Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2014 November 2

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November 2

Fidel Castro predecessor

Not really editing ............kindly check predecessor to Fidel Castro is obviously wrong.

Which article has the problem? Fidel Castro itself seems OK. In any case, you can fix obvious vandalism yourself - click on the "History" tab at the top of the article, select the version before the vandalism edit, then edit and save that version, without making any changes. Include an appropriate edit summary (such as "Reverting vandalism to earlier version". See WP:REVERT for the detailed procedure. Tevildo (talk) 10:34, 1 November 2014 (UTC)

@Tevildo - actually, no. The Fidel Castro article is protected - so only people with an account and "in good standing" can edit it. If anyone else wants to suggest a change, they have to make a request on the talk page and get one of the regular editors to review the proposed change and actually do the edit. This is a relatively rare thing on Wikipedia - but for very politically sensitive or much-vandalized articles, it's a necessary evil. SteveBaker (talk) 14:22, 1 November 2014 (UTC)

I think the issue may be that the term "predecessor" in that info-box is a bit complicated. Castro was the first "President of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cuba" - and in that sense, he had no predecessor. But he was also the last "Prime Minister", and the preceding prime minister was José Miró Cardona. Castro took a variety of roles and titles and was head of several things. So he had several predecessors - one in each job title...except "President", for which there was no predecessor.

It looks to me like those entries are all kinda reasonable - and there hasn't been any vandalism in the article for a long time.

Perhaps the person who posted this question could be a bit more specific about what exactly they think is wrong here.

Also, in general, if you have a problem with an article here on Wikipedia, you should click on the "Talk" tab and discuss it there. In this case, check out Talk:Fidel_Castro.

SteveBaker (talk) 14:22, 1 November 2014 (UTC)

• Fulgencio Batista was the dictator who preceded Fidel Castro. 20:20, 2 November 2014 (UTC)

Well, there was never an official position "Dictator of Cuba". See Cuban Revolution. Between Batista's flight from Cuba on 1 January 1959 and Castro's officially becoming Prime Minister on 16 February, three people held the post of President and were (nominally) head of state - Anselmo Alliegro y Milá, Carlos Manuel Piedra, and Manuel Urrutia Lleó. Castro didn't succeed Batista directly in any official capacity. Tevildo (talk) 23:54, 2 November 2014 (UTC)

Except as dictator.... μηδείς (talk) 02:44, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

This debate belongs on the Talk:Fidel Castro page. SteveBaker (talk) 06:20, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

Conventional wisdom, so to speak, is that Batista left and Castro came in. If there were nominal national leaders between the two, it's not literally true that Castro replaced Batista, but rather he replaced those other guys. The OP came here for an answer. I think he has sufficient info now that he can pursue this on the Fidel talk page, yes. In fact, maybe this whole section should be moved or copied there? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 08:00, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

Repair of Headphones

Due to an accident to an expensive pair of headphones, the semicircular strip of plastic which goes over the head and joins to the two earphones, snapped in half. Other than using sticky tape, can a user suggest a good way of repairing the plastic strip. Thank you Simonschaim (talk) 20:36, 2 November 2014 (UTC)

Super glue? Epoxy? If they were "expensive" as you said, sounds like you overpaid. ‑‑Mandruss ☎ 20:46, 2 November 2014 (UTC)

No glue that I've ever seen will effect a permanent repair just by gluing the broken ends together (though I've never tried the really expensive epoxy resins). A stronger joint can be made by gluing a rigid strip of plastic or metal on each side of the break. If the plastic is thermoplastic (melts with heat) then a quick repair can be made by melting a couple of rigid wires or rods of metal into the plastic across the joint. Dbfirs 21:21, 2 November 2014 (UTC)

The problem is that the area of the joint between the two parts is very small - and the leverage due to the length of the arms of the headphones is large - so the force at the joint will be huge, and the force-per-square-inch will be off the charts.

So just gluing the thing together is unlikely to be successful.

The trick (as User:Dbfirs suggests) is to increase the surface area involved. So what you want is a pair of flat plates that you glue across the join - one on the inside and one on the outside. Doing that gives the glue a surface that's the entire area of the plates to work with. This should work, providing you pick a glue that's compatible with the material of the plates and the plastic of the headphones. One of my favorite websites is http://www.thistothat.com - where you enter the two materials you need to stick, and it recommends the right glue and advises on surface preparation.

Another trick I've used is to get a couple of small nuts and bolts and bolted a couple of plates through holes drilled through the headphones. This works well if the headphone band is fairly narrow.

Trouble is that none of these are "invisible" mends. SteveBaker (talk) 05:46, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

True, but the OP isn't asking for invisibility, just functionality. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:14, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

How do you know that? Do you have newly discovered psychic powers? SteveBaker (talk) 14:51, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

Where does the OP say anything about invisibility? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:34, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

He did say it, but in an invisible post which only those with special powers can see. We also see unicorns and other supposedly non-existent animals, dead people, the future, etc. Clearly, you're not one of the elect. I pity you.  :) -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 21:13, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

That explains it. Although my inability to see unicorns does not seem to have been much of a handicap. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 22:23, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

Yes, having many unknown unknowns can be an appropriate life path. It is understandable that one as pitiful as you chooses to live one's life in blissful ignorance of one's handicaps, rather than live in the unremitting anguish that is the only sure way to heaven, but which only the strongest among us can endure. Maybe next lifetime for you. I hope you eventually make something of this one.  :) -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 23:15, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

Actually, there are no unicorns. I know this because the Irish Rovers told us so. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:23, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

Perhaps use a plastic welding solvent (such as Micro Mark^®'s Same Stuff™ or some other brand). It doesn't just bond the two pieces, it dissolves the plastic a little so they weld into one unified piece.    → Michael J Ⓣ Ⓒ Ⓜ 01:08, 8 November 2014 (UTC)

Use a wire coat hangar, cut (with wire cutters) and bent to the proper shape, then duct taped to the two pieces of the head phone. If one piece of coat hangar isn't enough to make it sufficiently rigid, you can use several. Any self-respecting nerd will be jealous of you. :-) StuRat (talk) 03:12, 8 November 2014 (UTC)

Thank you. Simonschaim (talk) 10:45, 9 November 2014 (UTC)