Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2010 April 11

= April 11 =

Is this a boil, a wart, a bite, something else?
I know there's a restriction against medical advice, but hopefully asking what this inflammation could be doesn't really count. If anyone could clarify it for me, it'd be great. http://imgur.com/B8683.png 202.10.95.178 (talk) 03:02, 11 April 2010 (UTC)
 * < Removed questionable diagnosis Nil Einne (talk) > See your doctor —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.248.227.64 (talk) 03:08, 11 April 2010 (UTC)
 * It could be anything. None of us here are dermatologists. See as noted above, go see a doctor. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 04:48, 11 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Removed questionable diagnosis from 68 Nil Einne (talk) 08:09, 11 April 2010 (UTC)

Most effective bike lock
What is the strongest type of bike lock? With these sorts of things they get better if you pay more but is there a design which is the strongest? Thanks. Chevymontecarlo. 10:09, 11 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Good article here going through pros and cons of the different lock types.Dalliance (talk) 10:34, 11 April 2010 (UTC)
 * http://www.whycycle.co.uk/safety_and_security/bicycle_locks/

Great! Thanks! :)  Chevymontecarlo . 10:44, 11 April 2010 (UTC)


 * One problem is that the wheels of a bike come off easily. So, you don't want to just chain the wheels.  If possible, chain the frame to a heavy object.  (You may also want to chain the wheels to that object, to prevent people from stealing them.) StuRat (talk) 13:48, 11 April 2010 (UTC)


 * You might recall Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) in All the President's Men, in which he had a bicycle tire next to his desk. This supposedly reflected Bernstein's real-life habit of detaching his front tire as a deterrent against theft. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 14:05, 11 April 2010 (UTC)


 * That wouldn't prevent someone from tossing the rest of the bike into a truck and adding a wheel later. I'd also think that unscrewing the wheel several times a day would result in stripping the threads, eventually. StuRat (talk) 14:12, 11 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Quick release --Phil Holmes (talk) 16:59, 11 April 2010 (UTC)

So you think one really long lock or multiple locks would be more effective? Chevymontecarlo. 16:08, 11 April 2010 (UTC)


 * All the things I've ever seen have recommended a shackle/D-style lock as the most secure. Cable and chain locks can be removed "easily" with a bolt cutter applied to the cable/chain, whereas someone needs a metal saw and a bit of time to cut through a shackle lock. (The bike shop salesman where I purchased my bike referred to cable locks as "suburban locks" - that is, enough to keep a bored kid from riding off on it, but not enough to stop a determined thief.) The normal recommendation is to attach the bike to the rack through the frame and the back wheel (because the rear cogset and derailleur are valuable). Higher end shackle locks sometimes come with an additional cable, which is long enough to loop through the front wheel as well. I've also seen people detach the front wheel and pair it alongside the rear before locking with the shackle. Other things to possibly worry about are the handlebars and the seat, which often can be easily removed, along with bags, lights, expensive pedals, etc. - But practically, your best bet for security lies in social factors, not massive numbers of impenetrable locks. Parking your bike in a visible, well lit location, with a number of people around works better than spending $50 for an 'extra lock. (The first lock is a social factor too. Other people know that a person going at a lock with a bolt cutter or hacksaw is a thief, whereas a person just walking up and riding off could just be the owner.) Having a bike not worth stealing/you can afford to replace works well too. If you have a $2000+ race bike, you may want to rent a bike locker or bring the entire bike inside with you (if permitted). The benefit of an inexpensive bike is that you don't end up looking like Mr. Bean, taking parts of you vehicle with you, lest it get stolen. -- 174.24.193.122 (talk) 18:15, 11 April 2010 (UTC)


 * The advice I've heard is that the two major sorts are chain+lock and U-lock. Use whichever is least common on expensive bikes in your area. Theives can easily break a chain+lock with heavy bolt cutters; they can easily break a U-lock with an car jack. It is unlikely that any one criminal will carry both.
 * The other advice I've heard is use a cheap lock and ride an old bike. --Polysylabic Pseudonym (talk) 02:25, 12 April 2010 (UTC)
 * What happens if the reason you see the lock on expensive bikes in your area is because all the expensive bikes using the other kind of lock have already disappeared? Nil Einne (talk) 18:35, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

OP: Your first sentence asks a significantly different question than the section title, i.e. strongest vs. most effective. There's good discussion on strongest above; for the other, the most effective lock needs only to be better than the one on the bike next to yours. DaHorsesMouth (talk) 23:45, 11 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Oh, and per DaHorsesMouth above, one of the best things you can do with bike car our house security is ensure yours is better secured, less attractive or less valuable than the one it's (parked) next to. --Polysylabic Pseudonym (talk) 02:29, 12 April 2010 (UTC)


 * "I don't have to outrun the bear. I just have to outrun you." --jpgordon:==( o ) 03:56, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

Property
Are any of the following houses real? By that I mean bit just sets on television shows, can you tell me who they are owned by and whether or not it would be possible to but them, Nile's house from Fasier, or Frasiers apartment, alternativley the beech house in Two and a half men. Thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.3.145.145 (talk) 13:22, 11 April 2010 (UTC)


 * The way it normally works is that they use a real house for external establishing shots, while the interior is all shot on a set (some scenes "right outside the door" are also done on set). Thus, the real interior may not match the set.  There have been movies shot inside real buildings, but they often need to rip out walls and such to make room for the cameras.  In the movie Taxi Driver, they tore up a building for an interior shoot and it almost collapsed on them, due to loss of structural supports. StuRat (talk) 13:41, 11 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Typically, for TV at least, you can tell that the interior shots are done on a stage, especially when filmed in front of a live audience. The stage sets are often much "roomier" than the real places. One example is Cheers. On the night of its last first-run episode, the show's players were in the real Cheers bar's interior, and it seemed very cramped. In short, it seemed like a real bar. With movies, there is more flexibility. In Field of Dreams, the interior of the house was used, although it took some remodeling to make it work. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 14:03, 11 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Also, when using a set you only see 3 walls, since one wall is absent for the cameras. They could have a duplicate set with the missing wall or they could alter the existing set, if necessary, but time and money constraints rarely allow for this. StuRat (talk) 14:17, 11 April 2010 (UTC)


 * For films that actually contain a stage and an audience, they often film it twice: once from the audience viewpoint, and again from the stage viewpoint with the audience in the background. They are of course edited together to make it appear it's all happening at the same time. Another example of indoor and outdoor sets would be Stanley Kubrick's version of The Shining. The exteriors were done at Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood in Oregon. That was the first fakery, as it was supposedly set in Colorado. Second, they had interiors of some huge establishment. Timberline Lodge is actually small and cozy inside. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 15:19, 11 April 2010 (UTC)
 * I believe the snow scenes in The Shining were done in a studio near London. Perhaps the interiors were as well, although they look very convincing. 78.147.232.11 (talk) 12:35, 13 April 2010 (UTC)
 * See this thread for Frasier Crane's apartment. The view from the window implies a location on Queen Anne Hill that is apparently parkland (i.e., the place where the picture was taken to create the set's background), the theoretical address is on the other side of downtown. In other words, it is not a real place.   Acroterion  (talk)  19:50, 11 April 2010 (UTC)

White after Labour day
Oft times in american shows one hears the frase uttered that one should not wear white after labour day, why not? Please explain. Thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.3.145.145 (talk) 13:24, 11 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Fashion. StuRat (talk) 13:36, 11 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Or more helpfully  meltBanana  16:17, 11 April 2010 (UTC)


 * In the film Serial Mom, Kathleen Turner's character kills Patricia Hearst's character for wearing white shoes after Labor Day. Woogee (talk) 21:45, 11 April 2010 (UTC)


 * That may be the best answer: you don't wear white shoes after Labor Day (note post-Webster spelling) because Serial Mom might kill you. —Tamfang (talk) 00:23, 12 April 2010 (UTC)


 * What I have always wondered is, when are you supposed to start wearing white again? New Year's? Spring? Adam Bishop (talk) 02:06, 12 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Memorial Day. --jpgordon:==( o ) 02:53, 12 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Memorial day or After only. Never after Labor day.  According to Richard Blackwell. 66.162.230.244 (talk) 23:19, 9 May 2022 (UTC)

Japanese knife/cleaver
Anyone know what this knife is? --jpgordon:==( o ) 18:57, 11 April 2010 (UTC)
 * We have an article Japanese knives. Bus stop (talk) 19:06, 11 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Did I miss the picture of this one? I wouldn't have asked if I'd been able to find it easily. --jpgordon:==( o ) 19:14, 11 April 2010 (UTC)
 * No, sorry. I was just pointing it out in case anyone else wanted to be made aware of it. "Mac" Japanese knives are great. I have this "Original Series" with rounded tip and hole for hanging. Very good for preparing vegetables. Bus stop (talk) 19:17, 11 April 2010 (UTC)


 * I couldn't find angled knives or cleavers with similarly shaped blades on any of the Japanese kitchen knife sites I scanned. Could it be a gardening hatchet? If you do a google image search for "Japanese hatchet" you get some similar tools (some of them on survival-kit sites). ---Sluzzelin talk  05:23, 12 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Ah ha! Indeed, it seems to be one of these; the scabbard in this picture looks exactly like mine. The thing is wonderfully balanced; I think I may very well chop a branch or two with it. --jpgordon:==( o ) 05:42, 12 April 2010 (UTC)
 * I think I have seen Japanese fishmongers at fishmarkets use it to chop off the heads of larger fish.--Saddhiyama (talk) 08:42, 12 April 2010 (UTC)
 * The name of the knife is 鉈/なた/nata in Japanese. Oda Mari (talk) 09:06, 12 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Isn't that just generic for "hatchet"? --jpgordon:==( o ) 00:45, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

Hotel electronic key cards.
Is it true that these cards have embedded into their magnetic strip enough information about the client such as his/her name, address, room number, arrival and departure dates, bank account details etc., so as to allow an unscrupulous staff member to scan those details and use them for identity theft or fraudulent purposes? And if so, it would therefore be unwise to deposit the keycard at Reception upon departure? Thanks. 92.30.55.2 (talk) 19:35, 11 April 2010 (UTC)


 * No, they don't. -- Finlay McWalter • Talk 19:41, 11 April 2010 (UTC)

"Yarmouth Roads" on board ship?
I sail occasionally on a square-rigged sailing ship. On my last trip, I did some painting work for the first time. The locker in the fo'c'sle that held the paint brushes and sundry related items was known as "Yarmouth Roads"; this was written above the door. I was told that this was the traditional name for such a locker on board ships.

I'm curious, and trying to find some reference or information about this, but a few minutes' googling hasn't turned up much. Most results are for the geographical location (which as it happens I live near, and can see no obvious link to a locker for paintbrushes), although I did find the term used to describe a large bunk in the stern of a fishing smack which provides a kind of precedent. Can anyone find anything more? 93.97.184.230 (talk) 21:53, 11 April 2010 (UTC)


 * This provides an explanation, albeit based on supposition: Yarmouth Roads is a mooring ground, and one will find the odds and ends of shipping moored there, especially during downturns in trade. The locker is named after the geographical feature because all odds and ends in the ship end up in it. --Tagishsimon (talk) 23:15, 11 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Excellent - thankyou. 93.97.184.230 (talk) 11:22, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

Prying an iPod out of its case
I bought a 1G iPod touch from someone, but it's been crammed into a 2G case. The ill fit has been getting on my nerves, and I'm determined to get it out. However, "a little elbow grease" just can't seem to cut it this time. How can I get this case off? The bottom can be taken off, but the top shows no signs of moving. I'm not averse to breaking the case, but I don't want to damage the iPod.-- The Ninth Bright Shiner 23:12, 11 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Try a hair dryer -- it won't hurt anything, but acrylic has a high expansion coefficient. Might be the equivalent of running a jar under hot water to loosen the top. --jpgordon:==( o ) 02:52, 12 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Doesnt pointing a hair dryer to something damage its electronics due to the ionisation of the air? That's what I thought. --Ouro (blah blah) 06:45, 12 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Due to ionization ? No.  The heat could be a problem, though, if the electronics get too hot, especially if the device is on at the time. I'd also remove the batteries, first, so they don't expand and leak. StuRat (talk) 14:07, 12 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Though, given the original question, is unlikely for two reasons, only one of which is unique to the OP's situation. --jpgordon:==( o ) 14:31, 12 April 2010 (UTC)

Well, the hair dryer didn't work. I tried to expand on the idea by leaving the iPod (facedown) in my car, where it could soak up a large amount of heat; but then, it was too hot to handle. I tried injecting milliliters of water into the space between, to act as a lubricant, to no avail. I was trying some hare-brained scheme with knives when my mom took it from me. She then proceeded to hammer the sides of the case with the knife...and it worked. I have no idea how she always does it. Regardless, thank you for your advice!-- The Ninth Bright Shiner 00:59, 14 April 2010 (UTC)


 * I'm amazed you didn't destroy it. StuRat (talk) 04:07, 14 April 2010 (UTC)