Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2010 April 8

= April 8 =

French people
Why aren't French people fat? Their food has lots of fat, oil, sugar, etc. --70.129.184.122 (talk) 01:07, 8 April 2010 (UTC)


 * See French Paradox. Clarityfiend (talk) 01:14, 8 April 2010 (UTC)


 * All that smoking and adultery ? :-) StuRat (talk) 01:17, 8 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Ah, le Tigre Woods diet. Clarityfiend (talk) 01:44, 8 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Some of them are fat... (oh crap! my (french) wife is coming - quick, pretend someone else typed this!)


 * NO! You are completely wrong! All french people are definitely very, very thin!  (Sheesh - don't you hate it when people don't sign their posts?)  SteveBaker (talk) 02:56, 8 April 2010 (UTC)
 * You may want to read the book French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano. I haven't read the book, but I think it's worth pointing out that Europeans don't drive everywhere like Americans so often do, living in cities with little parking. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 03:14, 8 April 2010 (UTC)


 * in my experiences of France (mostly Normandy region) people don't seem to care about 'little parking' - they just park anywhere there is a space..or to put it more accurately they'll just nudge your car forward (with theirs) until it creates a space big enough for their car! 194.221.133.226 (talk) 08:27, 8 April 2010 (UTC)


 * One place I saw (slightly) fatter French people was at huge out-of-town shopping malls where you have to drive to get there, there's ample parking and plenty of fast food. Umm, the dangers of an american lifestyle.  Astronaut (talk) 03:42, 8 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Who's thin? Richard Avery (talk) 06:02, 8 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Must be in their genes.--Rallette (talk) 11:01, 8 April 2010 (UTC)


 * At least some of them will be eating a Mediterranean diet, which is apparently very good for you. Alansplodge (talk) 16:00, 9 April 2010 (UTC)


 * I don't know who left that unsigned post, but need I remind people that SB has an obvious WP:COI and so shouldn't be trusted in this instance? Nil Einne (talk) 01:48, 10 April 2010 (UTC)

The Right Honourable Seán Dublin Bay Rockall Loftus
How did Seán Dublin Bay Rockall Loftus manage to become Lord Mayor without being affiliated to one of the major political parties? 86.45.133.15 (talk) 02:16, 8 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Lord Mayor of Dublin is an symbolic position, it doesn't really mean much, so there is no particular reason for the council to choose one of its members from a major political party. It is also not unusual for independents to do well in local elections (party policies are usually to do with national issues, so aren't relevant), so him being on the council isn't at all strange. --Tango (talk) 02:30, 8 April 2010 (UTC)
 * And, in general, there are all sorts of reasons why a party might nominate an independent, or someone from another party, for such a post. If they don't think that one of their own members can win the post, then they might support someone with similar views to them, or tactically choose someone unaffiliated or from a minor party to prevent a major opposing party from taking the post.  Alternatively, they might nominate someone in return for political concessions - support on one or more issues.  For a symbolic post, they might choose someone in order to reduce their time for meaningful political activity; for a difficult post, they might see it as a "poisoned chalice" and choose someone in order to threaten their popularity. Warofdreams talk 10:07, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

True north
Is there any kind of print or image that can be used to find true north?.. I've heard of using a watch and what not but I was wondering if there is something that could be tattooed on my skin so that I could always find true north. Thanks for any help 188.81.80.78 (talk) 14:05, 8 April 2010 (UTC)


 * I think not. IIRC, the watch trick depends upon knowing what time it is & where the sun is ... the two together allow you to figure out true north based on the sun's position. A static image just does not have the necessary information. --Tagishsimon (talk) 14:13, 8 April 2010 (UTC)


 * For the watch trick, see direction finding watch. --Richardrj talkemail 14:24, 8 April 2010 (UTC)


 * You could always tattoo a star chart on your skin (several, if you want to be good for any location/any season), but in the northern hemisphere it's pretty easy to find the pole star anyway, which is as close to north as you'll get by eye. In the southern hemisphere, I guess you could find the South pole, and take the opposite direction as north.  There's no pole star though, but I think you can get pretty close using Crux somehow. Buddy431 (talk) 14:36, 8 April 2010 (UTC)


 * A simple map would also allow you to find true north, provided that you can locate and identify the landmarks from the map. StuRat (talk) 17:49, 8 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Use a compass with a magnetic declination adjustment, set properly for your geographic region. 66.127.52.47 (talk) 18:00, 8 April 2010 (UTC)


 * If the sun or moon is clear enough to cast shadows, put a stick in the ground so that its shadow vanishes, and wait a few minutes; when the shadow moves, it will point due east. (I learned this from a television character who was making a point about the value of reading.) —Tamfang (talk) 19:15, 8 April 2010 (UTC) — Come to think of it, he didn't say due. —Tamfang (talk) 15:57, 10 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Pity the TV character didn't know what they were talking about, then. This is based on the idea that the Sun's motion in the sky is westward.  That's only true near solar noon.  6 hours later, if it's still up, it's moving north or south, depending on which hemisphere you're in.  --Anonymous, 19:28 UTC, April 8, 2010.


 * Hm. The daily motion is always in a plane perpendicular to the axis ... I'll have to try it. :( —Tamfang (talk) 04:20, 9 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Meanwhile, as an existence proof, consider a location in the Arctic summer with 24-hour daylight. Near solar midnight the sun is in the north and is moving eastward, as it circles around the sky day after day.  In the mid-latitudes we just lose the northern part of that circle as it goes below ground.  --Anon, 06:04 UTC, April 9, 2010.

A Wikipedia article explains how to use a banana as a compass. Place a banana on the Berlin Wall. East is where a bite has been taken out of it. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 23:50, 8 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Assuming you're in the Northern Hemisphere as your IP address suggests, try looking for Polaris in the night sky. If you cross the equator, Southern Cross explains how to find South.  Zoonoses (talk) 00:17, 9 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Telling South by the sun without knowing the time (if you've got all day to spare): put a stick in the ground so that it's standing upright, then mark where the tip of the shadow falls at regular(ish) intervals. The direction where the shadow was shortest is South (or North if you're in the southern hemisphere). Alansplodge (talk) 15:22, 9 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Vice versa. The shadow points away from the sun, eh?  --Anonymous, 23:30 UTC, April 9, 2010.


 * Generally vice-versa, yes, although the direction will be reversed in summer at latitudes lower than the subsolar point. FiggyBee (talk) 06:54, 13 April 2010 (UTC)


 * IIRC, moss growing on tree trunks can also be used as a rough indication of which way is north. Moss prefers a shady spot and therefore is more prevalent on the side of the trunk facing away from the midday sun.  Astronaut (talk) 17:43, 9 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Perhaps very generally, but it is probably not a good idea to rely on that indication heavily, as the moss tends to grow in the more shadowy side, which, depending on local geography, might not be the north side. Googlemeister (talk) 18:51, 9 April 2010 (UTC)
 * If you looked at where the moss was on a few hundred trees spread over a reasonably wide area, that might work, but it's more of an urban legend than a real wilderness technique. --Tango (talk) 16:02, 10 April 2010 (UTC)
 * I was taught the moss one in Cubs, and also the urban equivalent. In this part of the world, satellite TV dishes point south :-) 93.97.184.230 (talk) 22:13, 11 April 2010 (UTC)

symbols
There is a symbol on my shower gel bottle and shampoo and on numerous others it is a picture od a round, flat jar with the lid floating off it, and on the side is written 12m, does any one know what this is? what does it mean? it is in black and white next to the recycle symbol. Any Ideas? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.59.90 (talk) 15:30, 8 April 2010 (UTC)


 * I guess it is inducating the product should last for 12 months after being opened. I think I'm right in thinking that such markings are increasingly common on non-food items. I'll try to find a reference. --Tagishsimon (talk) 15:35, 8 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Period-after-opening symbol. --Tagishsimon (talk) 15:36, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

period after opening symbol, thats it thanks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.59.90 (talk) 18:35, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

InterRail question
I plan on making an InterRail journey this summer to be finally able to visit the World Bodypainting Festival, and to stop at a tourist destination along the way, without once travelling by airplane. I have already planned a journey from Stockholm to Kraków, from there to Spittal an der Drau, and from there back to Stockholm. The problem is, the trip from Stockholm to Kraków takes about a full day, the trip from Kraków to Spittal an der Drau takes a bit more than half a day, and the trip from Spittal an der Drau to Stockholm takes a bit less than a day and a half. That's more travelling days than the minimal InterRail pass allows for, and I feel that the next expensive pass is overkill, because I don't intend on spending that many days. I have thought that one option would be to instead use the trip from Vienna to Spittal an der Drau as a normal, non-InterRail railway trip. Surely this is possible? Do I have any other options? Please note that I am intentionally trying to avoid ever boarding an airplane during the entire trip. J I P | Talk 19:28, 8 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Certainly there's nothing forcing you to use your InterRail card if you don't want to - an ordinary adult 2nd class ticket from Vienna Westbahnhof to Spittal-Millstaettersee will cost around €59 one way. (Krakow to Spittal via the Zebrzydow border route/Breclav/Vienna costs €102.20 2nd class - see http://www.jizdenka.cz/). The only thing you have to ensure is that you have enough valid days on your InterRail to cover the other journeys that you want to make. -- Arwel Parry (talk) 21:20, 8 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Two things. As Arwel pointed out, you don't need to use the Interrail pass for all journeys and are free to purchase separate tickets for sections. If you do travel by train internationally, it's much cheaper to purchase a ticket just to the border, and then to get off at the border and purchase the ticket for the section in the other country (this is usually possible, the trains usually wait a while, i. e. between Poland and the Czech Republic I've done this myself; make sure i. e. at the international ticket office at the main railway station in Kraków that this is the case for your connection; when in doubt find someone Polish-speaking to assist you, the English of the people working there can sometimes be terrible). Also, if you need to, have you considered hitch-hiking? It can be difficult in Austria, I know, but Poland and the Czech Republic are quite hitch-hiker-friendly places. --Ouro (blah blah) 11:53, 9 April 2010 (UTC)
 * It has been many years since I had an Interrail pass and hitch-hiked around Europe (two different trips), but if I were you, I might choose a segment outside of Austria, preferably in Poland or the Czech Republic, to travel on a regular ticket without the Interrail pass. The reason is that Austria has (or used to have) much higher rail fares than Poland or the Czech Republic.  As for hitch-hiking, as a young male, I found it could be great fun. (It is riskier for women.)  It is helpful to 1) stand in a place where a driver can see you from some distance and where it is easy and legal for a driver to stop, 2) to have a sign indicating your destination or general direction in the local language (e.g. "Vídeň" for Vienna if you are in the Czech Republic), and 3) to be clean-cut looking and fairly conservatively dressed (try to look like a nice student who is going to visit his grandparents but is too poor for the train).  Marco polo (talk) 17:23, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the replies. I figure that what I might do is catch a late evening train (by InterRail) from Kraków to Vienna, and then a morning train (as a normal trip) from Vienna to Spittal an der Drau. The InterRail rules state that if an overnight train leaves after 19:00, it only takes up one travelling day, provided it arrives after 04:00 the next day. This, however, applies to that specific train only, connecting trips do take up an extra travelling day. 59 € doesn't sound so bad for the trip from Vienna to Spittal an der Drau. It's only a bit less than double the cost of a train trip from Helsinki to Tampere, with the distance being roughly one and a half times as long. And considering I would be travelling in a foreign country, I would want to minimise the hassle and risks involved. That would allow me to use the return trip from Spittal an der Drau to Stockholm completely by InterRail, which would save me a lot of money. J I P | Talk 19:47, 9 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Umm, I'm not quite sure if the effect is what you want. If I read you correctly, you want to travel from Kraków starting late evening on day "A", arriving Vienna in the morning of day "B", then travel on to Spittal later on day "B". I don't know if InterRail works the same way FIP (rail staff) tickets do (which I use), but in that circumstance I would date the ticket with day "B"s date, since you're starting the journey after 19:00, so the whole journey to Spittal would be covered by InterRail. The question that then becomes relevant is 'are you planning to do any travel earlier on day "A", or will you have stayed in Krakow for a day or more?'. I'd suggest you have another read of the InterRail rules to check which date you should be putting on the ticket. Regards, -- Arwel Parry (talk) 00:01, 11 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Looks like I had misread that part of the InterRail rules and thought I had to mark day "A" as the travelling day and arriving in Vienna on day "B" on the same train would be covered, but not the trip from Vienna to Spittal an der Drau. I reread the rules and found out that I'm allowed to mark day "B" instead. This solves my original problem - I simply have to leave Kraków after 19:00 on day "A", and I can use as much of day "B" to get to Spittal an der Drau as I want. J I P  | Talk 03:26, 11 April 2010 (UTC)

Webshop user behaviour logging (Not Google Analytics or similar)
I have no experience with e-commerce on the sellers side, but I was wondering how much 'logging' control an administrator of a webshop site has when using a commercial webshop platform. Ie. by admin I mean the guys selling stuff using a webshop.

And does some of the webshop platforms allow 'live' logging of user behaviour?

Thanks 85.81.121.107 (talk) 19:50, 8 April 2010 (UTC)DB


 * Yes, you could have a lot of logging, you could have it live. Even basic weblogging (just looking at requests from users) gets you a lot of information, much of it real-time. If you had a more sophisticated (AJAX) solution, you could find out exactly what they were clicking on the moment they clicked. There is some information you won't get, because the browser won't give it to you, but Javascript will give a LOT of information away, and that could all be harvested for someone watching on the server end of things. Note that this information would generally only be available to whomever is hosting the website—it's not like I, person with no connection to you or the sites you visit, could get this information. But if you visit another website, they can get a lot. They already do, quite regularly. --Mr.98 (talk) 22:27, 8 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Though I should add, there are limits. They can't, for example, read stuff off your hard drive. The browsers won't give them that information. But the limits are a lot less than most people know—people are often surprised that browsers can give real-time browser information, OS information, screen resolution, things of that nature. Even mouse position, window position, mouse movement, etc. But only within the site's own window—they can't (generally speaking) see what you are doing with other sites. (Cookies being the one main exception to this in some cases.) --Mr.98 (talk) 22:29, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

Sugar, sugar!
Is there a difference betweem confectioners sugar and powdered sugar? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.137.227.240 (talk) 19:54, 8 April 2010 (UTC)


 * No, see confectioner's sugar. StuRat (talk) 21:13, 8 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Some people make a distinction between the two based on the presence/absence of anticaking agent (commonly cornstarch). For most practical purposes, though, they can be used interchangeably. -- 140.142.20.229 (talk) 17:09, 9 April 2010 (UTC)