Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2009 March 11

= March 11 =

A game?
There's a game played by bunch of people (ie, employees on a meeting with the boss) and the objective is to shout a chosen word (most likely it's gonna be a profane one) as loud as possible. What's the name of it (the game)? Kurtelacić (talk) 01:42, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * See penis game. ~EdGl   (talk)  01:50, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * It's called "Trolling for unemployment." B00P (talk) 03:39, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Also there is " Bogies" from Dick and Dom in da Bungalow —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.80.240.66 (talk) 08:49, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * When I was at school (in the UK) the word and game was "bollocks!". Assuming this "bogies!" is the same basic idea, I'd suggest it's basically "bollocks!" cleaned up for childrens' TV. 93.97.184.230 (talk) 08:58, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Thanks everyone! I know it's a bit stupid question, but I was curious. Kurtelacić (talk) 15:01, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * You'll never learn if you don't ask! :) --Ericdn (talk) 17:15, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * The version in my high school was called a "fuck-wave" Steewi (talk) 23:54, 11 March 2009 (UTC)

Who is this?
I hope the link works... Dismas |(talk) 10:55, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * That's Elizabeth Kucinich. A google image search confirms this (poor Dennis has been cropped out of the picture). Fribbler (talk) 12:16, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Here is the original image. That guy should write a book.  --Sean 12:43, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Thanks! Lucky guy!  If I'd have known that he had such a hottie of a wife, I'd have campaigned for him just so we'd see more of her in the press!  Dismas |(talk) 12:53, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Hottie? She looks like an average British woman. You poor frustrated Americans. 78.146.245.212 (talk) 01:41, 14 March 2009 (UTC)


 * But how does she compare to the average MP's spouse? —Tamfang (talk) 19:03, 7 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Yea, judging from Sean's pic, lucky Dennis has a nice peace there. StuRat (talk) 15:58, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * I see your wife of house of representatives guy and raise you one prime minister of the Ukraine. Nanonic (talk) 16:16, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Forget elected representatives. Let's kick it old school, monarchy style. Fribbler (talk) 16:59, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Old school? How about her? Adam Bishop (talk) 17:10, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Italian Minister for Equal Opportunity for the win. --Sean 20:04, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Can we close this as "resolved" :-) Fribbler (talk) 23:34, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * "Resolved, that Dennis Kucinich has one hot wife...". StuRat (talk) 01:31, 12 March 2009 (UTC)


 * This has to be one of my favourite Wiki questions ever - the responses in this must be the geek verion of surfing for porn! I feel almost compelled to search wiki for even hotter women of authority... hehe  and btw before anyone takes offence I meen geek in a fun way, and definately class myself in that description! Gazhiley (talk) 10:27, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

StuRat (talk) 01:31, 12 March 2009 (UTC)


 * And then there is Daisy Tourné, Minister of the Interior in the Uruguayan government, whose photo in the shower appeared on Facebook. More info on the Spanish Wikipedia here.  She's a psychologist by training, and says "There is nothing more natural than a woman in the shower", i.e. without makeup or hair styling.  Before you get too excited, she's 57, the photo shows her face and arms only, and she says it was a beach shower, used to wash off salt and sand. BrainyBabe (talk) 19:12, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

International private credit
Are there banks out there that provide credits for private persons independent of the location? Or is it just reserved for business entities?--Mr.K. (talk) 10:58, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * I'm not sure what you are asking here. In almost every part of the world there will be a bank willing to loan you money. Are you asking if there are banks who will provide loans for people who move around a lot? DJ Clayworth (talk) 13:55, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * I think he's asking if there are banks that will lend money to people that aren't resident in the same country as the bank is based. I'm not sure of the answer - you may need to have some assets in that country in order to reduce the risk to the bank. --Tango (talk) 13:57, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Yes, I meant applying for a loan in a country where I am not resident, but has lower interest rate.--Mr.K. (talk) 16:23, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * If you are just doing it for the interest rate, it won't work particularly well - interest rates are generally done by currency, not country. If you want to borrow in a foreign country and spend in your home country you will need to exchange the currencies and the exchange rates take interest rates into account removing any significant opportunity for profit. --Tango (talk) 16:38, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * There are other advantages. In some countries banks are more willing to lend money than in others. Anyway, does any bank lend to non-resident citizens?


 * Banks will generally only lend to people or entities who are within their countries (and other jurisdictions) of operation; they need to run credit checks on prospective lendees, and may need to pursue defaulters through the courts (both of which are very difficult when the bank has no presence where it's money is going). In addition, most developed countries have complex regulations regarding lending (including know-your-customer restrictions) that make such arrangements very difficult. Merchant banks will make large loans to wealthy individuals and may well conduct the business in a country where the person isn't resident. So for example tax exile who is legally resident in the Cayman Islands and who in practice splits their time between Monaco and lengthy travel might take out a loan (to buy a new yacht, for example) in London (under English law); a merchant bank is willing to do this because the sum (and so potential profits) are so large that it's worthwhile launching international litigation and collections in the event of default. That's true for loans of millions of dollars, but not for tens or hundreds of thousands. 87.115.143.223 (talk) 23:43, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * A lot of the problems for ordinary people in Iceland recently are due to them borrowing in foreign currency at cheaper interest rates than the high Icelandic central bank rate. However I'm not sure if this money is borrowed via Icelandic banks (or Icelandic subsidiaries of foreign banks) rather than from overseas. --Maltelauridsbrigge (talk) 12:15, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

Do employer have to explain why they rejected a candidate?
Normally you just get a "thanks, but no thanks letter", but what if the candidate calls back? What if the candidate believes he was discriminated? Does the employer have at least to explain to some third party why he rejected a candidate?--80.58.205.37 (talk) 11:36, 11 March 2009 (UTC)

Potentially. The best bet to get an explanation of why you (or whoever) was rejected for a role is to call and ask for some advice on how you could have been better - be it by having more experience, more clear evidence of your suitability etc. etc. Once your get into claims of discrimination then things get more in the realms of legal things, and usually on the ref-desk people don't speculate about the law. 194.221.133.226 (talk) 11:42, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * In America, I don't think there's any such requirement and by breaking down the specific reasons an employer chose not hire you, they open themselves up to potential litigation. In fact, I don't even think an employer is required to tell you that you have been rejected. Although, this may vary from place to place. Tomdobb (talk) 12:43, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * An exception is many government jobs, where they often have objective standards (level of education, GPA, scores in standardized tests). This is designed to protect those doing the hiring from charges of nepotism and discrimination. StuRat (talk) 15:53, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * I had a run of job interviews a while back and it is increasingly common for employers to not even let you know you have been rejected. It might not be legally required, but it's good manners to reward your candidates with a clear answer, even if it's just a simple "sorry, we picked someone else". - Mgm|(talk) 13:44, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * That makes good business sense though - you can never fully reject an applicant until the guy who beat him accepts the job and actually shows up to work on the first day.  We recently had a guy accept a job with us - then he simply didn't turn up to work on the agreed day.  We couldn't reach him by phone - and it was only by coincidence that we found that he'd accepted a job with a competitor.  So you don't want to tell the 'losers' that they lost because you may need to give them the job after all - and nobody likes finding out that they were your second choice.  Sure it's not so good for the people who don't make the cut - but that's life. SteveBaker (talk) 00:18, 12 March 2009 (UTC)


 * How many real reason are there for applicants really being rejected, and how many polite excuses could be presented? You possess the stated credentials for the job, but someone else had a)a better grade point average or b) graduated from a better school, or c) had better work experience, or d)is a friend or relative of someone in a position of power at the company, or e)you seemed like someone we would not want to work with, or f)you had bad table manners at the lunch, or g)you told a joke we found offensive or h)you got a wierd score on the psych test or i)your Facebook/Myspace page was offensive or or j)you were late for the interview, or k)your application was full of misspellings and bad grammar, or l)your credit rating is bad; If you can't manage your business, why would we let you manage ours? m)one of your references ratted you out, or n)you were one of N applicants who seemed like they would do fine, and we just picked one at random, unfortunately not you, or o)You lied on your resume about your education or experience, or p)you are fat or ugly, or q)you are too old, or r)you are the wrong race/national origin/religion or s)you are the wrong gender or t)you seem to be of the wrong sexual orientation. The employer would be unlikely to admit to   p, q, r, s or t because you might sue them. On interview forms I have seen at a large company, there are ratings the interviewer can put down, but they are not usually conveyed back to the applicant. If the applicant has good communication skills, he should be able to tell from the tone of the questions what the interviewer sees as his strengths and weaknesses. Edison (talk) 16:00, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * I believe that in the UK if they store any assessments or reasons on computer then you can put in a data protection request and they should reveal this. Certain organisations are exempt from data protection requests and they will remove any information pertaining to other people. -- Q Chris (talk) 16:07, 11 March 2009 (UTC)

A problem with giving a person a less than favourable review is that it opens the employer to a potential legal action. Thus references are always written in a positive light. The potential employer than has to "read between the lines" or, most usually, ring the ex-employer for a candid, non-attributable opinion.86.197.46.218 (talk) 16:23, 11 March 2009 (UTC)DT


 * Normally, employers should take care when describing the requirements for a job, when colleges are fighting each other, and when promoting or dismissing people. Otherwise anti-discrimination laws won't avoid that a disabled black lesbian woman with children gets her job applications rejected one after the other. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.58.205.37 (talk) 18:00, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure that they're obliged to tell you, but it's considered good form to be able to tell a rejected candidate some things to improve upon if they want to be considered for similar positions should they ask. It's a good practive if you're just getting into the job market to follow up like that. If they won't tell you, then they probably just had someone more qualified, even if you matched the criteria. Steewi (talk) 23:59, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * I have also heard/read possibly apocryphal stories of followup notes by rejected applicant finalists resulting in a job offer when the first choice fell through, e.g. the employer was so impressed by the tone of the "I'm sorry I was not selected for the position. I look forward to the opportunity to apply for other positions in your firm, and would appreciate any advice you could give me in being a more successful applicant" that they decided to offer it to that person rather than re-advertise and start from the beginning. Though I agree that employers don't have to tell any particular applicant anything.. - BanyanTree 08:19, 12 March 2009 (UTC)


 * True. But it's a bit of an odd development that candidates are these days often not informed even that they didn't get the job, let alone why.  It's in line with applications not necessarily being acknowledged.  This varies from place to place, of course, but there's certainly a strong trend in these directions.  It's odd, because often a job requires an ability to interact with the general public or with customers/members/clients, in a courteous and professional manner, and one would have thought that the employers would model exactly the same courtesy to their prospective employees.  But then, if I apply for a job and my application is not acknowledged, or I'm not informed of the outcome of the process, and I have to ring up and check these things myself, I figure they're not the professional organisation they claimed to be, and I wouldn't want to work for them anyway.  --  JackofOz (talk) 19:28, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

Live forever
Theoretically, how might a person go about trying to live forever? And I don't mean in photos or poetry. -jonty —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.80.240.66 (talk) 13:14, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * See Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence. --Tango (talk) 13:16, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * (After edit conflict.)
 * Live as healthily as you can, and hope for a scientific breakthrough before you die.
 * That's probably the best answer you're going to get, but Cryonics might also interest you. APL (talk) 13:17, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * There's always vampirism. Tomdobb (talk) 13:23, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * If you're particularly evil and don't mind killing people you could try Horcruxes (don't click the link if you don't want to know details about the ending of the Harry Potter series) - Mgm|(talk) 13:42, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Most biological components could eventually be replaced, but not the brain, for obvious reasons. I'd therefore say that moving your intelligence into a computer would be the only way to "live forever", as any biological system will eventually break down.  Computers break down, too, but your intelligence could be backed up (and restored on another computer when needed).  As already stated, staying healthy so you live long enough for this to be possible is also important, as is making enough money to afford it. StuRat (talk) 15:49, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Moving your conciousness to a new clone every so often would work too (a la the Asgard in Stargate). --Tango (talk) 16:30, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * In addition to living as healthily as possible and hoping for a scientific breakthrough, you yourself could become a scientist and try to help achieve said breakthrough. 65.167.146.130 (talk) 17:26, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * If your talents don't lie in that direction, you could become a billionaire and hire scientists. —Tamfang (talk) 21:33, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * One of the primary goals of some forms of Taoism is to discover the secrets to longevity and through it, eternal life. Many religions have a theory of eternal life, but most of them do not include life on this plane of existence. Steewi (talk) 00:23, 12 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Or you could be reincarnated. Apparently everyone that believes they will be, is. And if you believe that, you can claim to believe in reincarnation, knowing that it will become true because you believe in it. 148.197.114.165 (talk) 19:14, 12 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Maybe someone could find a way to genetically engineer their own genes in a way similar to that of turritopsis nutricula, but that could result in the human turning back into an infant as the subject approaches old age. ~ A H  1 (TCU) 20:38, 14 March 2009 (UTC)

Incorrect behaivour or mailicious code?
Moved to computer desk

Other people finding out what my address.
Is there any way for other people to find out my home address if they have my full name and my landline phone number? Kim —Preceding unsigned comment added by Louisekim23 (talk • contribs) 18:07, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Yes. You can slow them down by getting a mobile phone and not registering it to your home address, but if they are determined they can find out where it is at any moment.  207.241.239.70 (talk) 18:10, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * If you're in the USA then just your landline phone number is enough, there are plenty of reverse number lookup services available online and whitepages etc. Nanonic (talk) 18:12, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * It depends on the country, but in many countries such information is publically available. For example, the website White Pages has a "reverse lookup" feature, which allows you to learn a telephone subscriber's address from the name and phone number.  If you don't want this information to be made public, consider getting a private listing, often called an "unlisted number".  To do so, talk to your phone company. --Ericdn (talk) 18:12, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Often the landline phone number isn't even needed. Given a full name and a general location it is usually possible to track down the address (with sufficient effort). This doesn't necessarily apply for common names ("John Smith") or people who go out of their way to remain anonymous (no credit cards, public records, etc.). The biggest protection you are likely to have is that no one is particularly interested in tracking you down&mdash;if that is not true then you should be taking serious precautions with your information. –  7 4   18:55, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * While it probably still technically is possible to live one's life in an industrialized country these days without accumnulating public records, the question has to be asked: why? Extreme paranoia before the fact?  Not only would remaining totally anonymous require quite a bit of work, but, especially outside the U.S., it might be next to impossible, if not illegal, in some places. --Ericdn (talk) 19:03, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Indeed. If no one is interested in violating my privacy, why should I worry about protecting privacy rights? –  7 4   19:49, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Certainly, things such as identity theft are cause for concern, but if one has to live in fear because of potential threats posed by people reverse-searching the White Pages, then society has crumbled more than my worst nightmares. --Ericdn (talk) 19:54, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * I believe public reverse lookup phone directories are forbidden here in NZ by the privacy act Nil Einne (talk) 20:04, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * According to Reverse telephone directory, reverse directories are not allowed to be made public in Australia. Unfortunately, there's no information on the page about New Zealand (maybe you could add the information?), but, from what you just posted here, it looks like both New Zealand and Australia have similar laws in this regard. --Ericdn (talk) 20:23, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * On a hunch, I put my own landline phone number into Google and it gave me my name, address, etc. I am in the U.S.  Tried it with my neighbor too, and his number worked as well. The Reader who Writes (talk) 22:30, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * I'm sure it's safe to say it will work with each American (whether for other countries, I don't know) telephone subscriber who doesn't have an unlisted number. An interesting note - Google Russia doesn't have this feature, even for American numbers.  Since Google automatically presents the country-appropriate version of its page based on IP address, I'm unable to access the American Google to see what the results look like for myself. --Ericdn (talk) 22:33, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * It doesn't work for UK or German phone numbers (tried on the respective Google). BTW, google.com will redirect you. If you really want Google (US) then go to google.us (or google.ru/google.de/google.co.uk etc)195.128.250.247 (talk) 23:17, 11 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Canada's Google doesn't work either. Thanks,  Genius  101 Guestbook  23:51, 11 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Maybe I'm missing something, but to me it seems as simple as looking in the White Pages (paper). Your name and number will pinpoint your entry, and there's your address.  Unless it's unlisted, in which case you won't be in the book at all.  --  JackofOz (talk) 03:00, 12 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Even if you're unlisted, you're not invisible. There are databases that use public records such as license plate and voting registrations to match names to addresses. These are used by police, collections agencies, journalists and others who need to track people down. I'm talking about the U.S.; other countries may be different. But if you live in the U.S., it's very, very difficult to disappear. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 04:06, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

Right! In fact, I just received my vehicle registration renewal notice and it has a box I would need to check to "opt-out" of the DMV making my information public. I live in Wisconsin and our progressive history tends to make lots of information freely available. Frankly, if you want to stretch things, there is everything a private detective can locate or what you could find using a public records search via the internet. In fact, the Wisconsin court system (and probably, that of other states) puts practically everything online that involves legal action (except that which is sealed by judicial order or involves minors).Brewfangrb (talk) 09:01, 12 March 2009 (UTC)