Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2010 November 27

= November 27 =

Suicide Crisis Hotline
What's the local number for bay area San Jose, California? I would search for it on google. But, my cunt parents block everything. ☣ Eternal Eclipse ☣ TALK  04:28, 27 November 2010 (UTC)


 * It is worth it. Alameda County: 800-309-2131, 	Contra Costa County: 800-833-2900, Marin County: 415-499-1100, San Francisco Suicide Prevention: 415-781-0500, San Mateo County: 650-579-0350. It is all worth it. schyler (talk) 05:25, 27 November 2010 (UTC)
 * There is also a 24-Hour National Suicide Hotline: 800-SUICIDE. schyler (talk) 05:26, 27 November 2010 (UTC)

SmartCar charging
I have a SmartCar which does not not get regular use, so I start the engine every so often to charge the battery; for how long should I have to run the engine to maintain a charged battery please?--85.211.227.216 (talk) 10:59, 27 November 2010 (UTC)


 * You would be better of using a Float charger. The battery itself, needs float charging continuously or alternatively, periodic attention for topping up -every month. The engine and rest of the car (or any stand-by engine) needs starting and running at minimum of every six-months. One needs to run up to normal operating temperature and stay there long enough to drive off all the water vapour that has been absorbed by the oil and crept into other places. At normal idling speeds the alternator may not even be charging, so if you do just run it to charge it, would be important to check this. Taking it for a drive might be the better option. Also get a  battery acid hydrometer to dispense with the need to guess battery condition. It shouold have instuctions on how to use it. So the answer is: untill the battery is fully charged and time alone is not the measure of this. --Aspro (talk) 11:44, 27 November 2010 (UTC)
 * See the article Automotive battery that states "The top-up charge can be considered complete when the terminal voltage is just above 15.1 V DC.". Cuddlyable3 (talk) 22:34, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

Any site that hosts EPL suicide pools?
My mates and I are looking to run a suicide pool for the second half of the English Premier League season. I haven't had any luck finding a site that hosts EPL suicide pools? We needn't any capacity for betting, and we could always sketch out our own spreadsheet, but it's just easier if we can all log onto a site and drop in our picks. Thanks to anyone who can help! The Masked Booby (talk) 14:29, 27 November 2010 (UTC)
 * I follow football, and am English, but have no idea what a "suicide pool" is. Perhaps it's a term used wherever you live, but not in England, hence it's difficult to find? --Dweller (talk) 23:58, 30 November 2010 (UTC)


 * I think Fantasy suicide football and Survivor fantasy leagues are he sort of thing The Masked Booby is talking about. Both of those articles are to do with American Football though. DuncanHill (talk) 12:14, 1 December 2010 (UTC)


 * There may be something of interest in, or linked from, Fantasy football (Association). DuncanHill (talk) 12:16, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

Ignition key trope
In old American films from the 1950s and early sixties, you would often see the hero drive up to an expensive hotel or nightclub, and hand the keys to an attendant who would drive the car off and (presumably) park it.

Did this ever happen in reality? Does it still happen now? Wouldnt there be a high risk that the car would get stolen or any valuables in it removed? Or have your keys duplicated prior to house burgalry or car theft? How did the owner get their keys back and not someone elses? 92.15.11.45 (talk) 14:47, 27 November 2010 (UTC)
 * It still happens today. See valet parking and valet key. Paul (Stansifer) 15:07, 27 November 2010 (UTC)


 * If the valet steals your car or valuables, you have a pretty good idea who did it, no? The restaurant in question would also lose business if theft became an issue there. I've never had trouble with valets the few times I've used them. --Mr.98 (talk) 16:38, 27 November 2010 (UTC)
 * How did you get the right key and car back afterwards? 92.15.11.45 (talk) 20:14, 27 November 2010 (UTC)
 * The valet attaches your key to a numbered tag; you get a numbered ticket, the car goes in the space marked by that number, I assume, though I've never been a valet. It's quite common in upscale restaurants, especially urban ones where parking can be problematic. -FisherQueen (talk · contribs) 20:26, 27 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Right. The same as if you check a coat at a museum or a nightclub. You get a little ticket or tab or something. In a movie, the real high rollers are already known by name or appearance to the valets, so numbers or tickets are unnecessary. But I'm not so recognizable, so I take the ticket. :-) --Mr.98 (talk) 22:22, 27 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Valet service is usually included in venues that have a reputation to maintain, so the last thing you have to worry about is the valet stealing from your car or bumping it somewhere. I once stayed in an upscale hotel courtesy of my employer at the time, and I got there in the old rustbucket I was driving at the time. The valet parked the car, then I realized I forgot something in it and got my key back to go get the forgotten item. The car was parked in the remotest possible place, well hidden from the eyes of other potential clients :) Incidentally, when I saw the title of your question, I was sure it was going to be about the trope with the stalling engine - you know, baddies behind our hero, the hero jumps into the car and has to start the coughing engine a couple of times giving the baddies just enough time to get to the car (and the viewer enough time to chew on their nails a bit) before driving off. TomorrowTime (talk) 21:09, 27 November 2010 (UTC)


 * Valet parking is also used in some places for ordinary pay-parking garages. This occurs in cities like New York where land is expensive.  They use valet parking so that they can get more cars into the lot by stack-parking the cars.  Parking prices in such areas are high.  In such cities you may also see signs reading "Park and Lock": this identifies a parking facility that does not use valet parking, so you park and lock your car yourself (and keep the key).  --Anonymous, 01:37 UTC, November 28, 2010.


 * "Don't worry, I'm a professional." "A professional what?" Adam Bishop (talk) 03:11, 28 November 2010 (UTC)


 * Theft isn't the only thing you have to worry about. Clarityfiend (talk) 23:51, 27 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Well the link above did note same valet keys limit the power of the car to discourage such things Nil Einne (talk) 16:04, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

If you have your key ring with house keys, car key, etc. remove the car key and hand that to the valet. Do not risk your other keys being copied.Froggie34 (talk) 11:04, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

Don't you give your car keys to a mechanic when you take the car in for service? I always keep a spare care key in my wallet, generally for such purposes, but also in case I lock my keys in the car. Corvus cornix talk  21:27, 28 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Always keep 2 sets of keys with you; keep your trunk and glove box locked if possible; and give the valet/mechanic/whoever only the one key, i.e. the "valet key". ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 01:42, 29 November 2010 (UTC)

Is there no such thing as valet parking in England? I'd think it would be common, considering the difficulty of finding parking spaces in European cities. In America, valet parking is common in places where nearby parking is hard to find, such as downtown restaurants. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 03:49, 30 November 2010 (UTC)


 * I think in that context people would just use a taxi, which also means they can drink with the meal. A bottle of wine for two people with a meal in a fancy restaurant is almost required ;) For a less fancy experience, you could catch a bus/tram/train. 86.161.109.130 (talk) 19:35, 30 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Odd. No toaster ovens and no valet parking. (Taxis are not practical for a 15-mile or so trip from a suburban house to a downtown restaurant, and it's not like you can walk out of a house in an exurban American neighborhood and expect to hail a cab or catch a bus.) -- Mwalcoff (talk) 01:17, 1 December 2010 (UTC)
 * You would telephone for a cab, or in London catch the tube. "Toaster ovens" - that seems to be a grill. 92.24.186.163 (talk) 16:05, 2 December 2010 (UTC)
 * No, a toaster oven is a combination between a toaster and an oven. It has a "toast" setting and an "oven" setting. They've very handy for making grilled-cheese sandwiches. It's boggled my mind why they don't sell them in Europe. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 23:39, 2 December 2010 (UTC)
 * In this scenario one tends to have at least 1 child, raise them, nurture them, feed and cloth them, and then pay for driving lessons so that you have a perma-taxi until they realise they are being used and move out on their own... gaz hiley .co.uk  14:49, 1 December 2010 (UTC)

watering the cement plastering
How many days' watering is required for a surface newly plastered with portland cement? --117.204.86.189 (talk) 15:57, 27 November 2010 (UTC)
 * My now deceased father-in-law told me it took 30 days to do it properly. But he was a civil engineer who built large concrete dams. Your needs may not be the same. HiLo48 (talk) 00:05, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

God Bless Anguilla
Hi, I'm looking for either an electronic (preferably free...) copy of the sheet music of this piece, or a MIDI other than the one on this page – thanks! ╟─ Treasury Tag ►  constabulary  ─╢ 16:05, 27 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Cross-posting doesn't get you an answer any faster. Anyway, linked from the article is this page with an mp3 file attached. Xenon54 (talk) 16:09, 27 November 2010 (UTC)
 * That's neither a MIDI nor sheet music, of course... ╟─ Treasury Tag ►  most serene  ─╢ 17:18, 27 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Please excuse me, I appear to have read the question incorrectly! I dunno if this midi is any different from the official one, but it's the only other one I can find. Perhaps you can try contacting the government to see if they have sheet music. Xenon54 (talk) 18:37, 27 November 2010 (UTC)


 * This may be the dumbest suggestion I've ever posted, but here goes anyway: If they have an Olympic Team in anything, perhaps contact their Olympic Organizing Committee. SOMEBODY has to be in charge of submitting all the national anthems, just in case they win gold in something, eh?
 * DaHorsesMouth (talk) 20:21, 27 November 2010 (UTC)


 * Here, run this through LilyPond. It will make both a PDF and a MIDI file. There may be mistakes. -- BenRG (talk) 03:20, 28 November 2010 (UTC)


 * (I made this myself by running the MIDI file through a MIDI-to-LilyPond converter and pasting in the lyrics. It's kind of a hobby of mine. I recommend it as an easy way of making nice sheet music. It's a bit more involved than I just implied, but pretty easy.) -- BenRG (talk) 19:03, 28 November 2010 (UTC)