do with super-girls and vibrators, or girls and super-vibrators, or something like that. -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 10:53, 27 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Ammm, You didn't call me by my nickname. The last word of my name is not in plural, it states I'm 'unique' -- (SuperGirlsVibrator (talk) 20:33, 27 February 2015 (UTC))[reply]
The best way to do it is to advertise on Google (or make a website), then write on it your bank account details, including online banking account username and password, and then you'll see the money flow in(to our bank accounts). KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 14:59, 27 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
If I'm thinking what I'm thinking, this could be an idea... Though I must say. I'm not aware of your system... -- (SuperGirlsVibrator (talk) 20:33, 27 February 2015 (UTC))[reply]
If you can tell us what country you live in, we might be able to find info on how to register a charity or non-profit organization in that country. In the USA, a PO box and some paperwork might be enough. SemanticMantis (talk) 15:38, 27 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you thank you thank you!!!
I'm stuck in a third world country, I hate this country and its people, I'm ashamed to be from here. I would like to keep the name of this country I'm currently in 'discreet' in other words. If I open a company here, the first person would rob me is the government employee. Police and government employees are worse then thieves/gangsters/mafias here.
I'm currently doing something (writing a book) and 1 year 4 months late... I just about managed to fix my English (because of you all). I can't get out of this country until I finish this book. I have to finish this book (which is not finishing), then I have to learn how to make a website(s) and a software(s), might have to learn how to create a building(s) structure using a software (not sure). Once the book is published and learning and making is complete , then I can get out of this country. Only with the book money...
I'm eager to open up a charity company first in UK then in U.S.A but as far as I'm aware, my next stop will be U.S.A. All I know for now, I want to do a lot of thing. I feel like I'm deteriorating before my age, I don't know what to do... I'm restless. The main reason why I'm so eager to open up a company, I want to copyright my company names worldwide asap, but I don't have a base in UK. I have one in U.S.A, just a home address, in Detroit, Michigan, Rochester Hills; in this place they don't allow you without having an actual place and bill records... Plus apparently you can't copyright worldwide from their... The solicitor asks $2000 plus this documents, plus $120 fee just to meet up. This guy is paying for my accommodation right now, this is the 5th year running, I've been a burden to him, I don't want him to spend extras on/for me... I would be happy just to copyright the names worldwide including the books asap for now at minimal cost. -- (SuperGirlsVibrator (talk) 20:33, 27 February 2015 (UTC))[reply]
A donation has been made in your name to the Human Fund. Justin15w (talk) 15:54, 27 February 2015 (UTC) [reply]

So first you ask Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Computing#Internet_money_making_possibilities how to make money on the Internet - then how to set up a charity on the Internet.

Bottom line here is that either (a) you'll be breaking some law someplace or (b) you'll have to come up with an idea that's cleverer than anyone else's or (c) you'll have to work very hard. There really isn't some magical way of printing money just because the word "Internet" is in there somewhere. If you're thinking of earning money for yourself via a charity website, then you would need to be skimming money from whatever contributions are being made to cover your own expenses. There are legitimate organizations that do that - they employ people to run these funds. But you're starting this from the wrong end. Step #1 is to find some compelling problem in the world that can be solved with money...feeding the poor on the streets of some major city, for example. Step #2 is to figure out how you're going to turn money into food for those people and how you're going to distribute the food. Steps #3 though about #20 are other things along those lines - and right at the very VERY end are "Step #99: How do I set up a website?" and "Step #100: How much (if any) of the money I raised can be used to pay me for my efforts?"...so get questions 1 through 98 solved, and then come back and ask.

Meanwhile, how can you LEGITIMATELY make money on the Internet? It's definitely possible - but the answer isn't often directly related to "being on the Internet" - it's making a business that incidentally happens to use the Internet. So, for example, my Wife and I "make money from the Internet" (in a sense). We designed some model buildings, figured out how to make them from laser cut plywood, went to a local hackerspace and used their laser cutter to make prototypes, used the prototypes to run a campaign on Kickstarter to crowd-fund the purchase of a $10,000 machine and the materials and postage to make some "rewards" for our backers....and *THEN* after a couple of years of hard work, we have a business selling our models on the Internet. Arguably, we "made money on the Internet" - but we did it as a rather conventional manufacturing business that just happens to sell it's product on the Internet rather than through a brick-and-mortar store.

There are exceptions - you could come up with some radically new take on social networking or invent a new way for people to exchange information online...but you'll need to actually make it work, so you'd need lots of programming and web design skills.

But this isn't "free money from the Internet" and it's certainly not a "get rich quick" scheme (although we have made close to a quarter million dollars over the past two and a half years). It took skill, artistry, and LOTS of hard work and business cleverness.

A good example of someone who DID make a pile of money was a guy who had the bright idea to put up a 1000x1000 pixel blank picture up on his web site, and sell the pixels within it for $1 each. So people could spend $1000 and get a 10 pixel x 100 pixel space to put their company logo or $100 to put a tiny button up there that linked to their home page. He ended up selling all of the million pixels and made a million dollars for his clever idea. But the point is that he needed the clever idea..and the million pixel image idea has already been done and it won't work again.

There was another guy who started off with a red paperclip and started a web site where he'd swap his paperclip for something else...then swap whatever he got for something else...over and over until he wound up with a house! He actually succeeded too! Another very clever idea that won't work more than once.

But those ideas are few and far between, and most of them fail miserably. So perhaps you could come up with something as clever as the red paperclip or the million pixel image - but you'd have to be astoundingly clever and very, very lucky. Certainly if any of us came up with anything that clever, we'd be pushing it right now - and certainly not telling you about it!

The Internet isn't so much different from "The Real World" - you can try panhandling, you can become a criminal, you can get very, very lucky or you can work hard...and working entails either getting a job with some employer, or coming up with an idea that you can turn into a job (as my wife and I did). Now, asking someone else for an idea is kinda silly. If someone had a great idea for an easy way to earn money that was legal and earned enough to be worthwhile, they'd almost certainly do it themselves rather than telling you how to do it.

So the bottom line is, you're either going to be begging, stealing, lucky or working...and working requires that you think up something for yourself. Since we're not going to help you with the first two things, and we probably can't help you with the last one - you're pretty much going to have to figure it out yourself...so study hard, stay in school, think about doing something else that nobody else has done.

SteveBaker (talk) 19:05, 27 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

SteveBaker Paragraph 1: I won't break any laws. I've learnt a lot, tried my best a lot, failed performing satanic activities. Its not in my genes. Unless of course you provoke me to the point where God punishes you instead discreetly during living as well as after death! Thanks for the ideas, something to rethink about in my spare time.
Paragraph 2: I've done a research on this, check out the 3D printing (machine) business, see if you can get into it...might interest you and your family member. Apparently its the current trend, took over turkey with its business... There is also 3D food service, unrelated to your profession. Also 4D printing in its first stage of developing process, and unrelated to your profession, at this stage.
I don't have programming and web design skills, I have thought of this before... I do know what you mean, i.e., hard work and effort needs to be put in. I'm suffering for the last 1 year and 4 months. I feel like my brain has become liquid water... I don't have astonishing ideas. I do wish to do something... -- (SuperGirlsVibrator (talk) 21:06, 27 February 2015 (UTC))[reply]
This is getting *WAY* off-topic - but 3D printing is currently *FAR* too slow for our business volume/pricing. It can take 20 minutes to make a relatively small plastic object. I do actually own a couple of 3D printers - so I know a good deal about them. We'd need to invest in a hundred of them to get the kind of production volume we'd need - and the kind that we could afford 100 of are temperamental, fussy machines that need calibration, tweaking and repairs at a rate that would leave me spending all of my days fixing them! That said, the kind that use liquid polymer and expose it with a laser or a bright TV projector are getting very interesting...they stand a chance of being fast enough - but they have interesting problems of their own. To make money with 3D printers (for manufacturing as opposed to prototyping), the items you make have to sell for a ton of money - and small plastic things generally don't sell for much. However, there is perhaps money in 3D printing highly customized things that couldn't be mass-produced...stuff like making 3D models from CAT scans for the medical market, or making replicas of archeological artifacts that are too fragile to handle...that kind of thing. SteveBaker (talk) 22:23, 27 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Calculation method help

Need help with correct method for calculating this:

I have membership id (which might have multiple members in it) and member id which represents an individual member of an account. I am trying to calculate average deposit / deposit date for memberships as well as for individual members.

example table below:

Membership ID Member ID Deposit Date Deposit Amount
121 1 23-04-2013 500
121 2 07-04-2013 500
131 46 23-04-2013 100
121 1 01-06-2013 900
131 46 01-06-2013 340
541 91 23-04-2013 500
679 51 23-04-2013 500
679 1 23-04-2013 500

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 156.107.33.122 (talk) 22:21, 26 February 2015 UTC

If I understand your table correctly, for the average "Deposit Amount" you just multiply column 4 by column 2, add up these products, then divide by the total of column 2. This is easy to do in a spreadsheet such as Excel, and you can do exactly the same with dates because Excel stores them as a number of days since the start of the epoch. Your table risks confusing Membership ID with Member ID. I would use clearer headers for the columns such as "Membership type" and "Number of members". A "Member ID" is usually a unique identifier for the member, but perhaps you store that elsewhere? Dbfirs 23:06, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the response. on member ID it means that there is a group id named membership ID and then this group has multiple members in it referenced by a unique id: member ID. The members might make some deposit and then I would like to calculate average deposit per date at membership level and member level. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 156.107.33.122 (talk) 23:16, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

You asked above for average deposit and average date. These are easy to calculate as explained above. To find the average deposit per date, you would need to sort by date, then do the calculation on each date separately. I'm still not clear what you mean by at membership level and member level. If my calculation is not what you need, perhaps someone else can understand what you require? Dbfirs 23:53, 26 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Is this information in a database? Are you asking how to write SQL code along the lines of
SELECT membership_id, member_id, deposit_date, AVG(deposit_amount) AS "Average daily deposit per member"
FROM my_table
GROUP BY membership_id, member_id, deposit_date;

SELECT membership_id, deposit_date, AVG(deposit_amount) AS "Average daily deposit per group"
FROM my_table
GROUP BY membership_id, deposit_date;
, or are you asking how to do it by hand? -- ToE 01:30, 27 February 2015 (UTC) Caveat: Code looks good to me, but not tested.[reply]
P.S. This assumes that membership_id = 121, member_id = 1 is a different member than membership_id = 679, member_id = 1. -- ToE 01:45, 27 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
P.P.S. Your data is boring. No member made more than one deposit on a single day, and the only membership group with more than one deposit on the same day is 679, which on one day had two deposits ... of the same size. -- ToE 01:49, 27 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

February 27

mith and legend

Are there mythological or lengendary creatures similar to Ankylosaurus?--79.44.63.248 (talk) 09:54, 27 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Well, now that we know about the dino, it has influenced other fictional characters. So would you count bulbasaur as a mythical creature? Also, keep in mind the look and attributes change depending on who's telling the story. So some basilisks look like the Anky, but other basilisks look more like a cockatrice. If you want to search further, use the term bestiary. So a google image search for /myth bestiary/ might be good to browse through. [5] SemanticMantis (talk) 15:35, 27 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Anguirus is pretty close. Armadon is less famous, but a bit closer. InedibleHulk (talk) 21:12, February 27, 2015 (UTC)
Those are good, way better than mine. Of course we might consider Primal Rage to be legendary, not sure if anyone else does ;) There's also some rather deep ontological issues at play. Never mind, Armandon is clearly not an actual Ankylosaur, he's a Tristegasauratops. SemanticMantis (talk) 21:55, 27 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I just think Primal Rage was decent. The tasty in-game worshipers are the ones who make the characters mythological, rather than fake. InedibleHulk (talk) 18:01, February 28, 2015 (UTC)
Post coitum omne animal triste est sive gallus et mulier. -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 23:31, 27 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
'Post coitum' always means 'have a cigarette' for me... :) KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 01:00, 28 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
"Have a cigarette all animals are sad except chickens and women". Is this an example of your renowned translatorial prowess, KT?  :) -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 01:34, 28 February 2015 (UTC) [reply]
Shouldn't sive here mean "whether", not "except"? μηδείς (talk) 04:05, 28 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Not according to List of Latin phrases (P). But gallus apparently means rooster or, if you prefer, cock. Is cock your preference? -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 05:15, 28 February 2015 (UTC) [reply]
I have nothing against roosters or cats, but sive means either, whether, or or--not "except". English "except" is praeter, nisi or excepta. μηδείς (talk) 05:27, 28 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Cats have not even been mentioned..... KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 13:13, 28 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Think euphemisms. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 14:39, 28 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I tawt I taw a putty cat :) KägeTorä - (影虎) (Chin Wag) 15:44, 28 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Except for the extra 199,994 tons of armour. No wonder he fell. But better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. InedibleHulk (talk) 20:24, February 28, 2015 (UTC)
According to someone on Wikipedia, in Far-Seer, it's "armourbacks" all the day down instead of turtles. InedibleHulk (talk) 20:36, February 28, 2015 (UTC)
Ankylosaurus are much bigger than turtles, right? So the advantage to Ankylosaurus all the way down is that should require fewer of them. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 22:55, 28 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Soft bellies, though. Not great for stacking. The bottom of a turtle shell is called a plastron, in case anyone was wondering. No idea if it would protect from whatever wiped out the ankylosaurs, but it's handy for stability. InedibleHulk (talk) 23:18, February 28, 2015 (UTC)

February 28

Steam engine explosions

I was recently reading some historical fiction from the era of the invention of steam locomotives. In the book, they suggest that many enterprising and foolhardy entrepreneurs tried to copy the early steam engines, and that this often led to tragic consequences ranging from scalding burns to devastating boiler explosions. While I'm sure steam engines can be very dangerous, I'm suspicious that the novel is exaggerating the frequency of such accidents for dramatic effect. The novel makes it seem like most of the people who tried to copy the early engines killed themselves. Were there a large number of boiler explosions and other deadly accidents in the early days of locomotive engineering? Dragons flight (talk) 05:42, 28 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

List of boiler explosions.--Shantavira|feed me 09:26, 28 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Also, boiler explosions states that in the UK, there were 122 locomotive boiler explosions in the 19th century, but only 15 in the 20th. Depending on the type of safety valve, some early train drivers (engineers) used to add weights to the safety valve lever, or screw it down past the proper setting to get more boiler pressure which sometimes caused explosions. Widneymanor (talk) 09:45, 28 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
See also safety valve Widneymanor (talk) 09:52, 28 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, the important thing, from a safety POV, is that the pressure relief valve always fails in an open position, and that the steam/boiling water vented has a safe place to leak, out without hitting anyone. StuRat (talk) 06:03, 1 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Brunel’s SS Great Britain steam pressure was only 5 psi. Q: Why, when is was know that the higher the pressure the greater the engine's efficiency, did he not use higher pressures?. A: Live steam is very dangerous and the metallurgical science to build good strong riveted boilers and good steam joints and gaskets was in still in it infancy. By the 20th century, there were regulations inforced on boiler, gaskets, stuffing boxes etc., and better engineering reduced both the fatalities and improved the reliability. Thus, making steam engines an essential prime mover, and making horses, wind and water power redundant. So in answer to the OP's question. Early steam engines were very indeed very dangerous to be around with only a few accidents ever getting recorded. --Aspro (talk) 14:41, 1 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

When is season 2 of Orange is the new black being released on dvd?

Moved to the entertainment desk by LongHairedFop (talk) 19:09, 28 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]


March 1

Lists of contest winners

If you do the customer satisfaction survey for Wendy's, you're offered the chance to participate in a cash drawing. The contest rules, which give the contest's address as New York, include a statement of how to obtain the name of the contest winner (or perhaps all of them?) from Wendy's. I've never heard of this kind of thing before (why would they give out the name?), so it makes me wonder if it's legally required. Does New York have some sort of requirement that contest winners' names be made publicly available? Nyttend (talk) 04:24, 1 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Well, it's supposed to give customers confidence that they did give out the money to somebody, whether they are legally required to supply the list or not. It's common for them to offer the list. (BTW, in Detroit, the customer survey gets you $2 off a large salad or sandwich. This used to be a sweet deal, but now the price on those items has gone up, and $2 off is a smaller percentage.) StuRat (talk) 06:00, 1 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]
StuRat, the survey here in PA does that too; I was unaware that they also did the $500 drawing. I wouldn't do the survey just for an extremely miniscule chance of winning $500, but when I'm guaranteed an unrelated $2 coupon, I might as well sign up for the drawing too. Nyttend (talk) 13:21, 1 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, the only contests where it's worth your time to enter are generally those with food prizes or discounts. That $2 off might be less than the profit margin on one meal, so they still make money. On the other hand, when they give away $2 outright, or more, they definitely lose money. This is why the odds of winning are so incredibly bad, when dealing with cash prizes, but fairly good, when dealing with food prizes (even 100% in many cases). StuRat (talk) 17:07, 1 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]
"Acceptance of the prize constitutes permission to use the winner's name, likeness and any and all identifying characteristics including, but not limited to, the taking of photographs and/or videos by the Sponsor's photographer/videographer for publicity purposes, without further consent or compensation, unless prohibited by law...".
A good corporation shouldn't need to be told to take (and use) whatever potentially valuable info they can. The law is (ostensibly) there to mitigate this default setting. Wendy's would otherwise literally kidnap and sell you (or cook you) if it meant a marginal increase in profit. Not knocking them, so would the competition. It's called "leadership". InedibleHulk (talk) 07:56, March 1, 2015 (UTC)
You could also probably ask them for a list of people who asked for a list of winners, but it'd cost more.
"If you are making a comment that warrants supervisory or other attention, we may need to share your information with others. We may need to bring your correspondence to the attention of our attorneys or other appropriate staff. InedibleHulk (talk) 08:03, March 1, 2015 (UTC)
Oh wait, that's not actually Wendy's, just a franchisee. The Questar policy is the relevant one. "Confidential information is collected through registration or contact forms on this site and will never be used for any purpose other than internal use or by our clients." They straight up invite you to transform customer feedback into business intelligence. InedibleHulk (talk) 08:20, March 1, 2015 (UTC)
From Wendy herself: "You agree that Wendy's and those with whom we share personal information ("Recipients") may Disclose and transfer your personal information worldwide (including in and outside the U.S, the European Union and other jurisdictions ) for any purpose relating to our operations, programs, or otherwise that is not allowed or prohibited by this Policy. InedibleHulk (talk) 08:26, March 1, 2015 (UTC)

Cost of shipping from US to Serbia

I was wondering how much it would cost to ship, let's say a book, from US to Serbia. I wager it's pretty expensive. RocketMaster (talk) 17:43, 1 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

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