Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2007 December 27

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[edit] December 27

[edit] Prison escapes

In a country with a similar prison population to say...France, how often would an escape occur and how often would the escapees be recaptured?--Phoenix-wiki talk · contribs 00:07, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

According to this, there are 55,000 prisoners in France. According to this, the number of escapees from US prisons has been steadily declining and is perhaps around 0.5% per year. So 275 people maybe. This assumes that prison security is as good (or as bad) in France as it is in the USA...but as a first guess, it's not bad. SteveBaker (talk) 00:26, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
For the UK Prison Service, in the 2005/6 periods, there were two escape targets: no escapes by Category A prisoners, and escapes by other prisoners & remandees less than 0.05% of the prison population. Both targets were met, with zero Cat "A" escapes, and 0.01% escapes of other prisoners. The prison population at the end of the year was 69220, and so we're talking circa 7 escapees. See [1]. I'd guess most are recaptured ... most criminals are not very clever people, and have few resources to call on. --Tagishsimon (talk) 01:15, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
When we talk of prison escapes, we're obviously mostly talking about escapes from low security or 'open' prisons. My sister used to be an adult education officer in a British open prison - where trusted prisoners would spend the night in the prison but go out into the community during the day in order to do a regular job. Some were even allowed to drive themselves to and from their places of work. Escape from such places is childishly easy (simply not returning to the prison in the evening, for example) - and as I understand it, those kinds of 'escape' are treated formally as a parole violations or some such - rather than an actual escape. This may explain the discrepancy between the UK numbers and the US figures. However, in neither case are we talking about large numbers of people tunnelling out or vaulting high, barbed-wire fences or whatever. SteveBaker (talk) 07:19, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
Thanks. That's a suprisingly high number. Then how often woud escapes from high security prisons occur (ie. people tunnelling out or vaulting high, barbed-wire fences)?--Phoenix-wiki talk · contribs 12:06, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
In the UK? Extremely infrequently; and more often will occur when the prisoner is being transported (to court, hosptital) than from the prison establishment. There was in 1983 a mass escape from a Northern Ireland jail - see this story. Steve's comments are correct, though the prisoner is said to have absconded, rather than escaped ... see this story, for example - 44 abscondees from a single open prison in a single year. --Tagishsimon (talk) 12:37, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
I think that number (44 people per year from one open prison) is not uncommon. The place my sister worked at (Ford (HM Prison)) lost 11 people over just one two week period: [2] and our article states that "70 people, including three murderers, absconded in 2006 alone". That's for a prison with less than 600 inmates! So for sure the UK figure of 0.01% can't include open prison 'abscondings' - and the US figure I found DOES include open/low-security prison escapes - so it wouldn't surprise me to find that the actual apples-and-apples number was comparable between the US and UK. SteveBaker (talk) 15:33, 29 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Lance Headstrong

who is Lance Headstrong? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.62.114.9 (talk) 00:58, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps a parody of Lance Armstrong. Acceptable (talk) 01:23, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

quraan kareem is the best book of azure books please try to read it !quraan kareem found in all language"in microsoft word" attach me at ms_7arb_qc@yahoo.com

[edit] how would i go about getting a job at Mythbusters?

how would i go about getting a job at Mythbusters? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.188.134.93 (talk) 07:25, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

The first place to contact would be one of the production companies, which are the Discovery channel and Beyond Entertainment. Of course, you would have to be qualified for the work you want to do, and if you have to ask that question, it suggests that you probably don't know enough about it. --Anonymous, 10:35 UTC, December 27, 2007.
Well, you could follow the example of Kari Byron... She became involved in the show after persistently showing up at Hyneman's M5 Industries workshop in a desire to get hired at his company. Dismas|(talk) 18:04, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
You'd probably have to be just as cute to succeed though. --Ouro (blah blah) 21:29, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Donations to Wikipedia

Does the rate of donations to Wikipedia stay more or less constant or does it show a progressive decay? --Taraborn (talk) 12:28, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

Check the back issues of The Wikipedia Signpost, Ral315 always has a blurb on the fundraiser. --Ouro (blah blah) 14:51, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
This year the fundraiser hasn't been so good. bibliomaniac15 18:57, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
There are stats at http://donate.wikimedia.org/en/node/22 William Avery (talk) 20:14, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
Thanks, guys. At first glance it seems pretty clear that the rate is slowing down somewhat. A true pity. --Taraborn (talk) 11:24, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] shampoo

do we have to use shampoos daily to get rid of dandruff? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.93.135.220 (talk) 12:54, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

You'd have to read the back of the anti-dandruff shampoo to find out. 86.145.104.223 (talk) 14:36, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
Well, I use Nizoral every other day and that seems to keep the dandruff in check.--droptone (talk) 15:04, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

Are you sure that it is dandruff? Not all flaking is. Be careful.86.194.248.147 (talk) 16:01, 27 December 2007 (UTC)DT

Actually most anti-dandruff shampoos fight three different types of flaking: dandruff, seborrheic dermatitis, and psoriasis. But 86 is right, you'd have to read the back of the shampoo bottle to find out. I can say pretty confidently though that it's a general guideline to use it every couple of days. --71.117.40.70 (talk) 18:15, 28 December 2007 (UTC)
Be careful not to go for really cheap shampoos; they often cause more problems than they solve [3] Think outside the box 14:10, 31 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Unknown song

I want to know the name of the song that starts at 3.00 minutes in. The entire song still seems ot be Kissing You (Des'ree song), but at 3.00 minutes it seems to change to a classical piece, and it'd be grateful if anyone knew it. Thanks 86.145.104.223 (talk) 14:21, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

I think it's just an instrumental interlude within the song. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 15:27, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
I agree. -- JackofOz (talk) 21:47, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
The composer/arranger is Craig Armstrong. One possible reason you thought it was a piece of classical music lies in its familiarity. mfiles write: "The instrumental interlude in this Love Theme is now very familiar in the UK from its use in promoting the Television coverage of Euro 2004. (Indeed programme makers seem to increasingly view Armstrong's music as a ready source of "soundbites".)" ---Sluzzelin talk 23:28, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] canopic jar

How big is a canopic jar? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.78.42.193 (talk) 17:02, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

All the canopic jars that I've seen in museums were of varying sizes. Most seemed to be about 12-24" tall. Dismas|(talk) 17:57, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
  • Those of Inepuhotep [4], an individual who lived in the early part of the Twelfth Dynasty, measured 34cm in height with diameters of 11cm.
  • Those found in Tomb KV 55[5] from the Eighteenth Dynasty measured 38.5cm in height.
  • A set found in the tomb of Psusennes I measured 38cm[6], 41cm[7], 43cm[8], and 39cm[9] tall. Apparently Psusennes was so poor he could not afford new, and these had been taken from a tomb in Kurna and resused!
You might also try a search (google for "site:globalegyptianmuseum.org canopic") of The Global Egyptian Museum's database for more examples.—eric 18:04, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How come there is no mention of A. B. Smith in the article for the Kennedy Assasination

In the Kennedy assasination articles there is mention of all the films shot of the assasination including the Zapruder film but how come no mention of the film by the man with the Alias A. B. Smith. [10]It seems to be a clearer film that shows the assasination up close. And do we know who this person was and the story behind the film? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 170.220.2.13 (talk) 18:15, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

If there is information from a reliable, verifiable source that you feel would improve the article, then you can go ahead and add it. If you don't want to do so yourself, you might want to bring it up on the article's discussion page. --LarryMac | Talk 18:47, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
A.B. Smith doesn't exist. It appears to be an illegal copyright-violating copy of the Zapruder film uploaded under a fake name. [11] Rmhermen (talk) 21:54, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
And if you listen to the audio on the first one it even says it is the Zapruder film. --24.147.86.187 (talk) 23:22, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Any particular influence on costume? Japan? Anime?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21119232@N07/2054727148/

Is this costume of anything in particular? They're amazing chicken arms, so I presume she didn't make this herself. Is this some character from an anime series or manga book? Or is this a corporate mascot she likes? It's so weird and intriguing. -- Zanimum (talk) 19:33, 20 December 2007 (UTC)

I wonder how a query dated December 20, which I don't recall seeing here earlier, has ended up at the bottom of the page on December 27? Bielle (talk) 18:36, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
It's either magic, or somebody who didn't get an answer the first time. I'd prefer to go with magic, but alas. I do remember seeing the question before. --LarryMac | Talk 18:45, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
strange, truely strange —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.3.151.98 (talk) 20:18, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
Yes, it was posted before, and I thought I'd try to get a wider scope of response in this section. -- Zanimum (talk) 15:49, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Famous Deaths in 2008

Does anyone know of any famous people who have cancer or another terminal illness that will probably die in 2008 in the categories of politics, religion, sports, entertainment, or random? Im not going to lie this information will be used to help me win bragging rights (not money)in a 2008 death pool. This year im probably going to win with Maurice Papon, Benny Parsons, Phil Rizzuto, Tammy Faye Baker, and Lady Bird Johnson. Wikipedia was a great tool for researching my choices last year, so hopefully using the ref. desk will help even more. Thanks for any help you can give me.--ChesterMarcol (talk) 18:38, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

Bad luck if you were going to pick Bhutto. mattbuck (talk) 19:54, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
I seriously was going to.--ChesterMarcol (talk) 20:32, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
A lovely idea...I would expect that the wonderful Bobby Robson will unfortunately not last much longer. Also if you were to be statistical your best bet is to take a scan of females born around [[1910] and males maybe around 1920, given the average life-span - though I suspect that 'famous' people are disproportionally more likely to live longer (perhaps due to more access to quality healthcare, a high quality of life and more likelihood of working to an older age - all of which tend to increase longevity). I only hope Bobby survives longer, he's been a brilliant asset to english football and always comes across as a genuinely nice man. ny156uk (talk) 23:00, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
Well I read an article that Amy Winehouse's resolution for 2008 is to not die... apparently she's been threatened a lot recently. If your really a gambler, Britney Spears perhaps based on how fast her life has gone downhill. You know there haven't been too many rockers die young in recent years, maybe pick one who has a drug habit... Croat Canuck Say hello or just talk 23:48, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

For the scoring we subract their age from 100 so the younger the better. Also we have to pick 2 people under 50 years old as "suprise picks" so Amy Wnehouse and Brittany Spears would be good candidates for that, although right now I have Vern Troyer penciled in because I can't see a alcoholic little person living very long.--ChesterMarcol (talk) 00:14, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

Really you can't really predict it too much even if the person is an alcholic... because its just like everybody else, anyone could die tomorrow. I think Anna Nicole Smith's death last year caught a lot of people by surprise... With your young ones you gotta go with the rock stars I think, just too many young deaths in that field so you would probably have a higher percentage. Croat Canuck Say hello or just talk 02:48, 28 December 2007 (UTC)
Hugues Cuénod resides with his life partner, Alfred Augustin, in Switzerland. In January 2007, Cuénod and Augustin signed a civil union after changes in Swiss law which gave same-sex couples many legal benefits of marriage. Yeah, so what, you ask? Well, Cuénod was aged 104 at the time and has since turned 105. After his year-long honeymoon catching up on all those years of enforced celibacy, I'm sure he'll be ready for a good long rest. -- JackofOz (talk) 05:43, 28 December 2007 (UTC)
Sadly, the statistics would suggest Farrah Fawcett may succumb within the next year, see Farrah Fawcett#Cancer. Kirk Douglas surely can't last too much longer and I also think Margaret Thatcher may not be long for this world (though I have being saying that for years). Tom Sizemore has to be a decent outside bet for a person under 50. Rockpocket 06:03, 28 December 2007 (UTC)
I'd suggest Fidel Castro, Billy Graham, Harold Pinter, Johannes Heesters and Art Linkletter.
For younger choices, Pete Doherty, Ryan Wilson, Matti Nykanen. Corvus cornixtalk 17:10, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for all the help. I need one more person for the sports category im using Bobby Robson, Bobby Murcer, John Wooden, and Stan Musial but I need one more, any suggestions?--ChesterMarcol (talk) 06:37, 30 December 2007 (UTC)

A bit obscure, but Kay Yow is terminally ill. Rockpocket 07:17, 30 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The wiki guitar site

i found this great site today and was wondering if it was related to wikipedia, wikinews ect. If so should it be included in the title page (at the bottom where it links to wikinews and others) thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.3.151.98 (talk) 20:01, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

Sorry, this might help www.thewikiguitarsite.com or www.thewikiguitarsite.com/Main/HomePage —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.3.151.98 (talk) 20:16, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
Hello. No, this website is not affiliated with Wikipedia or its sister projects and therefore not legible eligible for inclusion among the links on the Main Page. Not all that is called Wiki is that closely related to Wikipedia. Cheers, Ouro (blah blah) 20:28, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
Pretty much anyone with a web site can go out and create a Wiki of their own using the same software that Wikipedia uses. I run several of them - one for my own writings and another for my local classic car club. Hence there are thousands of other 'Wiki' sites - but only the ones listed on the Wikipedia front page are in any way affiliated with Wikipedia. That's not to say that these other sites are not valuable - many of them are - but they don't all follow Wikipedias standards. My own sites (for example) are closed up so that you can't edit them without creating an account - and my personal site doesn't let you create your own account - I have to do it for you. At work, we use a Wiki to store all of our documentation and a lot of administrative stuff too - but that's a Wiki that's locked away behind firewalls where members of the public cannot reach.
Specifically, these Guitar sites that store guitar entablatures ("tabs") are probably illegal since guitar tabs, like printed music are copyright violations - and it's highly unlikely that they have permission from all of the copyright owners.
SteveBaker (talk) 23:28, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
You took your time to answer him to such an extent <yawn> goodness... I have to check your website(s) out sometime, Steve. Gonna get breakfast now. --Ouro (blah blah) 06:55, 28 December 2007 (UTC)
  • Wikipedia does have a page List_of_wikis which claims to list 'notable wikis'. However if you look at its talk page Talk:List_of_wikis it explains that you can only add wikis that are notable that have an article on Wikipedia, in other words in order for your wiki to be notable enough for the list, it has to be notable enough to have an article in the first place!. It may be worth reading through the talkpage and reviewing the situation, there may be a way to add it even if it doesn't have an article on Wikipedia.
    I do believe there used to be a list of wikis on the MediaWiki website www.mediawiki.org (MediaWiki is the software that runs wikis) but I can't seem to find it. Indeed there are various websites that list wikis so you can try a google search. Good luck Rfwoolf (talk) 04:25, 29 December 2007 (UTC)
The original list on MediaWiki was valid in the early days when only relatively few people had Wiki's - but I'd bet that there are at least a hundred thousand Wiki's out there - perhaps even a million of them. Vastly too many to list - and that list would be outdated within seconds of you making it. It's like asking for a list of all of the sites on the Internet - you just can't do it. If this particular guitar site is sufficiently notable (under our guidelines) to be included in the list - then it's also notable enough to have an article. If it is - create a stub and add it to the List of wikis - if it isn't notable enough then please don't look for ways to circumvent the (perfectly reasonable) rules for that list. SteveBaker (talk) 15:17, 29 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] A NEW PAGE ON WIKIPEDIA

How do you make a new page on wikipedia?

sincerly, Timelordlilytennant (talk) 21:02, 27 December 2007 (UTC)lily.cTimelordlilytennant (talk) 21:02, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

First, you make sure that the article you are making follows notability guidelines. If it does, you type in the title of the article that you want to create and press "Go." If no article with that name exists, go down and click the redlink that says "Create this page with your references." It will bring you to the editing page, where you can create and save the article. bibliomaniac15 21:12, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
(ec) In the search box top left, type the name of the article that you want to created (be wary not to make any spelling mistakes) and search it. If the search doesn't turn up any article by that name, click the red bold link 'Create new page', and write your article. On the other hand, you can turn to WP:AFC for help or check out the appropriate help section. Have fun! Cheers, Ouro (blah blah) 21:16, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Markings on american football helmets

I've been watching a couple of college football bowl games in the last week or so, and I've noticed that some players have a number of markings on the back of their helmets. They are dots, miniature crests or similar, and each player seem to have a different number of them. Some have none, but many seem to have between 10 and 30 of them on their helmet. They are usually stacked at the lower back of the helmet but sometimes there are so many that they fill the entire back of the helmet and are visible from the front. I fail in googling or searching wikipedia for them, since I can't think of a likely word for them. What are they? What do they signify? Are they used in the NFL, but I just haven't noticed them? There always seems to be some refdesker knowing the answer to just about any question, so I hope you guys can help me with this one./Kriko (talk) 23:24, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

They are used be some college teams to signify some acheivement like a great catch, touchdown, or a really good play. I dont know if there is any set criteria for recieving one, I would imagine it varies by team. And no they are not used in the NFL.--ChesterMarcol (talk) 23:28, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
Awesomely quick answer. Thanks! I figured it was something like that. /Kriko (talk) 23:36, 27 December 2007 (UTC)
Here is an article from USA Today explaining the stickers. — Michael J 01:12, 28 December 2007 (UTC)