Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2010 June 15

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June 15

Geographical information (Very important to my) - Información geográfica (Muy importante para mi)

With the further consideration: I am Argentina and I am writing a novel and precise geographic information on the shore this of the Michigan Lake. It existed there, or it exists the town or city Pine Bay? What river happens near that site? I think (I am not safe) that in the days of War of Secession existed in the mouth of a river but I don’t know which one. I did not find that information in Internet. <removed email details> It is not urgent, take your time, but please contact me, although you can only say I don't know. Thank you very much by its attention and it greeting sincerely, Lillian Hilda Moon

Con la mayor consideración: Soy Argentina, estoy escribiendo una novela y preciso información geográfica de la orilla este del lago Michigan. ¿Existía o existe el pueblo o ciudad Bahía de Pino?¿Qué río pasa cerca de ese sitio?** Creo (no estoy segura) que en los días de la Guerra de Secesión existió en la desembocadura de un río, pero no se cual. No he encontrado esa información en Internet. <removed email details> No es urgente, tómese su tiempo, pero por favor contácteme, aunque tan sólo pueda decirme que no lo sabe. Muchas gracias por su atención y lo saludo cordialmente, Liliana Hilda Luna —Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.55.1.250 (talk) 08:32, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Una ciudad u otro tipo de localidad con el nombre "Bahia de Pino" o "Pine Bay" no existe en Michigan o en Wisconsin, Illinois e Indiana, pero hay una calle que se llama "Pine Bay Street" en Holland, Michigan, ciudad que esta en la orilla del lago Michigan. En esa ciudad es tambien la desembocadura del rio "Macatawa River". Disculpe, mi español no está muy bueno. Rimush (talk) 11:02, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Mi español is even worse. I did find one confirmation that such a place existed in google books. Rimush's pointer to Pine Bay street may well be good; it leads to Pine Creek Bay, from which we infer that the river is Pine Creek. --Tagishsimon (talk) 11:51, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Entry 203 in this book suggests that the Pine Bay in the Catton story you cite is a fictional place, based on Benzonia, Michigan. Deor (talk) 12:11, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

The same reference states that part of the story was also set in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is a real city. Neither Grand Rapids nor Benzonia is actually on the shore of Lake Michigan, though both are close to the shore. Grand Rapids is located on the Grand River. Benzonia is not located on a river, though it is located near the Betsie River. Marco polo (talk) 12:49, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Also, if you are writing a book about the US, you might want to use the US terms for those places and events. We call the "War of Secession" the "Civil War" (or "US Civil War" when there's any possibility of confusion with other civil wars). We call it "Lake Michigan", not "Michigan Lake", which would refer to any lake in, or touching, the state of Michigan (Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Saint Clair, Lake Erie, etc.). StuRat (talk) 13:56, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

The book, although about the US, will presumably be in Spanish, since the OP seems to use Google for English. Rimush (talk) 16:08, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Even so, using the correct terms from the place in question (the US, in this case) will lend a book more of a feel of authenticity. StuRat (talk) 13:36, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

"War of Secession" is not wrong, just uncommon. See Naming the American Civil War. 75.41.110.200 (talk) 17:43, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

The only geographical feature in Michigan with "Pine" and "Bay" in the name is the above-mentioned Pine Creek Bay near the city of Holland, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's Geonames database. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 18:11, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Note that the OP didn't mention the state of Michigan, only Lake Michigan, which also borders Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. StuRat (talk) 04:44, 16 June 2010 (UTC)

Horses

What does not see eye to eye with a horse? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.222.5.14 (talk) 09:17, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Is this a riddle? Or maybe you're asking about a horse's blind spots? According to this, "There is a blind spot just below the nose and just above the head." Maybe our article on Equine vision would help as well. Dismas|^(talk) 09:24, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

A blind spot just below the nose and just above the head? That puts the nose above the head, which isn't like any horse I've ever met! DuncanHill (talk) 13:05, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, it's rather poor wording. What I think is meant is "a blind spot just below the nose and another just above the head". Shall we find who wrote it and drag them behind a horse? Dismas|^(talk) 13:15, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

No, just give them a copy of Plain Words, and then get them to approach a horse from the rear, where it has another rather large blind-spot. DuncanHill (talk) 13:20, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

This seems to be another of those half-baked riddles that are all over the internet. The "correct" answer seems to be "A horse doesn't see eye to eye with another horse because their eyes are on the sides of their heads."--Shantavira|^{feed me} 16:07, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

What if they are standing alongside each other? Googlemeister (talk) 16:48, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Good point. Another answer could be, "The guy from the glue factory." ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:22, 16 June 2010 (UTC)

So they can stand "eye-to-eye", but not "pair-of-eyes-to-pair-of-eyes". StuRat (talk) 12:22, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

Or another answer could be a blind guy, since they can't see anything. Googlemeister (talk) 15:23, 16 June 2010 (UTC)

Building in Ghent.

Back when I lived in Belgium, I used to go to Ghent occasionally for work purposes, and I remember seeing a building, right in the city centre, on a side canal, that looked like any other traditional Flemish house, except its brick facade was rippled, so that it looked rather like a reflection in the canal. At the time I thought it was brilliant. Does anyone know what the building was called, or where I can find a picture? Thanks, Aviad2001 (talk) 15:24, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

This was actually an art installation entitled Eureka by an artist called Brian Tolle. There's a picture and a short text in Flemish here. I think the piece dates back to 2000; I don't know if it's still there. --Viennese Waltz ^talk 15:48, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Great! Just what I was looking for. Danke, bedankt and Thanks! Aviad2001 (talk) 16:05, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

What is this color?

What's the shade of orange the rock is painted in?

Can anyone think of a color similar to the color #FFA07A (light salmon) that can be mixed using the colors "rose" and "yellow", and that is similar enough to a color used at airports or some other place to gain attention for something? It's been giving me a strong sense o de ja vu...it has a kind of pinkish orange color and is rather vivid. I will upload a picture tomorrow when I have access to a computer, but guesses in the meantime would be appreciated. Thanks in advance, Ks0stm ^(T•C•G) 00:58, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Just wondering: how did you post this question if you don't have access to a computer? -- 202.142.129.66 (talk) 03:03, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Mobile phone? Dismas|^(talk) 03:51, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Yup. Ks0stm ^(T•C•G) 19:21, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Might be "orange blush". Try using a colour picker like http://www.colorpicker.com/ that allows you to 'dial' a colour. Is it the colour shown in the lower part of this womans clothes? http://nowrunning.com/photofeature/cpaa041508/CPAA%20103.jpg Have a look at Pink-orange - might be one of those such as Variations_of_orange#Bittersweet. Or do you mean safety orange? 92.28.254.36 (talk) 09:55, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Updated with a picture on the right. Ks0stm ^(T•C•G) 19:20, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Looks more like a coral pink to me.--TammyMoet (talk) 20:12, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Could be a light terracotta, #E2725B. Cannot see any orange in it. Could be, as previosly said, coral. See http://www.csh.rit.edu/~vance/pages/color.html I sampled various parts with a colour picker - avoiding the shadows - and got readings #E49CB2, #E9AABF "Embarrassment", #D894A3, #E8A2BC "Kobi", #E29EAD, with two names found as shown. 92.15.28.6 (talk) 21:32, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Yea, that's pink. Are you sure the color in the pic matches the actual rock ? Maybe the color balance is off on the camera. However, your skin tone looks about right, assuming you really are pasty white. :-) StuRat (talk) 04:39, 16 June 2010 (UTC)

Unknown lanyard

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  Front view
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  Top view
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  Bottom view

What kind of lanyard is this, and where can I find instructions for starting, making, and finishing one of them? I know that it is made by taking the visible strings and weaving them through each other somehow...and I've heard them variously called "5-string lanyards" or "Golden Eagle lanyards" around camp, where they are popular for the use of wearing one's Golden Eagle claws. As far as I know, people haven't been able to find instructions to make them online, but this may be due to the fact no one knows what exactly they're called. The 5-string kind is the most popular, and they are most commonly made in the twisting design shown. Any information on what they are, as well as where I can find instructions on making them, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, Ks0stm ^(T•C•G) 19:54, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

I think you'll probably want to search the web for sites about Macramé (our article isn't particularly helpful) - but these kinds of elaborate knotting are a branch of that decorative art. SteveBaker (talk) 22:45, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

The good people of the International Guild of Knot Tyers may be able to help. DuncanHill (talk) 22:52, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

I've also asked at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Scouting and Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Knots if anyone there can help. DuncanHill (talk) 23:05, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Responding to this via the query on the WikiProject Knots page. The pictured item appears to be a large "crown sinnet" made with another cord running down through the middle of it. Crown sinnets are multistrand knots built of successive layers of interweavings of the strands. Currently there isn't particularly good coverage of this type of knot on Wikipedia. Because of the way the ends have been finished in the photos it is hard to tell exactly which crown sinnet it might be. (Someone very familiar with making these knots may be able to tell definitively from the side view.) There are several similar looking large round crown sinnets shown on pages 479-483 of The Ashley Book of Knots. However, there are definitely more suitable introductory texts than that...

The material this lanyard appears to be made from is called scoubidou (aka "boondoggle", "gimp", and other names) and has been used for several decades in making lanyards and small craft projects, especially it seems, in scouting and at summer camps. A search on Google for the terms "scoubidou" or "boondoggle" will turn up several very extensive sites with many large round sinnets which looks similar to the pictured one. Searches on Amazon, etc. will also turn up a wealth of introductory books on the subject.

To understand how these knots are made, it is probably best to start with a something like this very basic crown sinnet. Your so-called "5-string" sinnet is actually probably what would normally be termed a 10-strand sinnet -- this is likely 5 strings bent in half, giving 10 working strands. For reference, here are instructions at the same site for a large round crown sinnet of 8 strands ("4 strings") which will look similar though slightly smaller than your apparent 10-stranded sinnet. The center lanyard cord would need to be placed in the center from the beginning and the sinnet built up around it. Good luck. --Dfred (talk) 01:54, 16 June 2010 (UTC)

Looks like a tornado stitch.[1] I have Basketry merit badge, but that was so long ago that we gathered rushes to weave our baskets. ---— Gadget850 (Ed) ^talk 18:42, 16 June 2010 (UTC)

Awesome, tornado stitch seems to be it. Thanks to all. Ks0stm ^(T•C•G) 18:55, 16 June 2010 (UTC)