Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2010 December 9

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December 9

Trust Fund

I have recently become an uncle, and as we're approaching Christmas I've decided £50 seems a reasonable figure to give to my niece. I'm a first year university student, so I'm quite poor, but it's not every day that I have to spend the money so I think the figure is one I'll most likely stick with. I realise that a child of a few months won't even understand the concept of money, and I don't trust my nieces parents with any money, so I thought of putting the money into some sort of trust fund which matures when the child is of a mature age, 24. I'm wondering what is typical in the UK for such a thing. I have no intention of ever informing my siblings of this, and I shan't ever have children. This is my current plan: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trust_Fund.jpg. Is it approximately a typical arrangement for people in the UK or any other similar developed country? Many thanks, Skippy (talk) 00:10, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

If you're low on income, and want/need advice on anything like this, my first two ports of call would be my bank and the Citizens' Advice Bureau in my area. They will offer the best free advice you can get, and will help guide you towards paid-for advice if appropriate. I hear trust funds under UK law can get nightmarishly complicated, so I wouldn't trust any more specific advice someone like me could give! 212.183.140.103 (talk) 01:02, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

To answer for the rest of the developed country, Canada has one that's acutally intended for exactly that, at least for helping them pay for schooling. See RESP. Aaronite (talk) 01:07, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

In the United States, you could set up a Uniform Transfers to Minors Act account. The money would be hers, but under the control of you or another responsible adult, until she reaches the age of majority in the state in which the account was established. I don't know if the UK has anything like this. John M Baker (talk) 06:26, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

The British Government is phasing out its contributions to Child Trust Funds (and they could be claimed by the child at 18, not at 24), but these accounts are still offered by various investment companies. There is some advice here Dbfirs 11:06, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

Bear in mind that if you something along the lines you suggest and don't tell your siblings, you need to pay attention to the possibility you may get run over by a bus. Not only is this inconvenient and have potential impact on your looks and career prospects, it may mean that you pop your clogs, leaving no-one who knows about the dormant account and how to access it. --Dweller (talk) 12:03, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

You could also contact some building societies and banks to ask them whether they have any savings accounts that could provide what you are looking for. Perhaps an joint account in your name and your niece's, where both signatures are required for withdrawal. Itsmejudith (talk) 13:58, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

For a "poor student" who is likely to incur large debts over the coming years of university education, £50 seems remarkably generous for a child of just a few months, especially when placed in an obscure "trust fund" that only you have access to (until the child is 18). Why not get a teddy bear instead - something she can appreciate now - and save the trust fund idea for a time when you can afford it? Astronaut (talk) 11:14, 11 December 2010 (UTC)

Teddy bears don't accrue interest over time. --Quartermaster (talk) 12:21, 11 December 2010 (UTC)

I need advice: How can I get a drifter from Topeka, KS to Enid, OK?

I picked him up while he hitchhiked and dropped him off in Topeka. It was an hours-long drive, so we got to know each other real well. We also became Facebook friends. (He gets on at public libraries.) In fact, we've been messaging each other on there. I can't help him because I'm in a town over 50 miles away, and need to turn in all my assignments for the end of the semester.

The problem is: There are no truck stops within Topeka city limits. The nearest one is at a service area on an island between the Interstate lanes, so he can't hike there as it's against the law to be a pedestrian on the Interstate.

He needs to find a way to Enid, OK, and he doesn't have enough money for a Greyhound Bus ticket from there. The weather's cold this time of year, and it would be one heck of a long hike.

I'm running out of answers; do you have any suggestions that I don't know of? His library closes 9 PM Central, so I'll need to provide him a solution very soon. Please provide ideas as soon as you can. Thanks. --129.130.101.34 (talk) 01:15, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

Western Union him the $20-or-so for a Greyhound ticket? Buy the Greyhound ticket online? Haus^Talk 01:30, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

The closest Greyhound station to Enid is El Reno, OK and from Topeka tomorrow, it's $64.24 web-only fare. There needs to be another suitable option. He did tell me that he got some free clothes from a Salvation Army or other clothes charity, so he won't freeze whenever he has to hike out in the cold. Still though, if anyone has suggestions on where he can go within Topeka city limits, that can be a suitable, low-cost (or free) starting point to his destination, please post it. --129.130.99.167 (talk) 01:51, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

When I was in my 20s, I hitchhiked, sometimes long distances, in winter. It's not really so bad if you dress for it. In fact, bad weather makes drivers take pity. The truth is, even though it's illegal, I often hitchhiked on interstates. The worst that ever happened was a state cop pulled over and told me to get off the road. However, I usually got picked up before a cop drove by. The key is to have a sign so that drivers know you really want to go somewhere and you aren't out for trouble. It also helps to look like a wholesome college student, so your friend might want to tame any aggressive hair or wardrobe. My recommendation would be a double-sided sign: On one side, write the word "OKLAHOMA" in huge letters. I always used large pieces of corrugated cardboard taken from the sides of boxes. On the other side: ENID. The reason is that people in Kansas can't be expected to know where Enid is. Now the very quickest place to get a ride is 1) on the shoulder of the interstate, and 2) along a straight stretch of the road where drivers can see you from a distance and have plenty of room to stop behind you without negotiating a curve. You want to choose a spot near where a major feeder road enters the interstate so that if a state cop tells you to get off the highway you are near the next-best place to get a ride: 1) On a major road leading onto an interstate as near to the onramp as you can get while standing in a spot where drivers have plenty of time to inspect you, and 2) in a place where drivers have plenty of room to pull over safely to pick you up. Looking at a map of Topeka, the best place to enter the highway to travel south would be the onramp leading from SW Topeka Blvd around the 3900 block onto I-470 (leading to I-335). This onramp is long, straight, and busy enough that your friend could stand there without having to enter the illegal part of the interstate. Thing is, he will probably get someone who is going no further than Emporia or Wichita. If your friend is committed to staying off the interstate, then he has to refuse rides to destinations other than large towns because he is going to have to rely on busy onramps, which exist only in cities and bigger towns. In this case, I would hold out for a ride to at least Wichita. You or your friend should study a map and/or Google satellite view to figure out the best places to stand in Wichita to continue further south. Maybe there is a truckstop there, though most truckers will not accept hitchhikers for insurance liability reasons. From Wichita, try for someone who is going at least as far south as Perry, OK, so that your friend can get out of the car at the exit for US-412, where it should be easy to hitch the short remaining distance to Enid. A few other tips: if a driver seems under the influence of drugs or alcohol, politely decline the ride. If a driver starts making unwelcome sexual comments, explain that you are sorry if you gave the wrong impression but you are not looking for that, and ask him (or her) to let you out of the car immediately. Let me add the disclaimer that your friend uses these tips at his own risk, and that neither I nor Wikipedia advocate any illegal behavior. Marco polo (talk) 02:19, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

I took a look at Wichita, and because of its size and its grid pattern, there is no single obvious entry point into the highway system for Oklahoma-bound traffic. However, as good a place as any would be Exit 50 off of I-35. The place to stand would be on E. Kellogg Ave. just before the onramp onto I-35. The advantage of this place is that there are lots of inexpensive motels around where long-distance drivers are likely to spend the night before resuming their journey. The best time to wait for a ride at that location would be at 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. There is a hospital about 2 miles (40 minutes walk) west of this point on Kellogg Ave. where your friend could spend the night in a waiting room to stay warm if necessary. Marco polo (talk) 02:58, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

Can I give you a barnstar even if I'm not the OP? (Not sure of the etiquette.) That's some answer. Rimush (talk) 22:16, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

SURVEY JOB

I am in ghana , what genuine online survey job can i get

Short answer, there are no genuine online survey jobs, in Ghana or elsewhere. Beach drifter (talk) 12:50, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

Agent Orange

[07:25] <RG> Hi, I need info and documentation to show what chemicals were used on Treasure Island, san francisco california from 1950's to the 1970's. Thanks

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[07:25] <RG> my email is <email removed> [07:26] <RG> No, I need this to prove my illnesses incurred back then.... [07:27] <RG> I was there in 1968 and was exposed to them ( agent orange specifically, I am now type i diabetic and have been since I was 35.I need to get proof of exposure..... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.129.5.52 (talk) 13:31, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

According to the Wikipedia article Agent Orange, it was used in the United States in some limited applications until 1978. It does not give any details as to exactly where and when it was used, so I have no idea if it was used on Treasure Island at any time. You would need to contact the relevent agency in California. This may also be the sort of issue where a lawyer would be useful. --Jayron32 13:53, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

You should file a Freedom of Information Act request with the US Navy requesting the information about the presence of Agent Orange on the island for the time period in question. It's the best means of getting an authoritative response. This page explains how to make a request to the Navy. They are required by law to respond. This kind of thing is not uncommon for them to process. Filling out a FOIA does not require any specific legal knowledge, but this page from GWU is very helpful. --Mr.98 (talk) 14:58, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

SHOPPING

I am in ghana , how can i shop online —Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.221.209.6 (talk) 15:03, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

First, you will need a credit card, usually a MasterCard or VISA card. Then you would need to find a retailer that delivers to Ghana. I'm not sure if there is a directory. You may have to try retailers by trial and error. According to this chart, Amazon will ship to Ghana, so once you have the credit card, you are ready to go. Marco polo (talk) 16:24, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

JOB

Is there any genuine online research company that i can get a job to do —Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.221.209.6 (talk) 15:20, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

If there are online research companies, they will want to see evidence of your online research skills before giving you a job. If you have online research skills, you should use them to find such a company. Marco polo (talk) 16:25, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

Try the leading international market research companies. Send them a CV. It will help if you have a degree in a social science subject like psychology, sociology or economics. Itsmejudith (talk) 13:18, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

Akron Ohio and rubberized asphalt streets

Your article on Akron Ohio was very good but I believe one point was missed. The Akron area or Barberton specifically had the first rubberized asphalt street in the world and it was installed in about 1939. I was from that area and drove on it. Your current info shows rubberized asphalt as first happening in the 60's in Phoenix, Az which I believe is incorrect. Could you check in to this please? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.172.158.212 (talk) 17:03, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

I have found this quote on page two. Natural rubber was used in bitumen (asphalt) as early as the 1840s [1].technology transfer program s e p t ember 2009, vol . 1, no. 2 & Rubber roads in London. Looks like this idea has been bouncing around for quite a while, before then.--Aspro (talk) 17:25, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

Easternmost country in Europe?

What is the easternmost country situated completely in Europe? It's definitely not Russia or Turkey, because part of those countries are situated in Asia. Is it maybe Georgia? JIP | Talk 19:53, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

According to our map in the Europe article, it would appear to be Ukraine. Georgia appears to be Eurasian. Aaronite (talk) 20:22, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

It sort of depends on how you define the border between Europe and Asia; its not always so clear. Some sources include Georgia as fully part of one or the other, and others consider it, like Russia and Turkey, to be split between them. The Ukraine is probably the best unambiguous answer. --Jayron32 20:25, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

As Borders of the continents#Europe and Asia notes, the definition of the boundary is a bit fuzzy. Depending on the definition, Transcontinental country#Asia and Europe lists Georgia as being transcontinental, and so off your list. But just as with physical boundaries being fuzzy, so are definitions - is Réunion part of France (in the terms of your question) and if so does that make France the easternmost, or does it disqualify France altogether? -- Finlay McWalter ☻ Talk 20:25, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

No, my question's criteria only cover the mainland of countries, not islands. So therefore France is included as European even if Réunion is outside Europe. The mention of Georgia being partly in Asia raises an interesting question - I've actually been in Georgia, in Tbilisi to be exact, about two decades ago. It is the easternmost place I have ever been to. Does this mean I've actually been to Asia, or is Tbilisi still in Europe? JIP | Talk 20:54, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

According to the Meso-Caucasus definition in Finlay McWalter's first link, Tbilisi can be seen as a transcontinental city. Finlay McWalter's second link doesn't mention Tbilisi, but the two mkhares surrounding it are classified as Asian in that article. ---Sluzzelin talk 21:22, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

I see that Wikipedia has categorized it as Category:Capitals in Asia. ---Sluzzelin talk 21:26, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

It is the easternmost place I have ever been to. - it really depends on where you're measuring from. Everywhere is east of somewhere else (not to mention north, south and west of somewhere else. Hmm, reminds me of a song.) -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 22:36, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

Everywhere? Where is the North Pole east of? Cuddlyable3 (talk) 01:50, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

Correction. Two places on earth can't be described as being "north, south, and west" of somewhere else (nor east). --Jayron32 22:43, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

I recall a newspaper story claiming that Perry (I think it was) might not have made it to the North Pole at all, but might have passed some sixty miles west of it. The writer appeared to be serious. --Trovatore (talk) 23:17, 9 December 2010 (UTC)

You're thinking of Robert Peary, and his achievement (or at least navigation) does indeed appear to be in some doubt. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 00:38, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

OK, thanks. But the doubt about whether he got there wasn't my point. There is no "west" of the North Pole. --Trovatore (talk) 01:50, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

Polar pedants! :) Technically, everywhere is south of the North Pole, but that doesn't mean that you're going to end up in the same place no matter how you orient your travel from the pole. Not at all. Unless your destination happens to be the South Pole. So, there are many different types of "southerly" from the North Pole, and just as many types of "northerly" from the South Pole. Some of these are more "westerly" than "easterly", and vice-versa. I know you know what I'm talking about. Don't try to deny it.  :) -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 02:26, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

No, really, none are more westerly than easterly. Some of them go to the so-called Western Hemisphere, but the Western Hemisphere is just as much east of the Eastern Hemisphere as it is west of it. --Trovatore (talk) 02:35, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

Well, with the quibble I suppose that the Atlantic is narrower than the Pacific, so if you use Western Hemisphere as a synonym for New World (which in fact I do; it strikes me as a little bizarre to make the cut through some silly town where there happened to be a telescope) then I guess it is a little more natural to think of it as west of the Eastern Hemisphere (Old World). But that doesn't apply from the pole. --Trovatore (talk) 02:38, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

A "silly town"? Not so - a very historically significant district of London, birthplace of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I among others. The decision on the Greenwich meridian was taken at an international conference in 1884 in Washington D.C., organised at the behest of President Chester A. Arthur. Ghmyrtle (talk) 12:08, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

My rhetorical flourish was not meant as any genuine lack of respect for the good people of Greenwich. But their meridian does not in any natural way divide up "hemispheres" (unlike the North and South hemispheres, which are quite natural). Therefore I follow the common practice of dividing the Eastern and Western Hemispheres by the great oceans, even though this does not result in a division into exactly half and leaves certain islands ambiguous. --Trovatore (talk) 19:22, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

That nicely dovetails into my original point. A person from Ireland who'd only ever gone as far afield as Cardiff in Wales, would not deny they'd been that far east (or south-east in this case) merely because Cardiff is technically still in the Western Hemisphere as Ireland is. No, their natural benchmark is Ireland, not Greenwich, and any place less westerly than Ireland counts as being to their east. So, as long as JIP's benchmark is no more than 180 degrees west of Tbilisi, it would count as the most easterly place he's ever been to. JIP is in Finland, so he could travel right across Russia and get to the western coast of Alaska before reaching his easternmost possible point. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 20:03, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

Ok, move an inch away from the pole and then see how things turn out. From a purist's standpoint it may as well be the Arctic Circle. -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 03:12, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

If you move an inch away from the pole, then head continuously westward, you'll get back to where you started from after having walked about six inches. You certainly can't get sixty miles to the west of where you are. --Trovatore (talk) 03:21, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

Now you're trying to use facts to win your argument. That's terribly unfair, and unbecoming of the true spirit of Christmas, a time for giving, a time for forgiveness, a time for love. (Pardon me, I'm just going outside to throw up and may be some time ... I know, wrong pole, but what the hell, it works.) -- Jack of Oz ... speak! ... 04:31, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

Actually I suppose I have to take some of that back. I guess it's reasonable to interpret "sixty miles west" of a point as meaning you follow a geodesic that starts out heading due west, and go for sixty miles. You could indeed do that an inch from the pole. But depending on which point on that one-inch circle you started from, you could wind up anywhere on (roughly) the 89th parallel.

Of course that's assuming some idealized Earth, say a perfect sphere or perfect oblate spheroid or something like that. In reality the problem is not really well-specified to that level of accuracy. I'm not sure the North Pole is even well-defined within an inch. --Trovatore (talk) 09:57, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

And to further complicate things, the north pole has a floating polar icecap on it that is continuously moving around, so even if you just sit still on the ice, you will gradually move off from the north pole. Googlemeister (talk) 14:08, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

Due to polar motion, the pole (defined as the intersection of surface with spin-axis) is only "stably" located to within a few meters, or as an "average" of its variable location. WikiDao ☯ (talk) 17:46, 11 December 2010 (UTC)