Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2011 April 3

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April 3

any information on Our Lady of the Highlands was located in Ft. Thomas,Kentucky

I attended Our Lady of the Highlands school for girls/convent from october1978 to june 1980.I would like any information as to year it closed and why,any class reunions, how to obtain old school records,and or where to find pictures or newspaper articles during years of operation and after. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.57.65.57 (talk) 00:37, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

The best place to find this information would be to contact the parish or diocese where the school was located. If the school has since closed, its records would likely still be held by the parish or diocese that ran the school. Fort Thomas, Kentucky would appear to be located in the the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington. While that school is not currently listed as one that the Diocese currently operates, if it used to they would be the best people to contact. The diocese has a contact page at http://www.covingtondiocese.org/ --Jayron32 02:14, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Or you could sign up to this school reunion website that boasts 62 former pupils from your school. Or this one which has somebody who claims to be from the "Class of 2004". I'm British, so I'm not sure if that means the year they started or the year they left. However this site says "Our Lady of Highlands - in 1866 land was purchased by the Sisters of Good Shepherd for this school. It was first a frame building and later a stone one that operated for 100 years, closed in the 1990s and torn down." There's also a discussion on the Fort Thomas Forum. There's a photo here. Alansplodge (talk) 23:39, 3 April 2011 (UTC) i went to our lady of the highlands please contact me linda calvert 859-270-9819

My name is linda calvert i gradiated in 1979 we have a private facebook page for all olh girls please feel free to call me 859 270 9819. I attended olh from 74 to 79. .there are about 70 girls in our olh group would love to have u. We also have reunions.thanks linda calvert

weather in san miguel de allende, mexico

The Wikipedia website on weather in san miguel varies from the weather channel estimates varies by being 10-17 degrees F. colder. Why such a variance and which is correct? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rolwitz (talk • contribs) 02:09, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Don't knoww where San Miguel is but the first thing that comes to mind is, What is your elevation?Phalcor (talk) 02:43, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

I just found you're up in the mountains not far from M.city. Your weather report is probably coming from a lower elevation, or you could be getting cold air rolling down from higher mountains near by.Phalcor (talk) 02:59, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Here's our article link: San Miguel de Allende. It says "altitude varies from between 850 to 2,700 meters above sea level". That's a huge change, so I'd expect a wide range in temps to match. StuRat (talk) 04:47, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Weight of baggage allowed in aircraft

what is the maximum weight (of baggage) allowed per person in an aircraft?

These days it varies hugely, depending on which airline you fly with, and the kind of ticket you buy. If you're planning a journey, check the airline's website. HiLo48 (talk) 04:12, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Also it varies by the type of aircraft. In a large airliner, typically they give you a maximum weight and say that you can pay extra for more. I have been on an aircraft before where they said absolutely no more than a certain weight (I can't remember if it was 50 lbs or more) because of aircraft limitations. And, since the question is specific to "aircraft", not just "airlines", on the PA28, I can take no more than 300lbs in the baggage compartment, and often far less than this, because the plane must be in balance and no more than 2400 lbs total weight when I take off (I'd have to take out nearly all of the fuel to have 300lbs of baggage+3 adult passengers, which defeats the purpose). The same principals apply to all aircraft, though the larger the aircraft, typically the more weight you can tend to put in it. More fuel and passengers reduce baggage capacity (with full fuel and the other three in my family, there is 10-20lbs baggage capacity per person in the PA28), less fuel and fewer passengers increase it dramatically. Hope that helps. Falconus^{p t c} 13:35, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

The commercial airlines I have flown with recently, have a limit of 32 kg per bag (so the baggage handlers can handle it). Short haul flights limit you to one checked-in bag, one carry-on bag, and one small accessory bag such as a laptop bag. On long haul flights you are limited to 2 checked-in bags and the same carry on stuff. Any more than this, and you have to pay for excess baggage. I'm unsure if there is an ultimate upper limit. Budget airlines have similar carry-on limits but you have to pay for all checked-in baggage. Astronaut (talk) 14:22, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

Flowers for men

My boyfriend is a composer, and he has several music academy concerts coming up. Is it normal to give a male musician flowers after a performance? I'm in the US, and he is from Spain, if that makes any difference. Calliopejen1 (talk) 04:27, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Most people appreciate heartfelt gifts and thoughtful acts, regardless of the gender. If it isn't "expected" (read: automatic and likely cliché), then it would be doubly so... --Jayron32 04:42, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

The conductor and soloists often get flowers, yes. Less often for the rest. StuRat (talk) 04:44, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

I'm male, and have had flowers given to me, at a photography exhibition showing photographs by me, my mother, and a couple of other people. I appreciated the gesture and took the flowers home with me, but unfortunately they died after only a few days. JIP | Talk 18:10, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

There is something poetically tragic about gifting flowers since they are usually put on display only to slowly whither and die away. Maybe you should give him a houseplant instead. Quinn ^☂THUNDER 16:43, 8 April 2011 (UTC)

Flying

why dont the airlines charge fat people more to fly as they use more fuel?--92.28.66.20 (talk) 08:39, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

This question was discussed here about a week or two ago, you can find the discussion here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reference_desk/Archives/Humanities/2011_March_24) - one thing wasn't mentioned (from my memory of the discussion) was how it would be enforced anyway - I booked my tickets to America about 4 months ago and I don't go for another 2 months. In the 6 months from booking my flight to turning up at the airport I could have easily lost/gained 25 pounds so what would they do then? ny156uk (talk) 08:51, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

You don't pack your bags six months before the flight, though, do you? I think the OP would envisage that they would weigh people at the airport, same as they do with bags, and if they are over a given limit, then they pay extra. --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 12:39, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

They secretly weigh you at the check in counter, there are scales under the floor there. Adam Bishop (talk) 14:46, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Nonsense. There are no scales under the floor, just a remotely released trap door for those on a list.. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 15:13, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Aye. On quiet days if you listen really carefully you can hear lions underneath you. --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 15:39, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

What Adam's saying is that there's no way in without a weigh-in. -- Jack of Oz [your turn] 20:17, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Yea, that would be weigh cool. StuRat (talk) 07:05, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

And when the person at the counter hands your tickets back, they very often say, 'Sorry for the weight....' --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 17:15, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

You guys are great. this is new to me, but wonderful entertainment. I can't see to type for the tears in my eyes.190.56.125.192 (talk) 17:39, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

This may be nitpicking, but I weigh in at the 10th percentile with about 62kg at a height of 1.80. As a result I should receive a refund when I float onto an airplane.

Assuming that a typical bunch of passengers is a statistical valid sample of the population, this would be a zero sum game between surcharges and refunds whilst still costing time, money and inconvenience.

Of course, I have never shared a plane with a gaggle of Sumo wrestlers... --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 19:11, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Whatever you do, don't goose any of them. :-) StuRat (talk) 07:05, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

For the same reason they don't charge the dumb kids more at private school -- it's apparently not nice. DRosenbach ^{(Talk | Contribs)} 05:28, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

Really? They certainly did at mine, insamuch as about the top third in the entrance exam (including myself) were awarded a 'scholarship' which exempted our parents from having to pay some or all of the tuition fees. Since the demise of the UK's 'Direct Grant' system that proportion may have dropped, but I'm pretty sure that many Private (called "Public" in the UK) Schools still offer scholarships to some of their intake. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.197.66.111 (talk) 00:46, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

But if they tried to levy a surcharge on the dumbest third, I doubt if that would have gone over very well. StuRat (talk) 07:00, 5 April 2011 (UTC)

Don't many of the elite private schools just reject the dumbest 90% or something anyway? Nil Einne (talk) 16:04, 6 April 2011 (UTC)

I just had a thought: Maybe the reason airlines have absurdly small seats is to discourage fat people from flying with them ? StuRat (talk) 05:49, 7 April 2011 (UTC)

If they really wanted to make an effort to improve comfort for everybody and increase seat size for the obese, they could take out every other seat and would only have to double fares (less than double, actually, considering the reduced fuel and staff requirements). I bet many people would go for that. Consider the following arrangement for 3 rows of seats (each seat is shown as a "U"):

 current     proposed
 seating     seating

|UUU UUU|   |U U  U |
|UUU UUU|   | U  U U|
|UUU UUU|   |U U  U |

All seats could be wider under this set-up, and the seats that would be alone under this new arrangement could be extra wide. StuRat (talk) 05:49, 7 April 2011 (UTC)

StuRat, they are already doing that. It's called first class. The difference is that it also usually comes with more cargo weight included in the ticket (but it stands to reason that the clothes of an obese person also weigh more) and a curtain between it and the tourist class seats. – b_jonas 08:41, 7 April 2011 (UTC)

No, first class gives you just a little more room (not double the room), but you also get all sorts of luxuries, too, and often have to pay more than double, as a result. So, for a fat person, who isn't rich, it's a much worse deal than what I propose. StuRat (talk) 05:22, 8 April 2011 (UTC)

Where to find Isopropyl alcohol and other chemicals?

In what type of store would I be able to buy Isopropyl alcohol and possibly other chemicals? Plus does anyone know if there are online stores that ship most chemicals in non-commercial quantities? Thanks in front for any response, TMCk (talk) 14:27, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Isopropyl alcohol can be bought in your standard drug store/chemist's/pharmacy. It is a basic component of many first-aid kits. Bielle (talk) 14:46, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

For online stores: Sigma-Aldrich [1] is known for their wide variety of chemicals. They tend to be geared towards people in a laboratory setting; their chemical are often higher grade, but also more expensive, than many alternatives. Many common solid chemicals can be ordered in the U.S. from cheap-chemicals.com at relatively reasonable rates (no alcohol, or any solvents, though). In both cases, chemical are generally sold in relatively small quantities. Both will make you jump through some hoops, especially for the more dangerous stuff. Buddy431 (talk) 17:37, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Yes 'Bielle' is right, but read the label. Isopropyl alc.(rubbing alcohol) comes in a variety of concentrations. Usually 40% - 70% solution in water. Depends what you need.190.56.125.192 (talk) 18:19, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

You can get pure (i.e. technical grade) isopropyl alcohol by asking the pharmacist/chemist directly, or at least you could back when that was what you needed to clean cassette tape drive heads. Franamax (talk) 19:02, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Why wouldn't an isopropyl/water mix work for that ? StuRat (talk) 07:01, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

You want it to evaporate quickly, and water might encourage rust and cause problems with the drive (such as the tape sticking). I obtained pure isopropyl alcohol for cleaning tape heads from a (UK) chemist's shop (pharmacist's) many years ago. Dbfirs 07:45, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

• Thank you all for your helpful comments. TMCk (talk) 20:55, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Who runs Defkalion, the new cold fusion company?

There's been a recent spate of activity surrounding a 'cold fusion' 'invention' from Italy, being marketed as the Energy Catalyzer (for which we have a fairly new and not-very-good, much-too-credulous article). A new company, Defkalion Green Technologies S.A. (their one-page placeholder website), based in Greece has been created to (purportedly) manufacture and distribute the device; the inventors have been using the interest of this company to try to bolster their credibility in their press releases. The only individual so far unambiguously linked to Defkalion is their 'spokesperson', Symeon Tsalikoglou, about whom I can locate no further info. Does anyone know how to identify the company's directors or senior executives, or know anything more about Tsalikoglou? TenOfAllTrades(talk) 17:59, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Ever since Rutherford's claimed transmutation of nitrogen into hydrogen and oxygen,(oxygen being a heavier element, therefor requiring fusion in that instance) several individuals and corporations have attempted to patent and market cold fusion related products. many millions have been spent on it. The net result is that universities, governments law courts and the U.S patent office have denied validity of those claims. The generally accepted scientific view is that fusion of elements requires extremely high temps. and pressures existing only in novas, supernovas,etc.Phalcor (talk) 19:07, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Sorry. I didn't really answer the question. No, can't find anything about Symeon Tsali gotcha.Phalcor (talk) 19:27, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

All I can find is a document that lists him as Director of International Sales for Milotos Editions, a subdivision of Greek publisher called Troia Publishing. Looie496 (talk) 22:12, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

english language

how is a judge who marries couples at a registry office called? what`s the exact meaning of ¨read around¨ is it a phrasal verb? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.132.89.185 (talk) 19:27, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

At least in Australia you don't need to be a judge to marry people. See Celebrant (Australia) or Marriage officiant. See also Becoming a celebrant. - 220.101 talk^\Contribs 20:09, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

In the UK, an official of the local authority called a Superintendant Registrar conducts wedding ceremonies[2]. Alansplodge (talk) 20:14, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

OR: You may not need to be a judge to marry a couple, but it helps to be a judge to marry a single :( --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 21:08, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

In the U.S. the term is "justice of the peace". See Justice_of_the_peace#United_States. --Jayron32 21:16, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

In the UK England and Wales, the official name is Register office, though "registry office" is a very common variant. However, civil weddings can now take place at many other suitably-approved venues. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 22:19, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

As previously discussed here. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 22:22, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Questions like these might do better at the language reference desk. I suppose "read around" is a phrasal verb, but it's rather a specific one: the only thing I can think of that you would "read around" is a "subject" (of study) - it means "read a variety of materials concerning the subject, probably to get a general view of it".

It may be that my answer is a particularly British-English one. The British National Corpus has five citations for "read around", three of which parse as "verb + adverb", and they all have this sense. The Corpus of Contemporary American English has twelve citations, six of which are "verb + adverb", but the specific meaning of some of them is not clear to me, and may not closely match the definition I've given above. They still refer to a variety of reading about a subject, but the purpose seems to be more varied than I would expect. --ColinFine (talk) 23:05, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

In Canada it would vary by province, as marriage is a provincially administered matter and there is no legal difference between religious and civil marriage. The most common name used for civil officiants is "marriage commissioner", but some provinces give the job to notaries or justices of the peace. In the Territories the RCMP can officiate. --NellieBly (talk) 02:05, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS OF WATERBODIES

I would like to know where (of preference, in the web) can I find reliable data about area, volume and average depth (of course, two of the three would be enough) of all mayor waterbodies of the Earth (oceans, seas and other saline waterbodies, excludiong lakes). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.21.154.249 (talk) 21:00, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

try USGS marine.190.56.125.192 (talk) 00:20, 4 April 2011 (UTC)