Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2019 August 23

= August 23 =

Oldest & still active motor cargo ship in the world
I'd like to inquire about the oldest motorized cargo ship, globally. Which one is it? Sweden offers the Sydfart, built 1879, still in use. Any older motorships that are still in use in their intended role as cargo transport vessels? Please note that steam nor sail nor oar do matter in this instance, just motors. Regards, G-41614 (talk) 10:47, 23 August 2019 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia has an article titled List of oldest surviving ships. Maybe a place to start your research.  -- Jayron 32 12:33, 23 August 2019 (UTC)
 * Of Sydfart, this article says: "This ship is probably the oldest cargo vessel still in traffic". I'm not sure that we're going to find an older one. However, she must have originally been steam propelled since Rudolf Diesel didn't fire-up the very first Diesel engine until 10 August 1893. The first ship ever to have a Diesel motor was Vandal (tanker) which took to the water in 1903. The Volvo Penta TMD engine currently mounted in the Sydfart seems to be quite modern; production of it ended in 2006.  Alansplodge (talk) 13:02, 23 August 2019 (UTC)
 * See also: The Ships enduring time – Sydraft the oldest cargo ship afloat (2017).  Alansplodge (talk) 13:08, 23 August 2019 (UTC)


 * You may run into the ship of Theseus problem. That is, what qualifies as the "same ship" ? If the name was changed and it was repainted and the sails and masts were removed and engines and props installed, is that still the same ship ? SinisterLefty (talk) 22:00, 23 August 2019 (UTC)
 * First, thank all of you for taking the time to reply. To adress the last issue first, other than the engine, no major parts were replaced, the hull was never rebuilt, and the ship has been in continuous use since it was built in 1879, predating the Diesel (good to know, I might have to work that in) & according to the sources, so the ship of Theseus does not yet apply. The ship being the above mentioned de:Sydfart, which now has an article at de:wp. So maybe I'll translate it, too. Regards, --G-41614 (talk) 07:18, 24 August 2019 (UTC)
 * you'll find the pages linked from here useful if you do write an article on Sydfart. Mjroots (talk) 09:16, 24 August 2019 (UTC)
 * I might indeed! Thnx. --G-41614 (talk) 10:04, 24 August 2019 (UTC)
 * See also M/S Sydfart on Swedish Wikipedia, which has further website refs. Alansplodge (talk) 12:01, 24 August 2019 (UTC)

Request for those who have seen or have the movie "HBO Recount" (2008)
Hi, I'm coming immediately to the point: there is a scene in the initial part so let's say the movie where the actor who plays Clay Roberts, the electoral director tells a supervisor to put the ballots back in the machine. He was in Walton County, of course, in Florida. In that same county, in 2000, the voting system used was the optical scanners, but in the frame you see this lady and behind her boxes that contained perforated ballots and there is also another element you see a machine in disuse that served the same ballots. But at the same time a young man also appears alongside this lady who presumably collects data from a "removable" machine that counted the votes with optical sensors. This disoriented me a bit: let's say this request can be futile and / or ridiculous. It must also be said that the film focuses almost exclusively on punched cards although these were not the only systems in use in that year. I did this reasoning: if the screenwriters intentionally inserted punched card boxes with the related machine in a county that did not adopt that system, it means that in the fictitious reality of the film if a preponderant allusion to the punched cards, so much is just a movie. What do you think of my reasoning? Can it be corrected? I look forward to your answers, if you wish. Thanks a lot. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.41.100.198 (talk) 19:37, 23 August 2019 (UTC)
 * a) Question asks for debate which is not what the ref desks are for and b) It is a movie not a documentary. MarnetteD&#124;Talk 19:44, 23 August 2019 (UTC)

Weird beeping sounds on telephones
Hello. I have noticed that sometimes when one answers the phone, one doesn't hear a person speak, but only hears a series of weird beeps or noises. What can cause this? Freeknowledgecreator (talk) 22:25, 23 August 2019 (UTC)


 * A fax machine or telephone modem calling your number by mistake. My number was apparently once entered into a fax machine's memory, as it kept calling me every day. That was particularly annoying since there is nobody to tell they have the wrong number. SinisterLefty (talk) 22:58, 23 August 2019 (UTC)
 * With caller-ID you might be able to figure out who's sending it. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 00:51, 24 August 2019 (UTC)


 * Sales calls are often made by a computer. If you answer the call you may hear a beep as the computer transfers you to a human. I'm sure WikiP has an article about this so hopefully another editor will know where it is and provide a link to it. MarnetteD&#124;Talk 23:23, 23 August 2019 (UTC)
 * No, that's not the kind of beep I'm talking about. I'm talking about cases where you hear nothing but a beep, with no human voice. Freeknowledgecreator (talk) 23:34, 23 August 2019 (UTC)
 * Might be a little hard to do, but maybe you could record it? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 23:36, 23 August 2019 (UTC)
 * I don't have the means or the interest. The responses here have pretty much answered my question. Freeknowledgecreator (talk) 01:38, 24 August 2019 (UTC)


 * Glad we could help. I'll mark it resolved. SinisterLefty (talk) 01:53, 24 August 2019 (UTC)