Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2011 October 13

= October 13 =

Asbestos procedure vs. mould procedure
My ~45-yr-old apartment building is about to undergo a major procedure involving cutting open a lot of walls and ceilings. The latest missive on this is that the drywall joints and the ceiling stucco contain trace amounts of asnestos, so the work had to be done under Worksafe BC procedures, which are more concerned with the workers than the eventual (possible) inhabitants. I think (and will confirm) that this comes in at the lowest end of the "high-risk procedures" category.

I'm not all that worried about the asbestos, but the project is to replace every water-pipe in the building, due to leakage problems. So there is a possibility / high probability that there will be mould behind at least some of those wallspaces. So my question is, are the procedures for removing asbestos-containing materials equal to or better than procedures for removing mould-bearing materials as far as greatest benefit to me, the person who has to live here, is concerned? Or is there extra work involved to contain mould? Franamax (talk) 03:00, 13 October 2011 (UTC)


 * I think it's pretty much inevitable that the removal procedure will increase the short-term exposure level for anyone living there at the time. That's why many jurisdictions take the "let sleeping dogs lie" approach and just seal the asbestos in. You might do best to schedule a vacation during the removal period and leave town.  Hopefully the asbestos dust and mold spores will have all settled out by the time you return. StuRat (talk) 19:21, 13 October 2011 (UTC)

Komodo Dragons
Are the Komodo Dragons from on the Islands in Indonesia the same as the Dragons that live on one of the Islands of the Galapagos? If they are, how did they get there? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mpvet53 (talk • contribs) 12:37, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
 * No. By "dragons" on the Galapagos do you mean these or these?  They are completely distinct species of reptile.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 12:42, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
 * (ec) No, they are not the same. Komodo Dragons are native to some islands in Indonesia. I don't know exactly which animals you are referring to as "dragons that live on one of the Islands of the Galapagos", but two prominent species of reptile on the Galápagos Islands are the Marine Iguana and the Galapagos Land Iguana and are in a totally different sub-order of the Squamata order of reptiles. One interesting point though, I recently watched the movie The Bounty and one of the sailors did describe the Marine Iguanas they saw in the Galápagos, as "Dragons". maybe that is the source of your confusion? Astronaut (talk) 12:57, 13 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Not even close. The Komodo dragon is closer to the mososaurs and the Burmese python than the Galopagan iguanids.  See lizard.  Komodo dragons are varanids, not iguanids. μηδείς (talk) 21:49, 13 October 2011 (UTC)

Looking for halloween costume
This halloween, for reasons best known to himself, my son wants to go dressed as some hugely muscular man, it's some phase he's going through at the moment, but at least he eats all his vegetables now, when he remembers. Once his mind is set on something like this, though, I don't think I can dissuade him, at least not before Christmas. After last year, though, I don't think something cheap and simple is going to be enough, and anything better is sadly beyond my abilities to make, so, rather than let him down in front of all his mates, I have turned to online shopping. Sure enough, soon I had found what I thought was quite suitable, but apparently they are just not big enough. Something about not being able to make a good impression on the others turning up looking as big as if he had just rolled a couple of shirts up and tucked them up his sleaves. So I turn to the collective wisdom of the wikipedia, somewhere out there must be people selling costumes that are rather more substantial. You would think with so many around this time of year, the right one would be easy to find. AME67 (talk) 15:04, 13 October 2011 (UTC)


 * What age or size is your son? (The "just not big enough" comment) --Tagishsimon (talk) 15:06, 13 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Also, inb4 "What country are you in?" --Viennese Waltz 15:08, 13 October 2011 (UTC)

I'm in England. He's twelve, but quite tall for his age. I expect many companies would make and/or sell costumes for a range of different ages, that is what I have seen so far shopping around, but I do not think that is the size issue he is talking about. AME67 (talk) 15:15, 13 October 2011 (UTC)


 * How about this? --TammyMoet (talk) 15:19, 13 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Note that wearing a giant balloon like that could be quite uncomfortable, leaving him hot and sweaty. An alternative to a bigger costume might be to give him something to carry which appears to be heavy, like a papier-mâché boulder or safe. StuRat (talk) 19:15, 13 October 2011 (UTC)

Well, a simple search on "muscle man costume" at google images provided plenty of results, including this one for kids at amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Muscle-Man-Shirt-Child-Small/dp/B000I2FMQW which I assume can be bought through Amazon UK or shipped express. μηδείς (talk) 20:05, 13 October 2011 (UTC)


 * As an aside, my 4-year old nephew requested a butterfly costume as his birthday present this summer. So I got some red and black felt and cardboard, and made him the most macho pair of buterfly wings I could design.  He loved them, although he explains to people you can't really fly with them.  So he has requested a full butterfly costume for Halloween.  His mother suggested a scary butterfly with horns and fangs, but he is insisting "No, I am a nice butterfly!" μηδείς (talk) 20:05, 13 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Maybe you should include a cocoon, so he can "come out" ? StuRat (talk) 20:08, 13 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Touché, StuRat.   Glad I was not misunderstood, but a shame I can't comment further.  He is a beautiful and brilliant kid though.  And no guarantee his interest implies anything. (Not only did I have a crush on Steve Austin and Jamie Sommers at his age, but also on Max.)  He beats people bigger than he is up and defends his elder brother from bullies on a regular basis.  It's all so exciting. μηδείς (talk) 20:42, 13 October 2011 (UTC)

I quite like that first one linked to, but children, nothing is ever quite good enough, not that that is always a bad thing. I don't suppose anything similar would be available in a more realistic human colour? What he seems to want is rather than just a big bag of air, something where all the shapes are clearly defined in a realistic, if overly large, way, and also, for some reason, firm enough that he can wear some vest or shirt over the top and have it stretched tight rather than simply preventing the costume inflating properly. I have assured him this is unlikely to exist anywhere, and I suspect something like that also would be even more uncomfortable to wear for more than a few minutes, but I thought I might ask anyway. AME67 (talk) 07:38, 15 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Would this be the sort of thing you are after? http://s1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee463/TheWyvernsPictures/?action=view&current=inflatablecostume.png&t=1318665340587 148.197.81.179 (talk) 09:28, 15 October 2011 (UTC)

That looks like just what he is after, I'm sure. Where can I get one? Do you know what it is like to go around wearing it? AME67 (talk) 09:50, 15 October 2011 (UTC)

Rachel Heyhoe Flint
Hi I've been told about an illness that Rachael Heyhoe Flint had and wondered if you could direct me to what book I may find the details in. It's an joint aching, fatigue, sleepless type of illness. I am unsure of its name. Email : redacted I look forward to hearing from you Regards Claire Tozer Devon — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.157.138.171 (talk) 17:22, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Sorry but I've had to remove your email address. We don't answer questions by email here, you have to come back here and check the page for answers. --Viennese Waltz 17:24, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
 * A quick google hasn't revealed anything about her health, but her contact details are here should you need them. Ghmyrtle (talk) 18:36, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
 * I have added a Wikilink and amended the spelling to "Rachael". Alansplodge (talk) 12:02, 14 October 2011 (UTC)

Stone tool cultural association
So I'm curious, without any sort of context, what culture does this stone tool appear to be from? What culture does it look like it is associated with the most? Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie &#124; Say Shalom! 15 Tishrei 5772 18:17, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Chatelperronian or Emirian perhaps? Marco polo (talk) 18:36, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
 * I'm not even convinced that that's a tool. And if it is, surely it's too crude to identify. Looie496 (talk) 05:18, 14 October 2011 (UTC)


 * At a guess? I'd say that's the stone left over after a bunch of small blades have been flaked off. --Carnildo (talk) 00:19, 15 October 2011 (UTC)

Well, it is a tool technically speaking as it is an implement separate from your own body that is used to achieve some purpose (so kind of a handaxe was what I was going for or a fat spearhead for taking down something large); and I have been told it looked similar to some Acheulean tools as well as a culture whose name I don't remember. The correct answer though is 21cPotomac Culture. :p It was actually a large flake from a large piece of basalt that I chipped off and then worked slightly with a hammerstone (I don't have an antler billet or antler tip yet for finer work :. I didn't want to say that I had made it at the beginning, because I did not wish that to affect the answer (my thinking was it would be like when people are sketching Knossos they always including the modern additions by Sir Arthur Evans if they have seen them in a picture of Knossos as it looks today). Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie &#124; Say Shalom! 17 Tishrei 5772 03:15, 15 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Not sure if it is just a core (what's left over after a bunch of small blades have been flaked off), it looks no cruder than many Hand axes I've seen illustrated from the two cultures mentioned above in Marco polos post. This may also be helpful Acheulean.  He  iro 02:58, 15 October 2011 (UTC)


 * As you can see in my above post, you're the second fellow to say that it appears Acheulean. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie &#124; Say Shalom! 17 Tishrei 5772 03:15, 15 October 2011 (UTC)


 * I must say though, that it would have been prudent to ask whether the tool I was showing was bifacial or unifacial as that plays an important role in identifying the culture. Though in this case it was a uniface with some working on the side that was not visible. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie &#124; Say Shalom! 17 Tishrei 5772 03:22, 15 October 2011 (UTC)

Connecticut and the death penalty
So I have just read in one of those CNN emails that the swine who killed the nurse at a school my sister went to have been convicted on all 17 counts and one apparently faces the death penalty (idk about his accomplice, but can only hope it's not going to be pleasant for him). I did not realise Connecticut still has the death penalty. Maybe it's just because I don't read the Greenwich Times a lot, but how come one never hears about executions in CT? I know they had them when my dad was a kid (but he is slightly older than the State of Israel -- relative dating right there). Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie &#124; Say Shalom! 15 Tishrei 5772 20:37, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
 * According to capital punishment in Connecticut, there has been only one execution in the post-Furman era. --Trovatore (talk) 20:40, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Or since 2005, to those who don't have a clue who or what Furman is. --Tagishsimon (talk) 20:42, 13 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Furman v. Georgia. Can't believe my pops didn't tell me about that case given how important it was (or maybe I didn't listen, who knows). Then again, trial ain't his style. Hmmm, didn't know that article existed. I will add it to the murder article as it is much better than a general capital punishment link. So this fellow gets to be lucky number 2. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie &#124; Say Shalom! 15 Tishrei 5772 20:47, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes, quick summary: In Furman, the US Supreme Court effectively banned the death penalty in the United States as cruel and unusual punishment.  That's a little oversimplified (not sure it applied to the Feds for example) but there were no executions resulting from any nuances in it.  A couple years later, in Gregg v. Georgia, the court allowed the states to resume capital punishment under stricter guidelines.  It took a few years for the machinery of death to ramp back up; while Gary Gilmore was executed in 1977, it was only because he had deliberately dropped his appeals.  I think there was not an involuntary execution until John Spenkelink in, not sure, 1980 or so. --Trovatore (talk) 20:54, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Just to clarify, the "yes" was in response to the remarks about Furman, and had nothing to do with the "lucky number 2" comment. It's not at all clear that Komisarjevsky will be number 2.  As I understand it, the penalty phase of his trial has not completed, perhaps has not even begun, so he may not even be sentenced to death.  If he is, he may or may not eventually be executed, and if he is executed, there may or may not be someone else before him. --Trovatore (talk) 21:27, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
 * There has been only one since 1960. --Trovatore (talk) 20:45, 13 October 2011 (UTC)


 * I was actually referring to Hayes as being Number 2 (since the resumption of the death penalty in the state). Well he might just get to rot away in a prison cell; works either way. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie &#124; Say Shalom! 15 Tishrei 5772 22:44, 13 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Nevermind, would have paid to have read the article's table of contents first... I would have seen this: Jennifer_Petit. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie &#124; Say Shalom! 15 Tishrei 5772 20:50, 13 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Well, NY had the death penalty, but unless you kill two pigs in one blow it probably won't be applied. Maybe the same with the nutmeggers?μηδείς (talk) 20:49, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
 * New York does not currently have the death penalty (see People v. LaValle). For all I know it may still be on the books, but it is unenforceable as long as that decision stands. --Trovatore (talk) 22:16, 13 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Medeis was most likely referring to something from [www.dumblaws.com]. Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie &#124; Say Shalom! 15 Tishrei 5772 22:44, 13 October 2011 (UTC)
 * The 1995 NY law specified that you can get the death penalty for killing one cop or two mere people. Some animals are more equal than others. μηδείς (talk) 00:49, 14 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Doesn't that mean killing one pig is enough? It's only other animals you have to kill multiple of. Nil Einne (talk) 09:42, 14 October 2011 (UTC)
 * I was blocked for making a harmless male-female joke, and you're here equating our public servants to pigs??? When does your block start? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 10:34, 14 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Hey, dude, I didn't block you. Nor am I a leftist or an opponent of honorable law enforcers.  Nor am I personally untouched by the issues involved in more ways than one.  Do you know who Daniel Faulkner is?  But the bottom line is equality before the law.  The NY has actually been disestablished, which I find equally unacceptable to the prior law.  Perhaps my anger should be directed at the pols, but the police did lobby for that law which was grossly offensive and counter to the founding principles of the greatest country on earth.  The murder of one person doesn't merit the death penalty...unless the person is a cop...?  I think the allusion to Orwell is quite perfect in the situation of the NY State death penalty statute.  See Capital punishment in New York  μηδείς (talk) 11:51, 14 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Debating the death penalty, is reasonable. Debating the merits of laws determining application of the death penalty, is reasonable. Calling our police "pigs" is NOT reasonable. It's highly offensive. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 12:08, 14 October 2011 (UTC)
 * It was a joke, based on a common slur mentioned in an article, not a personal attack directed at a user here as your comment was. If don't understand the difference and didn't understand I wasn't equating the police with pigs but simply making a joke based on the fact pig is a slur used to refer to police officers, then I guess that's part of the problem.... Nil Einne (talk) 12:24, 14 October 2011 (UTC)
 * The old ref desk double-standard rears its ugly head again. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 15:44, 14 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Representing the USA as "the greatest country on earth" is the highly offensive thing for which the ban-hammer should be sought... --Tagishsimon (talk) 12:33, 14 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Only if it is demonstrably false... Googlemeister (talk) 15:06, 14 October 2011 (UTC)


 * What the fuck? Where did all of this net drama come from? Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie &#124; Say Shalom! 16 Tishrei 5772 15:49, 14 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Lots of info at Capital punishment in the United States. The map, File:Death penalty statutes in the United States-2011-10-03.svg is kinda sad in showing most of the country still allowing it. But the article points out how only a handful of states (Texas, Virginia, Oklahoma) have actually executed more than 100 or so people since 1976. I read that page recently and was surprised to learn that death by firing squad is still done in some states. Also, according to that page, Connecticut has had exactly one execution since 1976 (with a link to List of people executed in Connecticut). Pfly (talk) 05:19, 14 October 2011 (UTC)

Yes, that one in 2005, but a 45 year lul ain't so bad now is it? Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie &#124; Say Shalom! 16 Tishrei 5772 15:49, 14 October 2011 (UTC)