Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2008 June 1

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June 1

college rowing question?

how does the college rowing championship work in the NCAA system?Summonmaster13 (talk) 01:12, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

You'd think this (http://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?ContentID=81) would help, but the Championships Handbook link appears to not work. Oddly, they seem to sanction only women's rowing. --Nricardo (talk) 02:01, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

Portable TV sets

WHAT DO WE DO WITH OUR D.C. POWERED PORTABLE T.V.'S AFTER THE DIGITAL SIGNAL CHANGEOVER IN JAN 09? THE CONVERTER BOXES ARE A. C. POWERED WHICH MAKES THEM NO LONGER PORTABLE. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.227.198.169 (talk) 03:12, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

The converter boxes are DC powered from an AC adapter, so in theory you could strap a battery pack to it and it will work just fine. Of course once you've got the tv, digibox, and battery pack to carry around it's not so portable. You're better off getting a portable digital tv.--Shantavira|^{feed me} 07:10, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

When it comes time to get rid of it, call up a local recycling center or even a local computer store. They will give you info on how to dispose of it. It'll be better for the environment if it doesn't end up in a landfill. A local computer store here (Small Dog Electronics) has an annual event that they advertise in all the papers asking people to drop off their e-waste to have it disposed of properly. They normally net several tons of equipment each year. See e-waste. Dismas|^(talk) 18:54, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

WHILE YOU'RE AT THE COMPUTER STORE YOU MIGHT WANT TO GET YOUR CAPS LOCK FIXED AS WELL Ziggy Sawdust 22:47, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

WELL MR. OR MS. Z. SAWDUST I LIKE BEING BIG AND BOLD. YOU MUST LIKE PUTTING OTHER PEOPLE DOWN TO MAKE YOURSELF FEEL BIG AND BOLD!!!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.227.198.169 (talk) 02:39, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

24, please read Netiquette and Wikipedia:Talk page guidelines. All caps means that you're yelling which comes across as rude. Zain Ebrahim (talk) 11:18, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

YOU COULD BUY AN UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER SUPPLY AND TAKE IT WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU GO TO POWER THE ADAPTER SO YOU CAN WATCH YOUR PORTABLE TV SET. Edison (talk) 00:48, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

TARAN TARAN TRAGEDY

WHAT IS TARAN TARAN TRAGEDY 61.1.232.189 (talk) 12:31, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

Actual question transcribed from IP user's talk page by Angus Lepper^{(T, C, D)}

Some Googling gives lots (a few thousand) of results, but nothing actually talking about it. Interestingly, it's also shown as a 30-something 'hot trend' on Google Trends. Put it in quotes, though, and the results drop dramatically (10 unique results). I'm guessing it's probably a contrived internet meme of some sort. If I wasn't assuming good faith, I'd wonder if this question wasn't designed to further its spread. The only plausible possible reference is to the death of a Taron or Teron Francis who seems to have died in some circumstances that lead to a wrongful death suit being brought against a medical practice. For this, see [1] (CNN transcript; search 'Teron') and [2] (memorial website).Angus Lepper^{(T, C, D)} 15:06, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

ELL4

Could someone who knows the WJEC English exam board please tell me if the ELL4 paper on tuesday 3rd June will be Duchess of Malfi or spoken language. It is the ELL4 paper for A level English lit and lang in the UK. Thanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.75.241.52 (talk) 15:40, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

You want us to help you cheat on your exam?? I suggest you revise both, and be quick about it because you only have one more day. Astronaut (talk) 19:22, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

Rent deposit in the UK

What is the procedure to pay a security deposit for rent in the UK? Do you just give the landlord a check? 217.168.0.192 (talk) 16:17, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

Great Britain is a cash society,Landlords will sometimes require a cash deposit,(Usually half the monthly rent)and rent also paid in cash every 4 week period,NOT CALENDER MONTH. This way they also get more cash out of tenants on a yearly basis,than if a tenant paid monthly calender rent.Welcome to rip off Britain!!! Fluter. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 170.86.15.15 (talk) 14:46, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

You pay the landlord or letting agency. Due to large numbers of landlords unfairly keeping deposits, the government introduced a mandatory Tenency Deposit scheme in April 2007. It applies only for an Assured shorthold tenancy (which in practice, you will almost certainly be on one of these), and within 14 days you should hear from the landlord or agency about how your deposit is protected. See this site for all the information. Astronaut (talk) 19:19, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

"Due to large numbers of landlords unfairly keeping deposits" - not true! The bureaucracy was introduced to suck up to voters stereotype of the evil Victorian landlord. If you trash the place as a tenant, of course you won't get the deposit back. 80.2.200.148 (talk) 00:27, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Of course a tenant should not get their deposit back if they've trashed the place. However, on several occasions as a tenant, I have left a place in a much better (cleaner) state than it was when I moved in and still the letting agency has tried to keep the deposit. There probably wouldn't be the need for this "bureaucracy" if tenants were treated fairly in the first place. Astronaut (talk) 11:11, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

What reasons did they give for not returning the deposit - common reasons are cleaning being needed or a shortfall in rent. 80.0.108.118 (talk) 23:35, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

In my case, it's never been a rent shortfall. Usually they have wanted to bring in "professional" cleaners, when they clearly didn't bother doing that for the tenant before me (of if they did the so-called professionals did a particularly shoddy job). As a matter of pride, I have always left the place in a cleaner state than it was when I moved in, making a special effort to clean the kitchen and bathroom and vacuuming throughout. Astronaut (talk) 00:47, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Taxi transfers to Playa de Las Americas, Tenerife????????

We are a group of 3 adults and have just been looking on the Web for typical transfer prices from Reina Sofia to Las Americas and getting a bit confused. Some sites say we MUST pre-book (hard to believe), whilst others say we must pay anything between 20 euros and 80 euros per taxi per direction. Another site that sounds reasonable in all respects says 24 euros will secure a taxi and a Rep waiting to greet us. Any advice on this would be much appreciated. 92.3.27.116 (talk) 17:22, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

It's about 20 km, mostly along a motorway. Wikipedia's own Reina Sofía Airport article has a link to the official site which readily told me about bus and taxi options (suggesting a fare of around €21 one-way). This site has a breakdown of how the fare structure is supposed to work, suggests a fare of around €21 and indicates how to identify official taxis. But, my google search did reveal lots of tales of people being ripped off and various scams like claiming the meter's broken - if that happens, just get out again and get in the next taxi. Astronaut (talk) 19:54, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

Thanks Astronaut; that's much appreciated. I'll let you know what happened once we return - and thanks again. 92.9.148.165 (talk) 23:07, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Wide differences in cost of living

I'm in Egypt right now. I notice prices are much lower than in Jordan. Restaurants in particular are 2.5 times cheaper. (The kind of lower end restaurants locals go to.) The countries are similar in income. So what accounts for the differences in COL? I know gas is extremely cheap in Egypt. And Jordan has a massive water crisis. Can these two reasons explain the whole story?

I also remember Haiti being extremely expensive compared to many countries that were better off. I couldn't find a hotel for less than $30 and it was a prison cell where no tourists patronized. Also food was more expensive than in all countries.

I have never been to Indian but I've heard if you try hard you can live on $5/day. Gas prices are high in India too.

What gives?

Lotsofissues 17:30, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

Taxation perhaps? Culture also plays a role. In Ireland we have a similar GDP per capita to other european countries, if a bit higher. Yet the cost of a meal in a restaurant is eye-wateringly expensive. <Original Research> I believe this is because as opposed to say, Italy, we have no tradition of regularly going to restaurants and it's still a "luxury" for which we expect to pay a lot for and also lower levels of consumption mean less competition, further increasing cost and I'd say this is the case in your Haiti example above. I've noticed that effect in countries across Europe and Asia: smaller tourist industry/less visited leads to very high hotel prices. I hope some of this applies to your question. Fribbler (talk) 23:10, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

There is also the problem of differential pricing for tourists, where the locals pay much less than tourists do. If a rich tourist visits a poor country and is usually prepared to pay over $30 for a room, than that is the price for tourists, despite it being well over what any local could afford. However such pricing is usually frowned upon in countries heavily dependant on tourism (such as Egypt) and so enforcement by the police or local tourism body is much more likely. In less tourism dependant countries (such as Jordan or Haiti), the controls are either non-existant or not enforced. The same is also true of taxi fares (see the question immediately above) - tourists are a prime opportunity for taxi drivrs to rip them off. Astronaut (talk) 23:27, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

As a side note, I remember that when I visited the Czech Republic in 2001, differential pricing was official policy. Twice the price for "non-citizens" (in practice, western tourists) into government run attractions; and museums in Laos were the same when I was there. Fribbler (talk) 00:03, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Haiti being an island with having things to be shipped in anything to do with it?