Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2013 March 12

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March 12

If civilization falls, what is the best stock of food to have?

Let's say a war, a meteor, or a storm has dirsupted trade, so that I have to feed myself for months. Ignore water. What proportions of various cheap foods are the best? Given X amounts of Euros, what percentage should I spend on rice, maize, corn, beans, beef, and/or canned meat so on? Hurriquake (talk) 04:09, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

It depends on your constraints. If you want to stay alive for the maximum time using the minimum amount of money, your focus should be on a grain (wheat flour, rice, or cornmeal are the most cost-effective), a legume such as dried beans, some vegetable oil, some salt, and a cheap multivitamin. You can stay alive and basically healthy for less than a Euro a day on that diet, but it's pretty boring. The more you are willing to spend, the more variety you can add. Looie496 (talk) 05:11, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

However, depending on the disaster, cooking may no longer be an option, if gas and electricity are out and you can no longer get propane, kerosene, gasoline, etc. In that case, you might want to go with canned foods. While canned beans aren't as good cold, they certainly are edible, and all you really need to eat them is a can opener. Canned goods might also survive some disasters which would spoil grains, like flooding. As far as negatives, canned goods are rather heavy, so not a good choice if you might have to evacuate on foot, since you couldn't carry many. Nuts, seeds, and dried fruits and meat jerky in water-proof pouches might be better for that. StuRat (talk) 06:27, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

If you don't budget for weapons/fortifications the point is pretty much moot. 196.214.78.114 (talk) 05:59, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

Esther Hickey's book Passport to Survival (ISBN 9780394492285) suggests the four essential foods are whole wheat berries, milk powder, honey and salt. Also see The New Survivalist. (While you have said to disregard it, don't forget the most important thing for any civil defence emergency kit is water. Allow 3 litres a day per person.) Gwinva (talk) 08:26, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

Imagine what a sailing ship in the 18th century would have taken with it. I'm sure you can find enough barrels. Shadowjams (talk) 12:49, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

However, as soon as canned food became available, sailors willingly put aside their hard tack and salted pork (you'd probably find it difficult to obtain those anyway). Franklin's lost expedition came to grief when they got lead poisoning from their prototype cans. Tinned fruit and vegetables will certainly help to keep scurvey at bay. Alansplodge (talk) 13:22, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

• Black pepper and other spices are cheap, keep well, can be used medicinally and for preservatives, and help stave off suicide. Cheap canned meats are good for occasional variety as well.

serpentine font style

I remember seeing Serpentine font style letters on titles and things. A few of the most notable areas are the opening and closing credits of Silver Streak (film) and the Smokey and the Bandit franchise. It would be nice if someone would do an article about the serpentine font style.142.255.103.121 (talk) 04:44, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

Be that someone. Choyoołʼįįhí:Seb az86556 ^{> haneʼ} 05:06, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

I'm not sure where to start. If I try, my article might get rejected.142.255.103.121 (talk) 22:47, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

First see how many other fonts have separate articles. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:30, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

Hi, Bugs, see Category:Typography stubs, and those are just the stubs. —— Shakescene (talk) 00:49, 17 March 2013 (UTC)

There are many other Wikipedia articles on fonts and font families. (On the other hand, looking over them could offer you some tips about good places to search for more information.) Sometimes the best thing is to start a Wikipedia:stub article with the facts you do know or can find out easily, and then hope that others with more knowledge can refine, expand, and if necessary correct it. See Wikipedia:Be bold. Several of the few articles I've started have been about subjects I knew little about to begin with. So long as your stub isn't biased, defamatory, self-promotional or blatantly wrong, it should survive Wikipedia:Deletion policy with no problem — and you should certainly fear no attacks or retribution for trying. The worst that could happen is that the stub stays unseen, untouched and unimproved. Good luck. —— Shakescene (talk) 04:28, 13 March 2013 (UTC) P.S. If you mark a stub article "stub" (with or without the subject the covers it, e.g. "Politics stub", "History stub"), it may catch the eye of other editors who specialize in monitoring new stub articles in hopes of expanding or improving them. With any luck, one of them might know more, or be interested in learning more, about Serpentine.—— Shakescene (talk) 06:02, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

See this earlier query, Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2011 March 3#typeface or not, which I found by asking "Serpentine typeface" in the little box at the top right. —— Shakescene (talk) 05:56, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

But still, I don't wish to copy and paste anything. That would be copyright infringement. I'm still hoping someone would do an article on Serpentine font styles.142.255.103.121 (talk) 03:25, 14 March 2013 (UTC)

I understand your qualms, but Wikipedia can be copied by anyone for almost any legitimate purpose, even to make money off our unpaid work (although there'd be objections if someone tried not only to use, but to claim some kind of exclusive copyright something that is purely our unfiltered, unsorted work). But there's nothing wrong in using elements of a Wikipedia article to start a sub-article or stub within Wikipedia (or for that matter any other book or site). It's best, if possible, to double-check such references as are appropriate to make sure they do support your statements and haven't become dead links. Or if you don't want to do that, you can just create a contentless WP:red link like this, Serpentine (font) or Serpentine (typeface), which is essentially asking any passerby to contribute such information as he or she might have, or to start the article you'd like to see. In fact, all you have to do is click one of the red links I just made to create such a blank article. —— Shakescene (talk) 11:03, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

I started an article about Serpentine (font) with some items used to the best of my knowledge. In the article, I mentioned a couple uses of the font.142.255.103.121 (talk) 06:00, 16 March 2013 (UTC)

Where's your beginning article or stub? I'd be interested in seeing it, but I couldn't find it under Serpentine or Serpentine (font). Thanks. —— Shakescene (talk) 22:47, 16 March 2013 (UTC) ¶ OK, I see it got bounced by a science-oriented reviewer at Articles for Creation (although it's basically no skimpier than a published stub like Monotype Corsiva; see Category:Typography stubs). Please see my messages to you at User talk:142.255.103.121#Serpentine (font) and a test version of your creation here (which you should feel free to edit or expand, especially with a citation or source): User:Shakescene/Serpentine. —— Shakescene (talk) 00:49, 17 March 2013 (UTC)

Home Management Software

Anyone recommend a good software for Home management? I need a software that can allow me to organize household activities. Any software you know that works well? Thank you! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 183.83.218.155 (talk) 05:33, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

You're going to need to be more specific. What activities ? For example, a calendar program can help with scheduling activities, and a spreadsheet can help with budgeting for them. StuRat (talk) 06:22, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

I would use project management software like this:[1] It's pretty easy to allocate resources, set recurring events/tasks, monitor expenses, etc. The timeline will also show any resource/time conflicts. 196.214.78.114 (talk) 06:29, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

adobe flash player

hi, when trying to enter a chat room I get a small square with .... adobe flash player settings

                                                                   timewhale 123 flashchat
                                                                    request to store up to 10 kb
                                                                    currently 0

please tell me is this some kind of virus ? or what it could be to do with please

chris ..... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.29.118.218 (talk) 12:27, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

If it looks something like this then it's the Flash Player settings dialog, and it's asking you to authorise the relevant website to use up to 10kb of your computer's storage. Presumably some feature of the website needs this storage to function properly. It is unlikely to be a virus (strictly it'd be malware), although not impossible. If you trust the website, you should be OK to continue. However, if you do not trust the website (and chat rooms are high on my list of non-trust) then the safest option is either to deny permission for storage (in which case the website may not continue to function correctly), or simply to navigate away from the site and use a chat room you do trust.

By the way, we have a dedicated Computing Reference Desk - if you have further questions on this type of subject you may get better answers there. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 13:19, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

Most versions of Adobe Flashplayer in most situations will let you individually adjust the amount of storage that you will let each website use on your computer. (For example, you might want to allow a trusted site to pre-load [buffer] more of a video or audio stream to reduce interruptions for reloading during play.) Just mouse over the image or box that's using Flash and right-click your mouse (or whatever the Mac/Apple equivalent is), to see a tabbed menu of options. This menu will also let you, among many other things, control whether an external Flash site can use your computer's microphone or camera, as it would in Skype or another live chat with images and voices. —— Shakescene (talk) 04:15, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

pants and legging

What do you call this type of pants or trousers where it is not loose and it fits and looks like it is so tight on that woman but it is stretchable and what do you call this type of legging? [legging]--Donmust90 (talk) 16:10, 12 March 2013 (UTC)Donmust90

I can't play the video, but, from the description, perhaps Spandex capri pants ? StuRat (talk) 16:56, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

I could play the video, but it was not interesting to watch Japanese soles. It's stirrup pants or stirrup leggings. It's called トレンカ/torenka in Japan. Oda Mari (talk) 17:15, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

I assume, based on some odd conversations I've heard, that this is about yoga pants, a type of leggings worn by women because they are very comfortable (like jogging trousers) but look slightly tidier than other work-out clothes. I gather that certain communities of men on the internet have a weird, almost fetish-like opinion of these lazy gym clothes, and imagine that women wear them to look sexy. 86.164.31.236 (talk) 17:48, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

Indian Head Penny

I have a penny that looks like an Indian Head Penny that says "Not One Cent For The Widows on the back. Can you tell me anything about it?

Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.75.141.5 (talk) 21:50, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

Like this? It's a Civil War token. Take a look at this article. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 21:58, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

Streets with similar names

Whilst having to browse the Leeds A-Z I noticed that particularly in the Harehills area,there are a load of streets all next to each other with the same name but different variations(ie Conway Street,Road,Avenue,Drive,Gardens,Terrace,Court)-the most I've found so far is about 12 different connotations-out of about 200 streets,there are only some half-dozen or so actual different names. What would be the reason for doing this-vanity for the person they're naming it after?Lack of originality?It certainly would be confusing for say postal deliveries And is this the most confusing area for this sort of thing-or are there any other places that have even more incomprehensible naming or numbering?

Lemon martini (talk) 22:55, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

There's a place in Canada (? Vancouver) that was mentioned here a couple of years ago in answer to a similar question, with the most absurdly confusing set of similar names in a small area that one could possibly dream up in one's most wicked nightmare. Maybe it will make another appearance today. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 23:34, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

There's also Atlanta, Georgia, with a whole bunch of variations on Peachtree Street. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:29, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

Sense of humor and/or coincidence also figure into it. The Minneapolis area has a Nathan Lane and several different Lois Lanes. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 10:20, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

Got it. It was in Calgary, Alberta. See Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2008 August 24#Why are highways called that?, and the long link provided by Wanderer57. -- Jack of Oz ^[Talk] 02:49, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

Ha, I was going to say that sounds like Calgary before you provided the link Maze_of_twisty_little_passages,_all_alike .... Doubters, try this one for another randomly selected sample http://goo.gl/maps/AjzpC . When I grew up Calgary was all quite rectangularly gridded, thus the 90th avenue SW etc. running through the middle, then they had a big influx of people and a housing building boom in the 70s while the residents were discovering psychedelics, and this is what you get. ironically, if you don't put "SW" after whichever of the Palis* street names on the address of an envelope, you stand a good chance of having the mail returned as incompletely addressed, as if all these streets were spread over 500 square miles rather than 5 blocks. Gzuckier (talk) 19:49, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

Having scampered off to do some more research,some of the American cities with the numbered grid system and then directions after are pretty awful.Queens seems to do the same with lots of different numbers-there's loads of intersections of 60th and 60th for example.If it's logical and straightforward it works well. Hickory,NC is one of the most ghastly.2nd Ave,2nd Ave SE,2nd Ave Drive,2nd Ave Drive SE,2nd Ave St,2nd Ave St SE,2nd St SE,2nd St,2nd St Place,2nd St Place SE.... Lemon martini (talk) 00:41, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

Before you pass judgment on a small town like Hickory, check out Seattle and Portland. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:02, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

Seattle will never have more than two roads with a given name, and you can always tell them apart because one will be "North" while the other "South", or (less common) one will be "East" and the other "West". --Carnildo (talk) 23:40, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

Housing estates and their streets were often carved out of someone's or some family's farm or grounds, so it was natural though confusing to name them, as they grew, Smith Street, Smith Road, Smith Farms Lane, Smith Alley, etc. —— Shakescene (talk) 05:47, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

There's a couple of possibilities. English road names either develop organically over time (people call a road by a particular name, and eventually that name sticks and is used officially) or are decided on (either by a site's developer or by some local authority). In the first case, roads near each other can get similar names - for instance, the road in a town which takes travellers in the direction of London might be called 'London Road'. A lane off London Road might then be called 'London Lane'. Or the roads might be named after a particular feature in the town - the road where the market was held could be 'Market Street', and then an avenue which leads one to the Market could be 'Market Avenue'. In the second case, planned developments with new roads can be named by a single person or a committee. These often take a theme - either features of the local landscape or aspects which the developers wish to promote. A '50s housing development where my grandparents lived had tree names: Oak Grove, Lime Gardens, Ash Drive and so on. It seems this was the case in the area you're looking at - which looks like rows of Victorian terraces. As to why those names were chosen, indeed a 'lack of imagination' probably comes into it. By the way, my favourite ever road name is in Rayners Lane in NW London. When the old Harrow Driving Centre (somewhere where learner drivers could practice off the public roads) was demolished, houses were built on the site. One of the roads is called 'Learner Drive'. - Cucumber Mike (talk) 08:44, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

It may be that the streets in question were named after an eminent person at the time, such as a Mayor. Maybe Leeds City Council would be best placed to answer the question. --TammyMoet (talk) 09:38, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

In Cardiff there is a Railway Street and a Runway Road. Gandalf61 (talk) 12:18, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

My favourite is Brisbane's Rode Road (aww, no link.) (Yes, I know it's named after Mr Rode: must be a Queensland thing, cf Townsville.) AndrewWTaylor (talk) 13:26, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

The Bedford Estate, around Bloomsbury in London, has a lot of streets named after the various names of the Dukes of Bedford. The family has many names but not as many as the number of streets in their estate, so the names repeat. So for example you'll find Bedford Place, Bedford Square, Bedford Road, Bedford Row, Bedford Way, Bedford Avenue and (the interestingly named) Bedfordbury all in the same part of London. --PalaceGuard008 (Talk) 15:40, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

And on the same estate (digressing a bit), Tavistock Square and Tavistock Place after the Marquess of Tavistock, the courtesy title of the eldest son of the Dukes of Bedford, Russell Square, Great Russell Street and Little Russell Street from the Dukes' surname, and finally Woburn Square and Woburn Place after Woburn Abbey, the Bedfords' family seat. Alansplodge (talk) 20:30, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

Interestingly,a search through the good old net reveals a lot of cities that are planning to change similar sounding named streets because emergency services are getting confused-in this tragic case which either has three roads with the same name or one road in three bits in different parts of town .And apparently some Japanese cities have no real street naming,but just block numbers which wander about so meaninglessly that tourists are given advice to just call the person and have them come fetch you to whatever address you're headed off to. Lemon martini (talk) 17:40, 13 March 2013 (UTC)

My (otherwise unusual) street name is replicated exactly by another 2 miles away: confusing enough, but the property at the same number as mine is a busy clinic - so I get all sorts of visitors (in various degrees of panic and stress), mail (of various degrees of confidentiality), and fascinating courier deliveries -including a couple of attempted deliveries of some very large, very expensive equipment. It seems my location is the default one for any using sat nav - including firms & departments who should know better. Gwinva (talk) 21:41, 13 March 2013 (UTC)