Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2009 May 10

= May 10 =

distinguished conduct medal
Whilst browsing the above database I was delighted to see listings of those who had been awarded the medal I could not find a mention of my granfather Pvte Francis Leslie Croft reg No 3546 53rd battalion who was awarded the DCM at Fromelles 19-20 July 1916 inWW1. Is it possible to have his name included I have documentation to show his award. thank you sincerely K.Boxsell JP —Preceding unsigned comment added by 114.72.219.217 (talk) 00:51, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Which database? This is the reference desk for Wikipedia, and Wikipedia does not run a database of people awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.  We do however have articles about a number of people who have been awarded that medal - they are listed in Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
 * If you wish to have an artcle written about your grandfather, you can request one is created at Requested Articles and wait for someone else to create it, or you could sign up and write it yourself (but please note you will have to make a few other edits and wait 4 days before your account becomes autoconfirmed when you can then create a new article - I suggest you spend that time creating a draft article in your user pages and familiarising yourself with Wikipedia's policies and guidelines). Astronaut (talk) 02:08, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * I was able to find one database that lists him and his DCM, including a brief summary of the reason for the award. I also found a copy of his enlistment papers.  There are several DCM databases online that do not mention him.  You may want to e-mail the owners of whichever site you were viewing and ask them to add him to their database.  If you were talking about Wikipedia, Astronaut has given good advice above.  152.16.16.75 (talk) 10:27, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * The question will be one of notability. Wikipedia has some fairly strict rules about who we will and will not keep biographies on.  Earning the DCM is not (by itself) enough to warrant an article.  It seems harsh - but you have to look into the person's life and find other reasons why Wikipedia needs an article about them.  Furthermore, people here get very nervous when a close friend or relation of a person writes about them because there is far too much risk of bias.  If you did want to write it yourself, you'd have to be careful to state only facts that can be independently verified from trusted sources (books, magazines, etc).  When you look at what this entails, I suspect you'll find that writing an article about this person is not feasible.  However, if we had an article listing DCM recipients - adding his name to that article would be entirely appropriate...especially since we now have proper evidence in terms of the two links above. SteveBaker (talk) 16:14, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

online films
can anyone tell me where i can watch films online?? (both old and new films) please tell me the most creditable and reliable site... thanx —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.50.134.118 (talk) 08:55, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * You can go to www.veoh.com. They have a large collection of movies that can be watched online, and can even be saved on the hard disk. But, first, you've got to download their software, VeohTV. 117.194.227.220 (talk) 08:57, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Internet Archive has hundreds of Moving Images that can be watched and saved for free. See . --Omidinist (talk) 10:26, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * I'm sure many video sites have them (as aforementioned), however it's illegal, so we can't really answer this question. Avnas Ishtaroth drop me a line  12:06, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * The Internet Archive mentioned above carries things (such as Moving Images) in the public domain. These things are not illegal to watch or save. 80.41.104.79 (talk) 17:11, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Hulu (http:www.hulu.com) currently has about 110 movies available that you can watch for free. There are adverts - but they are spaced more widely and are much briefer than broadcast/cable/satellite TV. SteveBaker (talk) 16:08, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Another option would be to download Vuze. Then (using this software) do a search on the film you are looking for and download it. But remember, all of this is, in fact, illegal and some people have actually been prosecuted for it, with fines of millions of dollars, which they can't pay so they end up in jail.--KageTora (영호 (影虎)) (talk) 16:54, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Like who? It's generally people who upload or host sites that are prosecuted although I have heard of people in the UK being sent letters telling them that they will be prosecuted if they don't stop downloading. Smartse (talk) 19:37, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * This link from ten months ago says five people were prosecuted in the UK for downloading music. Sorry, all I could find. And I am in the UK.--KageTora (영호 (影虎)) (talk) 20:16, 10 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Vuze is a Bittorrent client. There is no clear boundry between people who upload and people who download. APL (talk) 16:39, 11 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Exactly. It's basically P2P, so if you are downloading, you are still seeding, which means you are sharing it while the software is open. I remember a Japanese guy who designed this type of software being prosecuted and fined millions for it.--KageTora (영호 (影虎)) (talk) 20:05, 11 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Hence the recommendation to check out Hulu - which is 100% legal. SteveBaker (talk) 19:07, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

You have to download them first but BitTorrent (protocol) might be useful (to download creative commons films of course....) Smartse (talk) 19:37, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

You can also try http://www.youtube.com/movies and http://www.dailymotion.com. Who then was a gentleman? (talk) 20:59, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Netflix, the DVD rental service now offers a "Watch now" service for streaming videos. It's a bit pricey. APL (talk) 16:39, 11 May 2009 (UTC)


 * ovgiude.com —Preceding unsigned comment added by JelloTube (talk • contribs) 09:49, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Blocking Gmail Contacts
Is it possible to block some of my Gmail contacts from sending me emails. As in, suppose they try to send me something, the mail will automatically bounce back, and they'll receive a message saying that their mail wasn't delivered. Is there an option that can turn this feature on? 117.194.227.220 (talk) 08:55, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * First go to settings and then labs. enable "canned responses".  Now compose a message such as "this is a automated response.  Please don't email me anymore".  Save the message as a new canned response  - you need to give it a name such as "don't email me" (the menus will appear next to  "Attach a file" and "Add event invitation").  Now create a filter (the link is next to the search bar on top).  Set the filter to archive the message (or delete it, if you are sure you will never want to see it), and set it to send the canned response you just created.  If you want to add more email address to the filter simply change the filter by adding another email address that will trigger the filter.  Use OR (in all caps) to separate the email addresses.  Jon513 (talk) 14:01, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Please don't crosspost questions to different categories of the Reference Desk. Tempshill (talk) 16:46, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

archaeology
i'm an indian and i aspire to become an archaeologist. does anyone know where should i go after i pass my twelfth grade??? i don't think there's any college or institute that teaches archaeology. the problem in india is that no one wants to study history or humanities. most of them go for commerce or for science. those who go for science choose to study at IIT (that's the top engineering college in india which can virtually gaurantee a job. india is full of opportunities for business and engineering, but not for humanities.). so, you see, i've got a big problem. plz help me...

(i've found one Deccan college in Pune, is that where i should go??. again, there's this problem with this college, it's govt. controlled, and that means instable facilities...)

thanx —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.50.134.118 (talk) 12:23, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * This site lists 27 universities in India which offer courses in archeology.  --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 12:45, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Total sales and Revenue
Are total sales and revenue the same? 117.0.22.127 (talk) 14:31, 10 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Not if you have revenue from other sources. SteveBaker (talk) 16:05, 10 May 2009 (UTC)
 * But yes, I think in the way you mean it, they are the same. Quite often "Total Sales" is used to mean total revenue.NByz (talk) 05:37, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Total sales usually refers to volume. Revenue to income. So volume can rise (probably will) as revenue falls.90.4.247.13 (talk) 16:33, 11 May 2009 (UTC)DT


 * That's not true. Sales in a financial/business context almost always refers to dollar (pound, euro...) amounts. Volume is called "volume". --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 23:46, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Tis true too! "Almost always" is no different to 'Usually" in usage, so whilst often "sales" refers to takings this is not good practice. "Sales Revenue" is the correct term.  Or "Sales Volume" if an item count is indicated.  But for convenience, revenue is normally taken as income,  and sales as outgoings of stock, services or whatever.86.197.173.240 (talk) 14:28, 12 May 2009 (UTC)DT
 * I've never seen a financial statement say "total sales for the year was 20,000 wideges". --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 06:19, 13 May 2009 (UTC)

And I've never seen a sales target by volume refer to sales revenue. So let's not be silly, and let's compare like with like.90.0.128.220 (talk) 11:43, 13 May 2009 (UTC)DT


 * That's a sales target by volume. "Total sales" almost always means monetary revenue terms. I use "almost always" because clearly there are people like yourself who believe otherwise. That, however, is not the general usage. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 11:59, 13 May 2009 (UTC)

Let's say I've got a shop where I sell widgets. I also rent out a counter in the shop to a fellow who sells widget holders. My total sales REVENUE is the income from selling widgets, but my TOTAL revenue is the income from widget sales plus the income from renting the counter. My sales VOLUME is the number of widgets I sell. DOR (HK) (talk) 03:49, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Worldwide child protection laws
In most countries, there are laws which require adults (18 or over), working in an environment which those under 18, to be security checked in some way. However in most countries, the last year of high school/secondary school contains 18 year old adults who are not checked. Is this a flaw in the law? 86.153.125.210 (talk) 16:01, 10 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Those 18 year olds are not working at the school - they aren't employees. Hence no problem. SteveBaker (talk) 16:04, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Interesting question, but if you think about it, if they are still in school at that age, it means they haven't gone to jail, so they don't need to be checked. Anyway, as Steve says, it's only required if people are actually working with children, not actually just being in an environment with children, otherwise any adult who has a baby would need to be checked, and that doesn't happen.--KageTora (영호 (影虎)) (talk) 16:39, 10 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Just because they are in school doesn't mean they haven't spent time in jail. They key thing is that they are not responsible for the other children in the school. Teachers need to be vetted because they have a role "in loco parentis". --Tango (talk) 20:28, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Woodlouse / Pill bug / Cheesybob
I saw a woodlouse the other day that I didn't recognise. It was fairly large and very dark grey. It was extremely smooth and shiny and looked 'new' if that makes sense. Most strikingly, it had what looked like a thin yellow edging on its sections. The closest image I can find would be something like. I live in the south of England. Does anyone from another part of the world recognise this description as it may have come in from another country?Popcorn II (talk) 18:58, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Well there are many different species of woodlice in the UK: List of woodlice of the British Isles. From your description it might be this species (Armadillidium vulgare). The list also mentions that a few have become naturalised in greenhouses and if they were going to survive anywhere outside in the UK it would be in the South. It's hard to say however without a photo. Smartse (talk) 19:32, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Is it possible that it could have been a Pill millipede? Aylad ['ɑɪlæd] 19:35, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Yes I think that's it. I've never seen those before, Thanks.Popcorn II (talk) 08:18, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

Mosquitoes in the UK
What's happening with the mosquitoes? We never had them in the North of England 15 years ago. I saw my first one when I was 12 in Greece 24 years ago. Since coming back to the UK two years ago (from Japan where there were obviously loads there too, but only in summer), we've been getting huge ones, even in winter. What's going on? Why have they moved up here, why are they so huge, and why do we get them all year round?--KageTora (영호 (影虎)) (talk) 20:22, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * I agree with your observation. The first time I saw mosquitoes in Leeds was about 8 years ago, just one or two then but they are now more frequent. I put it down to climate change, we must have always been on the edge of the range because I remember being bitten by hundreds of mosquitoes in Norfolk up to 30 years ago and that is only 100 miles further south. -- Q Chris (talk) 20:28, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Regarding the huge part. Of course I do not know precisely what kinds you have or what you define as huge, but some species of mosquitoes does not bite humans at all. According to the article mosquito "Mosquitoes of the genus Toxorhynchites never drink blood. This genus includes the largest extant mosquitoes, the larvae of which prey on the larvae of other mosquitoes.", so the size of them may just be a good thing after all. --Saddhiyama (talk) 09:24, 11 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Thanks. That might actually be the ones. I get plenty of them in my flat because I live near a pond and a river, but I've never actually been bitten by any of them, whereas I was plagued by the smaller ones in Japan. Thanks.--KageTora (영호 (影虎)) (talk) 23:34, 11 May 2009 (UTC)


 * I've never understood the lack of them in the north of England and in Scotland, there's plenty in Norway and Sweden, along with the midges and the clegs. Mikenorton (talk) 16:52, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

W.R.T. seeing them year round, members of the Culex genus typically overwinter in animal burrows or your basement and venture out on warmer days. Typically they are micropredators of birds esp. those on the nest. Hope thay was helpful. 67.193.179.241 (talk) 12:23, 12 May 2009 (UTC) Rana sylvatica