Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2012 January 30

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January 30

Qu'Appelle River origin?

The Qu'Appelle River originates at Lake Diefenbaker in Saskatchewan now, but I've been wondering where the headwaters of the river were before the construction of the dams that hold back Diefenbaker. From some information I dug up I'm suspecting that the Qu'Appelle might have been fed by the South Saskatchewan River during high water in the spring and summer, and dried up altogether in the fall, but that seems a little unlikely. I haven't found anything else on the Qu'Appelle though, so I'd be glad for any information regarding this Shann_ºn 00:57, 30 January 2012 (UTC)

The 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannnica tends to confirm my suspicion, after examining Google aerial images, that the headwaters of the Qu'Appelle were near but not at the south bend of the South Saskatchewan River. According to Google Maps, the banks of the South Saskatchewan are more than 20 meters lower than those of the Qu'Appelle immediately below Diefenbaker Lake. So it would have taken a VERY substantial spring flood for the S. Saskatchewan to overflow into the Qu'Appelle before the dam was built. In fact, 20 meters suggests something more like a glacial melt water flood than anything likely to have happened in historical times. So I don't think that the two drainages were linked before the reservoir was built. On the other hand, aerial images show several brooks converging in the direction of the Qu'Appelle just below the present-day dam. During an exceptionally dry summer, maybe the upper course of the Qu'Appelle would have dried up, but I think that it was more likely a perennial stream, albeit a smaller stream than today's river. Marco polo (talk) 02:04, 30 January 2012 (UTC)

As I understand the literature, the Qu'Appelle valley was formed by water from the South Saskatchewan during a period when the normal drainage was blocked by glaciers. Once the normal course was unblocked, the Qu'Appelle was left with very low volume, fed mainly by groundwater, and often dried up in the summer. So the answer, apparently, is that it really doesn't have any significant headwaters. Ref: http://esask.uregina.ca/entry/quappelle_valley.html Looie496 (talk) 03:03, 30 January 2012 (UTC)

Project management

why is project management getting more attention lattley — Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.223.141.83 (talk) 10:50, 30 January 2012 (UTC)

I've given your inquiry a separate heading, but, in all honesty, this is asking for an opinion, for which the Reference Desk is not a good place. If you could be so kind as to rephrase your question and/or be more specific, maybe then we could be of some assistance. Cheers, Ouro (blah blah) 12:04, 30 January 2012 (UTC)

This article discusses reasons for a growing interest in project management in the IT sector. Speaking anecdotally based on my own experience outside the IT sector, interest in project management has grown as a result of the growing scale of outsourcing. As more and more pieces of projects are outsourced or performed offsite, managing the project and the many different players becomes more complicated. What used to be handled largely by set procedures, in-house communications, and relationships now needs to be managed more actively and formally. Also, the present corporate environment places a much higher value on cost savings and efficiencies than the environment of 5 years ago. Promoters of project management advertise that their techniques will bring greater efficiency, and this is attractive to executives. Marco polo (talk) 18:42, 30 January 2012 (UTC)

volcano

sir, what is the largest volcano in the world.Mpchero (talk) 15:00, 30 January 2012 (UTC)

What do you mean by "largest"? Volcanic Seven Summits says Ojos del Salado in South America is the highest above sealevel. Mauna Loa in Hawaii is the largest in volume and area covered. For largest eruption, see list of largest volcanic eruptions. Another mountaineering measure is prominence: see List of peaks by prominence (not all of those are volcanoes). --Colapeninsula (talk) 15:21, 30 January 2012 (UTC)

The problem is in how you define "volcano". Popular perception usually restricts it to that of discrete mountains (which can themselves be only a part of a larger volcanic hotspot below). But accurately defined, a volcano is "an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or crust, which allows hot magma, volcanic ash and gases to escape from below the surface." And that includes geological features which may not have readily identifiable aboveground features like supervolcanoes (including Yellowstone and Lake Toba).

If you measure the geological formations produced by supervolcanoes, they are arguably far larger than even Mauna Loa. For example, the Ontong Java Plateau (including Manihiki Plateau and Hikurangi Plateau which have since broken off) is a large igneous province resulting from supervolcanic activity that covers approximately 2,000,000 km² (770,000 sq mi) - that's 1% of the Earth's surface area, about the same size as Alaska. Supervolcanoes are theorized to have been the cause of mass extinction events in Earth's history, including a genetic bottleneck in modern human populations resulting from the eruption of Lake Toba around 70,000 years ago.-- Obsidi♠n Soul 16:11, 30 January 2012 (UTC)

You could also argue that mid-ocean ridges are a type of volcano, in which case they are certainly the largest. If you want to extend your search outside of the Earth world, then Olympus Mons dwarfs any 'mountain' form volcanoes around here. SmartSE (talk) 18:22, 30 January 2012 (UTC)

longest college student

Some time ago I came across an article here profiling someone who had apparently been attending college since September 1994. The article said he had dozens of degrees and was something of a local celebrity (I think the college was in Wisconsin but I'm not sure). I don't remember the guys name and the article may have been deleted. Does anyone know who I'm talking about? — Preceding unsigned comment added by AddThreeAndFive (talk • contribs) 20:25, 30 January 2012 (UTC)

See the Wikipedia article titled Perpetual student, and the specific student of which you are thinking is Johnny Lechner, of which Wikipedia also has an article. --Jayron32 23:14, 30 January 2012 (UTC)

I don't see it there, but I've heard tales of a student who received a full scholarship to a major university for undergrad, but the terms of the scholarship were such that he could continue receiving it year after year forever as long as he got good grades. So he chose to just keep being a student until the university eventually recognized the issue and figured out a way to stop paying him. My recollection of the version I heard is that he lasted 11 years in undergrad without having to pay anything to the school (and it would have ended at least a decade ago). Of course the wisdom if actually doing such things is questionable. Dragons flight (talk) 06:58, 1 February 2012 (UTC)

"I've heard tales of" does not bode well for reliability. This is close one of the subplots of Roger Zelazny's novel Doorways in the Sand, though the source of the money is a legacy rather than a scholarship. --ColinFine (talk) 20:25, 1 February 2012 (UTC)

This sort of thing crops up fairly frequently in fiction - other examples are Victor Tugelbend from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, and Richard Grimsdyke from Doctor in the House 59.108.42.46 (talk) 06:02, 3 February 2012 (UTC)

Since Robert Wadlow attended college, surely he must be the longest college student. :-) StuRat (talk) 07:01, 1 February 2012 (UTC)

Johnny Lechner is the guy I was thinking of; I just forgot his last name. Thanks! AddThreeAndFive (talk) 21:46, 9 February 2012 (UTC)

Information

<personal information redacted> Dear sirs I live in Hamburg, Germany and searching for a CD/DVD Duplication Machine to buy. I should be grateful if you would tell me which Company manufactures such a machine and the address to contact them. Thank you for your services.

Yours truly Bernard King — Preceding unsigned comment added by 46.59.175.107 (talk) 22:45, 30 January 2012 (UTC)

It would be easiest for you to go to an electronics shop in town and ask them. I've also removed your personal information for your privacy --Saalstin (talk) 23:08, 30 January 2012 (UTC)

Googling DVD Duplication Machine brings up a good list of manufacturers and distributors. --Colapeninsula (talk) 09:46, 31 January 2012 (UTC)

And, in case you don't already know, a PC with on CD/DVD reader and another that can write to CD/DVD can also be used to make copies, with the proper software. StuRat (talk) 04:08, 1 February 2012 (UTC)

... or even just one PC that can both read and write (though that takes longer), but I assumed that the OP was looking for a machine that makes fast multiple copies. I suppose this could be done by linking multiple PCs? Dbfirs 08:55, 1 February 2012 (UTC)