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August 1

Card trick: how did he do it?

I was at work the other day and a young man came up to me and did a card trick: he fanned a deck, told me to pick a card, memorize it, and put it back. He then had me shuffle it. I did it 4 times, and he then picked a card and put it back. He took a card out, set it aside and told me to pick the one he picked (I had no idea and guessed at it), and I set it aside. He then named my card, flipped it over, then named his card and flipped it over. They were both correct. Now, I might have the order of events wrong, but I don't think so. Either way, how the heck did he do it? Mingmingla (talk) 02:58, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Is this your card→ 3 ♣?   71.20.250.51 (talk) 04:29, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

I do card tricks all the time. The easiest way to know what card has been picked, is to get the person to show the card to others in the group (distracting him/herself from your actions), whilst you pretend to straighten up half of the pack by knocking it on the table - taking notice of the card in the pack that it will be placed next to, when you ask him/her to place the card back into the pack. You can shuffle, or ask the person to shuffle. The chances that those two cards will be separated are next to none. You then find them both. Simple trick. KägeTorä - (_虎) (Chin Wag) 04:36, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

But how do you take notice of the card that it will be placed next to? I could understand it if you cut the pack in half, so you could glance at the card at the top of the half. But how do you do it if you ask the person to slide the card back into the pack, without being able to see which card they've placed it next to? --Viennese Waltz 05:23, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

You know that on the back side of each card, there is a pattern? Mostly made up of dots or something or other. You can actually fill in the dots with the same colour felt-tip pen, in a method of your choice, to help you know what the card is, even without seeing it. They are so small, hardly anyone notices. Good luck in your next poker game! KägeTorä - (_虎) (Chin Wag) 09:17, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

You forgot to link to card marking. --50.100.189.29 (talk) 09:49, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

It's hard to say because there are so many variations on this trick. They may have used a sleight of hand to move the card to the top or bottom of the deck after you inserted it - by being careful about the way they hold the deck and allow you to insert your card, your card may stick out just enough they can feel the edge and work with it. Although an experienced person can do this with a standard deck, a simple way to make it easier is to trim one edge of the deck very slightly at a diagonal. It is visually impercetible, but if they make sure they turn the deck around so your card goes in backwards then the edge sticks out enough to feel. Katie R (talk) 12:01, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Yes, the other thing that can be surprisingly effective is card forcing, which basically means the magician can make you pick a card of his choice, and lead you to think that it was your choice. That stubby article section doesn't do it justice - it can be psychological, verbal, and visual all at once. Search on google or youtube to see some good examples. SemanticMantis (talk) 17:10, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

The second part (where you pick HIS card) could be done by forcing, since you are in the awkward position of trying to pick a certain card without knowing which one it it. The classic fan force would work very well in these circumstances. He could also force the card that you picked, in which case the entire trick is really just getting you to pick the cards he wants you to. This seems a bit too straightforward to me, though: in my experience, the "trick" to magic is usually more oblique, and I wouldn't be surprised if there was some small detail that you didn't remember that is key to understanding the trick. OldTimeNESter (talk) 19:22, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

That's probably true. This is the part that amazed me. Picking my card is the easy part, but knowing how (generally) card tricks work, I thought ff the card I hoped was his in my head without looking, then picked it out of the fan. Mingmingla (talk) 16:02, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

It is more likely he has a way to select the card you name from his pack and when he flipped over the card he substituted the card you named for it. SO it would need a marked deck and a bit of sleigh of hand. Dmcq (talk) 10:34, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

Walid Shoebat

Walid Shoebat Jihadist Read Bible To Find Corruption But Found Out Bible is True - In this issue interview he speaks about his conversion to Christianity. His wife said if he read the bible and could find faults she would convert. He read it and he converted to be a Catholic not a Protestant as wikipedia states. See HeavenVisitNet Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.99.65.68 (talk) 21:12, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

You probably wanted the Misplaced Pages:Help Desk, but I've removed the Protestant part. It wasn't in the sources used. Neither was Catholicism. If you mean HeavenVisit.net, that's certainly not a reliable source. Neither is the YouTube channel. InedibleHulk (talk) 22:07, August 1, 2014 (UTC)

The source for the statement in the Walid Shoebat article is this CNN article, which describes him as a "convert to conservative Christianity". If you have a reliable source that states he's a Catholic, then it could be referenced in the article. If not, I would agree with the removal of the word "Protestant" from the article as it's currently unsourced. The article talk page (Talk:Walid Shoebat) is a better place to discuss this sort of issue. Tevildo (talk) 22:09, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Interesting that non-Christian people are said to convert to "Christianity". Is that even possible? Isn't it necessary to choose a particular Christian denomination to which to convert, and be baptised according to the rites of that denomination? -- Jack of Oz 09:14, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

"No" is the immediate answer to that question. See Baptism for a comprehensive treatment, but many churches consider that the use of water and the Trinitarian formula, no matter what the surrounding circumstances may be, to be sufficient, and many don't regard any ceremony at all as necessary. There may be additional ceremonies (such as confirmation) that the believer needs to undergo before they're considered a "full member" of any particular church, but one can certainly be a "baptized Christian" before deciding which particular church to join. Tevildo (talk) 09:56, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

To also help Jack along, the article Full communion would be a good read in understanding how some Christian denominations recognize the validity of sacraments administered through other Christian denominations. Certain sacraments (such as marriage) are almost universally recognized as valid among ALL denominations, while other sacraments (such as baptism) have wide recognition, depending on the denomination. For example with Baptism, most churches recognize baptisms performed by other denominations as valid, so long as those baptisms are performed according to the forms accepted by that denomination; for example Baptist churches do require "believers baptism" (of the age of consent) but will recognize baptisms of anyone so baptised, even if not done in a Baptist church... --Jayron32 17:02, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

Thanks. What I'm getting at is: non-denominational Christianity refers to institutions, but can an individual person who is currently not a Christian at all, decide to become a non-denominational Christian, and if so, how do they go about it? -- Jack of Oz 21:57, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

To be a Christian: First, they should renounce the devil and all his works, the pomps and vanity of this wicked world, and all the sinful lusts of the flesh. Secondly, they should believe all the Articles of the Christian faith. And, thirdly, they should keep God's holy will and commandments, and walk in the same all the days of their life. (From the BCP catechism). However, a more meaningful question is "What do they need to do to be recognized as a Christian by X?", which will depend what X is. Merely saying "I'm a Christian" is generally good enough for most states (whether it leads to an extra entry on a spreadsheet, or their stoning to death as an apostate, is another matter); when it comes to individual Christian churches, the answer varies considerably (see the above discussion on JW's). Tevildo (talk) 22:48, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

Thanks, Tevildo. -- Jack of Oz 20:06, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

August 2

Many people hate to fly. Where did the commercial shipping lines go?

I'm not the only one who hates flying. Even if 1% dislikes it as much as I do there must be millions of people who will not see their grandchildren, cannot attend a wedding, will never see the beauty of New York or Amsterdam just because the only way to get there is by plane.

How come I can't find a company that's not selling a nice 23 day cruise but instead offers a 3 day trip to travel between Amsterdam and New York by boat? Joepnl (talk) 03:09, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

Just a note. It's more than just a fear of flying to take into consideration. One has to figure out how many people would be so afraid of flying as to put up with three days in a boat. Then the shipping company would have to find enough of those people who can cover the cost of a regularly scheduled trip. That aside, if it's a multi-port cruise that you're trying to avoid, you might want to look into getting a cabin on a cargo ship. They are available though the accommodations, from what I've read, are not the best. Dismas| 03:32, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

Let's toss some numbers out there. There are about 40 flights per day between London and New York. These are planes with perhaps 150 passengers aboard, so the total traffic is about 6000 people per day. So if 1% of them give up flying (as our OP suggests) - then you have around 60 people per day wishing to go to London by ship. A modern transatlantic liner holds perhaps 2000 people - but if only 60 per day wish to sail, then they could only fill up a ship once every 33 days...and that presumes that our 1%'ers are prepared to wait a month to make their trip. But it's worse than that...the ship only takes 6 or 7 days to cross the atlantic and come back again. So is the ship to be idle for three weeks out of every month? Clearly that's untenable. It would have to sail to other destinations too...but this gets complicated and expensive.

Cruise-liners can only do their business by attracting people from a wider pool. If there were just a couple of liners going back and forth and ALL of the people in the entire USA who wished to travel to London were to come to New York to take a boat - then maybe there would be a workable business model...but how do you cross the entire continent to get to the boat without flying? Trains? Those take a week to get across the continent. So now, to visit London, you might need a week in a train, three days in a boat, and the same back again. If you want even one week in London, you'll have to take an entire month of vacation!

People who want to take a cruise these days very often fly to where the boat is.

One answer would be smaller boats - but those are less comfortable, more expensive to run, altogether a bad idea.

Many people hate to fly - but they also want to get from A to B quickly. They have to balance the misery of (say) an 8 hour flight over the Atlantic with the benefit of not losing three days of their valuable vacation time stuck aboard ship. In most cases, the calculus comes out in favor of a short amount of misery versus a much longer period of milder inconvenience. Obviously there are some people who simply refuse to fly at all - but they are evidently much fewer in number and presumably insufficient to cause huge numbers of transatlantic ships to be constructed.

SteveBaker (talk) 06:10, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

Also, the premise that a ship would make the crossing in 3 days is mistaken. New York to Amsterdam is 3,643 miles by air according to this source, and since a ship would have to go around England and eastern Canada, it would longer by sea, at least 3,800 statute miles or 3,300 nautical miles. To cover 3,300 nautical miles in 3 days (72 hours), the ship would have to go 3,300/72 = almost 46 knots. There might be some warships where fuel cost is not seen as an issue that could reach speeds like that, and certainly there are small boats and hydrofoils that can. But to cross the open sea you need a big ship or every encounter with waves will be hellish. Nobody ever made ocean liners that went so fast; the fuel costs would prevent them ever making a profit.Compare some actual speed records here. --69.158.94.114 (talk) 08:35, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

The record (and holder of the Blue Riband), was set by the liner SS United States in 1952 at 3 days and 12 hours, an average of 34.5 knots. Note that this was from Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly, well off the western tip of the British mainland, to the Ambrose Light in Lower New York Bay, thus excluding the lengthy process of getting in and out of port and negotiating the busy shipping lanes of the English Channel, so you could probably add a couple of days to that time. You can still cross the Atlantic from Southampton to New York on the RMS Queen Mary 2. It takes 9 nights and costs from GBP 800 including a flight back again. Alansplodge (talk) 16:22, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

As someone who hates to fly, I have to correct the idea that it's always a fear of flying. I'm not afraid, I just hate it. I hate being packed in like sardines next to strangers. I hate getting leg cramps from the tight seats. I hate not being able to control the temperature. I hate not being able to use my cell phone or laptop. I hate going through security. I hate waiting in lines. I hate airline food. I hate being nickeled and dimed to death with hidden charges. I hate having to rent a car when I arrive at my destination. I hate that they often lose your checked luggage and severely restrict what you are allowed to carry on. I hate that I can't take many items with me that I normally carry, like a Swiss army knife. I chose to drive between Los Angeles and Detroit regularly rather than fly. That's a 3-4 day drive, BTW, which should give you an idea for how much I hate flying.

I've never been abroad (and never been a broad, either), except for Canada, which I can drive to. Part of the reason I don't choose to travel the world is the thought of all those painful plane trips. StuRat (talk) 01:26, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

There seems to be 2 ways to cross the Atlantic by sea on a commercial operation:

1. Travel by the QM2. It takes 9 days and costs over $1400 one way. You get a lot of room but you still have to share the ship with 2,500 strangers (plus 1,200 crew); your phone and laptop might work in port, but mid-Atlantic you would have to use very expensive on-board communications services; you still have to wait in line at security and at maybe at dinner too; you are expected to tip the crew and are probably gouged for expensive shipboard goods; and you will still have to rent a car when you arrive unless you make use of the excellent public transport services. You will probably get good service and all the entertaiment you can take.

2. Travel by cargo ship. It takes several days and is not as cheap as you might imagine - still hundreds of dollars. You get more room but you still have to share the mostly empty ship with the crew and whatever other passengers there are aboard; your phone and laptop might work in port, but mid-Atlantic you would have to use very expensive on-board communications services if they are available; you still have to wait in line at security and you will probably be restricted in you access to large areas of the ship; and again you will still have to rent a car when you arrive unless you make use of the excellent public transport services once you get out of the port. At least you might be able to be left alone to read or look at the horizon without the service of an "entertainment manager".

Of course, you could always buy your own boat. Alternatively, if you don't intend to fly except on very rare occasions, why not upgrade to business or first and take all the extras they hand out - much more room on board, priority through security and boarding, better food (still not great though) and a free bar and relish the free time away from phone and laptop. True thay can still lose you luggage, but so can cruise/cargo lines. Astronaut (talk) 13:34, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

Are you ever forced to hand over your luggage on a ship ? If not, they will have a hard time losing it, unless somebody breaks into your cabin and outright steals it. And a laptop is still useful to me without the internet. I can play games, edit documents, write programs, watch movies, etc. StuRat (talk) 05:03, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

I think it's a shame that we're not using passenger airships. I'm not sure of the commercial pro's and con's - but it just seems like a great way to cover large distances. The security lines and food quality problems would still be there, so would the "out of communication range" issues and the "renting a car at the other end" problem. But those are 100% inevitable if the price is being kept reasonable. But at least there ought to be less space issues, and (since the craft can fly quite low) some spectacular views along the way. Speed would be intermediate between airline and cruise ship...which sounds reasonable. SteveBaker (talk) 15:33, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

Fear of flying might extend to balloons. ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 05:46, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

Also, the small capacity of ship like the LZ 129 Hindenburg might be a limiting factor. ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 06:09, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

Wouldn't treatment for the phobia of flying be a good option? HiLo48 (talk) 21:04, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

Business strategy?

Hey folks. I'm not a business major so I don't know if what I'm about to report is normal or unusual, but I though I would ask if anyone has ever heard of it. I've been patronizing a few different convenience stores for the past decade or so, and I've noticed an unusual pattern that to me at least, rises above coincidence and looks to me like a business strategy of some kind. What I've observed is this: certain products in several stores sell off the shelves. In some cases, these stores have trouble keeping them stocked because they either don't maintain a good inventory or don't have a good, reliable distributor. But that's not what this report is about. What I've noticed is in some cases, the store will stop carrying a best-selling product and replace it with a similar, but different product. When asked why this is, they give several explanations, such as "our distributor stopped carrying it" or "that product has been discontinued". What's so strange about this, is that the stores down the road all have the same product and distributor. So the product hasn't been discontinued nor has the distributor stopped carrying it. I did some more investigation into this, and it appears that product inventory is not being driven by sales, but by a decision made by a central office in another geographical location. What's going on is that they seem to be identifying a need (for example "grape juice"), but then deliberately discontinue the product that's selling and replace it with a different, but similar product. This seems very odd to me, and there's only two stores that I know of that do this. In other words, they are trying to control what the consumer purchases rather than catering to and providing a service to the consumer. It's probably not a coincidence that they've replaced the product with a more expensive version, intending to increase their profit. But this just drives people like me away, and now I travel an extra mile to get the product that I want. Can anyone explain this strange business practice? Viriditas (talk) 04:01, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

Well, if you can sell X quantity of a product with $Y profit - or X/2 quantity of a different product with 2x$Y profit, then you probably want to go with the second option because it leaves you with more shelf space and your sales staff have less work to do in restocking shelves, ringing things up at the register, etc. However, some of these stores have very complex agendas. Maybe they're selling something at a loss in order to get you into the store...or maybe they have a manufacturer that says "If you want to stock 'WonderGoop 2000' (a very popular product) then you have to stock 'BlahBlahStuff' that nobody much likes."...this happens to a huge extent in car dealerships. Here in Texas, where pickup trucks are popular, some dealerships are rationed and can only sell one pickup for every two cars (or something like that). If your local store is part of a chain, then you may be seeing "test marketing" where they try to figure out what people will and won't buy. SteveBaker (talk) 05:43, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

I think it's a combination of the two scenarios you mentioned. What confuses me is that they seem to be targeting popular products, "discontinuing" them, and then replacing them with items that nobody buys. And now I'm thinking the reason is because of the second option you mention; if they want to stock x then they have to stock y, which isn't popular. Seriously, this is the kind of thing that really turns off a customer and forces them to go elsewhere. This is really bad business. They're not just losing the money I would have spent on that one item, but all the other items I usually buy along with it. I'm seeing this kind of thing more and more, where stores carry items nobody wants and stop stocking the things that sell. To me, this doesn't make any kind of sense and I'm going to make more of an effort now to spend my money in places that put the customer's needs over and above the bean counters sitting in an office several thousand miles away. Viriditas (talk) 09:12, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

Sounds like a clever variation of the old "bait and switch".   —71.20.250.51 (talk) 18:29, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

How do you know the stores down the road have the same distributor for these specific products? It seems rather weird that you'd know this, since stores don't generally reveal the potentially complex array of distributors they use. (It seems even more weird if the store in question is some kind of chain big enough to have someone in a different geographical location making the decision that you'd know who the distributor of that product to that specific store is. In fact, it's easily possible that the distributor of the product to that store is so division of the chain owner themselves, although it may be delivered to the store by someone else like whoever sells it to the chain division. And are you sure it's a chain not a franchise of some sort?)

In any case, what others have said is important. SKU management is complicated. Clearly customer demand is one component, but there are a lot of other things which will be considered like profit, shelf space, supplier performance, relationship with the supplier, linked SKUs etc. As others have said, even these factors may be complicated since the cost of the item is probably not simple with rebates, sale quantities, special prices, unwanted stock terms and other stuff coming in to play.

Also to state the obvious, the fact that one customer is willing to go out of their way to get the other product is pretty meaningless to the store, unless your a very major purchaser and represent 5% of their profits or something.

Nil Einne (talk) 18:56, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

There's nothing weird at all about how I know this, as there is only one distributor of the product on the island where I live, and they signed an exclusive agreement with the manufacturer. And there's nothing complex about this at all, it's actually very simple. The store is lying to their customers about their products because they are at the mercy of a product war between Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, and they are limiting the choice of the consumer based on their pathetic little war. It's almost as annoying as editors who put their sig on a separate line. Viriditas (talk) 23:03, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

But why do you believe the store is getting them directly from this exclusive distributor? An exclusive distribution deal generally only implies that they will only sell directly to one company in whatever geographical area the deals covers. There's usually nothing stopping this exclusive distributor selling the products to multiple wholesalers who then onsale them to the store.

Again I don't see why you believe you know all about the potentially complicate nature of distribution chains for this particular product in your particular locale. Further more, I believe you are in the US. The US has some rather odd laws, and doesn't seem as strong on such issues as a number of countries like Australia and New Zealand. But still outside of certain products like licenced copyright products, medicines, and similar products with a complicated regulatory approach like medicines, AFAIK there are only few legal restrictions on parallel importation or distribution, particularly parallel importation or distribution within the United States.

For a chain store in particular, but also a franchise, it's easily possible the chain or franchise owner will have their own company who buys products and either distributes or on sells them to the store as I mentioned before. They may do so even to whatever island you live on. The "exclusive distributor" may not be particularly happy about a chain or franchise bypassing them, but they may not be able to do anything about it legally depending on the precise terms of their exclusive agreement which it's quite unlikely is publicly known. (Or to put it in earlier terms, while the manufacturer or whoever is selling the product to the distributor should ideally avoid selling the product to people elsewhere who are going to onsell in to the area covered by the deal precisely how well this is covered by the contract will vary.)

Even without legal recourse, they can of course do other things like put pressure on the manufacturer to get the chain owner or franchise owner to stop bypassing them (particularly if it's the same manufacturer) or refuse to supply the store themselves with any products, but their willingless to do so, and their ability to have an effect will depend on various things like the relative powers and sizes of each company.

To give an example, since you mentioned Pepsico and Coca-cola (as well as chains), if either company is distributing products to Walmart or a Walmart subsidiary who then supply their own stores directly in some cases, there's probably little some small distributor in some random island can do to stop it. (Even a distributor on Hawaii who I presume would be the most significant chain of islands in the US in terms of market share, is probably not big enough that Pepsico or Coca-cola would put them ahead of Walmart. Walmart is probably a bit more vunerable to pressure from this distributor due to their operations in Hawaii, but probably not that much that they'd be willing to stop bypassing said distributor unless they end up with a better overall deal. Particularly if they do have a widescale internal distribution network.) If the effect of this is enough to destroy the advantages of this exclusive deal, they may not want to continue it in the future. OTOH, if they're still locking in 80% of the market, it's likely they'll accept those bypassing them as a necessary loss. (Of course, it's still likely to affect the terms they're willing to accept for the exclusive deal).

Again I'm not saying that any of this is happening, simply that unless you are intimately involved in such dealings, it's fairly unlikely you know the precise details of the distributions agreements for every single product in your store. And the information you've provided gives us no reason to think you know the details for whatever product you are referring to. Definitely it doesn't sound you have much idea how the retail market works, in fact you seem to admit that despite then claiming to know the precise distribution details for a certain product and refusing to accept that there could be a lot of complexities you don't know about because business relationships are often complicated and a lot of the details are rarely discussed in public.

(Note that I never said that the store wasn't misleading you, simply that you seem to be convinced of something when you have insufficient evidence to be.)

I put my signature on a seperate line because I find it a lot less confusing when I use multiple paragraphs. I find it less confusing to use multiple paragraphs when I make long posts, and furthermore, I do it more now because people who's opinion matters much more than User:Viriditas to me like User:JackofOz have asked me to do so. Heck even User:Medeis, who's opinion I don't really care that much about but to be frank still more than yours, has asked me to use more paragraphing. Of course they've also asked me to reduced the length of my posts, but that's a step to far for me....

Nil Einne (talk) 09:37, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

Anyone know where the "off" button is on this guy? Nil Einne, you've passed the Turing test. Congrats. Viriditas (talk) 03:42, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

I bet it's a large chain that discontinued the popular products. This can happen because it's popular in your area, but not as popular nationally, or internationally, and a decision was made at corporate HQ to discontinue it. See Diseconomy of scale#Isolation of decision makers from results of their decisions. Incidentally, I've seen exactly the scenario you describe, where Meijer stopped carrying Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice herbal tea, despite it regularly selling off the shelf, and replaced it with some other tea that doesn't seem to sell as well. Walmart, a mile down the street, still sells Bengal Spice. StuRat (talk) 01:12, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

Thank you so much! That is exactly the article I was looking for here. I owe you one... Viriditas (talk) 02:29, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

You're quite welcome. BTW, I wrote that article. StuRat (talk) 03:21, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

Just to add a little intrigue to this... I often question local chain supermarkets about the placement/removal of products (often my favourite products) on their shelves and have been told many things. Besides the frequent, "we have no control over this" or "it's head office's decision", one store said that the manufacturer has paid them to place a (new) product thus replacing a rival manufacturer's product. If a store is receiving what are effectively bribes to replace manufacturer A's product with manufacturer B's very similar product (similar in quality, quantity and price), then it is win for the supermarket and there is a chance the buying public might like it too. Astronaut (talk) 13:52, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

Yes, that's the counterargument. The problem I have with it is that it's not consumer-driven, which to me reflects an old school business practice. This is one of the reasons Millennials are divesting from the big companies and supporting artisanal products. If the big companies want to keep losing money, then they should keep pushing this antiquated, top-down product placement model because younger people aren't putting up with it. Viriditas (talk) 18:42, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

I agree. I can't imagine many people say "My favorite product is no longer carried by this store, so I'll just take whatever is on the shelf now". That's not how people think. And if you can find your favorite product at a nearby store (which is easier now because most manufacturers have web sites that will direct you to stores that carry their products), you may buy more than just that product there, you may switch all your shopping over. So taking a bribe is rather short-sighted, as they aren't considering the total cost. It's just bad economics. StuRat (talk) 04:49, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

How to perform well

How to perform well in exam and class fluently? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 49.126.0.36 (talk) 18:26, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

See Study skills and Learning for our relevant articles. The quick answer to your question is, unfortunately, "hard work" - there's no miraculous method of achieving success in any field without it. Tevildo (talk) 18:43, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

Also smart work. ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 22:03, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

Or academic dishonesty, if that wasn't what you meant by "smart work". InedibleHulk (talk) 01:13, August 3, 2014 (UTC)

The way you worded the Q makes me think English is a second language for you. If your classes are taught in English, then you might benefit from improving your English skills first. StuRat (talk) 00:58, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

August 3

Checking Out a Last Name (or surname)

My last name is Driver, and I am interested in seeing your entries on other people who have the last name of Driver (like Minnie Driver). Could you direct me how to do that? For instance, letting me see the "tree" of entries before and after Minnie Driver.

Thank you for your answer ahead of time. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Brian Driver (talk • contribs) 00:24, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

Driver (surname) —Nelson Ricardo (talk) 00:48, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

If you think Minnie Driver is a funny name, my grandmother was named Minnie Cooper. StuRat (talk) 00:52, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

Was she a low down hoochie-coocher?--Jayron32 00:56, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

Wood Stains

How do I get rid of a slightly greyish circle caused by a coffee cup with a wet bottom (spilled whilst being attacked by a wasp) on a polished wood surface? Will it go away on its own, or is there something I can/must do? KägeTorä - (_虎) (Chin Wag) 08:16, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

No worries. It cleared up on its own. KägeTorä - (_虎) (Chin Wag) 08:24, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

Best post ever. The Rambling Man (talk) 18:43, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

Endorsing the views of The RM. Why can't everything resolve thus? Edison (talk) 00:53, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

Wouldn't one expect some damage to the finish? Or is it a water-resistant finish? ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 03:12, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

Well, it is a polished surface, so I would expect that to lend some protection. KägeTorä - (_虎) (Chin Wag) 04:43, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

This happens often to me with a set of tables that we got from my wife's grandmother. The tables have an inlay on the top but I don't know what it's made of. When a cup gathers condensation on it and a wet ring forms, the same grey ring that you've noticed will be present for a little while on these tables. Though they haven't been polished in years, I haven't noticed any permanent damage from the rings. Damage from our pets is another matter... Dismas| 07:49, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

Yes this helps. 84.209.89.214 (talk) 13:42, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

If the wood was bare and the stain remained, then oxalic acid dissolved in water can remove black or dark marks. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 11:16, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

SCAM?

Are these copies of Structural Geology of Rocks and Regions third edition (available to be bought at 0.99$)legit? This is a lot lower than a used book price from Amazon.com (72.72$) or Chegg (76.99$). 99.146.126.108 (talk) 23:29, 3 August 2014 (UTC)It seems almost too good to be true. Are Sierra Nevada Books and Silver Arch Books legit? http://www.alibris.com/Structural-Geology-of-Rocks-and-Regions-George-H-Davis/book/6391166

You may find this prior discussion somewhat helpful. We cannot really comment as to the legitimacy of those sellers beyond saying "check the seller ratings and comments and caveat emptor." Ian.thomson (talk) 23:49, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

In general, I'd check the shipping price. Often a low purchase price is accompanied by high shipping costs. StuRat (talk) 04:53, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

August 4

Potty Training and Diapers

Hello everyone, I ask this question after a heated debate with my friend from University, Why is it that children are wearing diapers later and later? Is there a reason that 70 years ago many children were out of diapers by 18 months. Now in the western world it seems to be by 3 years old. This question refers to children brought up in 'wealthier' countries (i.e USA, UK, Singapore, Australia etc..) . Thanks! --Allin Bagsnott (talk) 06:29, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

Doctor Spock went out of fashion? HiLo48 (talk) 07:12, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

A friend of mine was asked to include nappy changing facilities when building a new primary school in Brighton. When she asked why on earth this would be necessary she was told that because nappies are so efficient and dry, it reduces the speed at which children become toilet trained, resulting in some school children starting school in nappies. An uncomfortable, damp traditional towelling nappy apparently hastens the transition for one reason or another.83.104.128.107 (talk) 11:48, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

If you had to wash and dry poop-filled towelling diapers - you'd be pretty motivated to get your kid potty-trained as soon as possible! Modern disposable diapers are so convenient that parents really don't feel pressured to put in the work needed. SteveBaker (talk) 13:54, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

According to this news story some parents are too busy to toilet train the children they are responsible for. DuncanHill (talk) 15:47, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

• The above comments about diapers being comfortable are interesting. I wore cloth and trained very early, my younger siblings came in with the advent of disposables, and they took longer. I have a relative who's 3 1/2 who will pee in the toilet (has been for almost a year) but who will inly poo standing up in diapers in a secluded area (and gets upset if followed) and who then takes the diaper to the trash and waits to get wiped and given a new one. The parents suspect it is a holdover habit from holding it in all day at daycare, but I'll pass this thread along. My own solution would be to put some caffeine in the kid's orange juice, but I tend to be a bit draconian. μηδείς (talk) 16:49, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

In case anyone is wondering, our article Toilet training does support the claim, although in a slightly OR fashion and doesn't offer any useful citations for the reasons. Note on a losely related fashion, there is I think a great change (see the end of our article for example), in the way Nocturnal enuresis in children is viewed and handled. Nil Einne (talk) 18:59, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

Parents treasure the infant stage much? Along with wearing diapers longer than in past years, I see children being pushed around in strollers at ages where they likely would have been walking around holding the parent's hand in previous years. It is common for there to be even triple strollers, with a baby, a toddler and a preschool child all being pushed. Edison (talk) 12:10, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

log in

HI, I am trying to recover my password but I am not getting an email from your side. my username is salamouny my email is please advice.

Thank you for your time in reading and replying to my email.

Yours Mohamed ELSalamouny. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.89.228.5 (talk) 20:55, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

This question should be asked on the Help Desk. See also Help:Logging in. I've deleted your e-mail address. Tevildo (talk) 23:10, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

Incidentally, there isn't a User:Salamouny on this site or on Commons. Are you sure your account is on the English Misplaced Pages? Tevildo (talk) 23:15, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

Yes, that user does exist here. The user page has not yet been created, but the account exists. See Special:ListUsers RudolfRed (talk) 23:46, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

An old tire

i have a old firestone oldfield type tire sample ibelieve is from the 1920's or 30's. I want to know if it is worth anything — Preceding unsigned comment added by 73.185.96.134 (talk) 21:22, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

(I have created a new section for this question. One idea would be to search Ebay to see if anyone is selling similar tires.) SemanticMantis (talk) 21:39, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

August 5

Bureau cleanup in India

In an article in the boston globe, it was mentioned that an Indian ministry cleaned its shelves of documents/. But what will they do with the files? Will they shred them or just throw them at a landfill or archive them more properly? --112.198.77.5 (talk) 10:40, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

The Boston Globe article references the Time of India, a quick search on their website finds this. Nanonic (talk) 20:33, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

Help unblocking VENTURA THE BLOWOUT BRUSH

Hi I've made a error when trying to share my new design But I made the mistakenly I paste the web of my partner and my site on the editing, so I've got BLOCKED Can you please help unblock 172.56.19.26 (talk) — Preceding undated comment added 13:55, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

If you have been blocked from editing, you are violating the block by posting here. Instructions for appealing the block will have been provided on your talk page - though your username is unacceptable under our username policy anyway. And we do not provide free publicity for 'new designs'. We cover established encyclopaedic topics, based on significant coverage in third-party published sources. AndyTheGrump (talk) 14:21, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

VENTURA the blowout brush (talk · contribs) was created on the 1st and has never been blocked. But it's nice of the user to give us advance notice of spamming. Should this section be moved to ANI for further scrutiny by the experts? ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 14:29, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

I've just realised there is another thread relating to this above. Clearly a spam account, and clearly not here for any encyclopaedic purpose. So, in answer to the original question, don't bother asking to be unblocked - it isn't going to happen. AndyTheGrump (talk) 14:32, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

OK, if this problem mushrooms, we can take it to ANI. ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 14:37, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

A simple direction will suffice

Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.56.19.26 (talk) 17:07, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

North? SemanticMantis (talk) 17:11, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

Now reported for block evasion. ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 19:04, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

And now blocked. ←Baseball Bugs carrots→ 21:12, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

Isreal takeover of Palestine lands.

Does Isreal pay Palestinians for their land and property when the Palestinians are evicted?₳฿₵₫ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.192.34.48 (talk) 17:51, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

The short answer is no. Palestinians' ancestors weren't officially evicted, they abandoned their homes, thanks to a bunch of laws that made "abandon" mean everything from willfully leaving forever to leaving unwillfully to not leaving at all. Much of the world has been asking Israel to either let them come home or pay them since Israel has existed.

Too soon to tell how long Turkey, the European Union and Israel's airlines will have to wait. InedibleHulk (talk) 19:04, August 5, 2014 (UTC)

Oddly enough, Israel paid compensation for Palestinians killed by Hamas. Two of them, at least. And one of the Turks who will eventually (theoretically) get paid has pledged it all to Hamas. InedibleHulk (talk) 19:09, August 5, 2014 (UTC)

This current conflict occurs in the context of a long history. One place to start is at United_Nations_Partition_Plan_for_Palestine, although the governance of transjordan has been contentious for much longer, see Timeline_of_the_history_of_the_region_of_Palestine and Timeline_of_the_Israeli–Palestinian_conflict SemanticMantis (talk) 20:04, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

Max Height of Drivers in Sports Cars

I had the chance to attend an auto show this past weekend where I had the opportunity to sit in a new Maserati GT. I am 5'11" and of average proportions and my hit literally touched the roof of the car when seated.

Is this common in high performance sports cars? Generally speaking, what is the maximum height of a driver who can comfortably fit inside a high-performance sports car such as a Maserati, Aston Martin, or Ferrari? Acceptable (talk) 19:41, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

Well, Jeremy Clarkson is 6'5" from what I remember, and he regularly drives high performance sports cars for Top Gear - and he has been known to comment on the restricted headroom in the past! --TammyMoet (talk) 20:19, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

August 6

From today's featured article

Game development in Japan - what engines do they use?

Japan makes most video games so they must have their own game development software. What game development software do they use over there that is not available over here? I'm not looking for info about using Unity or Unreal in Japanese, I'm asking what native to Japan and not available in the US game dev stuff studios and indies use over there. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2602:306:8051:4D60:580F:B9B0:57ED:A845 (talk) 01:25, 6 August 2014 (UTC)

Are you sure about your first assumption? This article suggests there isn't much difference, aside from the language. InedibleHulk (talk) 03:14, August 6, 2014 (UTC)

Seconded. I lived in Japan for ten years, and I am a professional Japanese/English translator. One of my main specalisms is IT localization, which includes gaming. The Japanese use the same software as in the West. If the software already exists, there would be no point in a gaming company using up resources to create a specialist team for the purpose of making software for game development which could only be used in Japan. There is too little demand for it, so they wouldn't make their money back. KägeTorä - (_虎) (Chin Wag) 03:43, 6 August 2014 (UTC)

If I could ask for some brief unpaid work, what exactly does the Japanese text on my userpage say? I get the gist of it (ineffective) and get the feeling it makes me unwelcome on Misplaced Pages, but that's about it. InedibleHulk (talk) 04:19, August 6, 2014 (UTC)

What is the purpose of escort jet fighters

Yesterday, (Aug 5 2014), a flight from Dohar into Manchester Airport was escorted to the airport by RAF jet fighters after the pilot received what he believed was a credible threat from a passenger. (see here. Can anyone offer me a credible purpose for this escort. What would they do if the plane exploded or targeted something on the ground? As it happened all ended well. Richard Avery (talk) 07:58, 6 August 2014 (UTC)

This Channel 4 article may shed some light on the situation in question. In general it's to make sure there's a visual tracking of the aircraft. The Rambling Man (talk) 08:22, 6 August 2014 (UTC)

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