Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2009 June 25

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June 25

what is a detective's license good for?

I'm reading detective fiction: the Nero Wolfe canon. In most of the books, either Wolfe or the narrator has occasion to remind the police that he has a valid New York detective's license, which carries some ill-defined legal privileges. What might they be? For instance, is a licensed detective immune to charges of trespassing on the job? —Tamfang (talk) 04:39, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

See Private investigator#Training, other qualifications and advancement, which describes licensure procedures, which appear to be required of detectives in many (but not all) states in the U.S. In lots of cases, stuff which is perfectly legal and unregulated in a non-commercial manner (for example, selling your old TV on Craigs List) are still regulated when the activity is done at a level which could be considered a job or business (for example, selling hundreds of old TVs). While asking people questions is unregulatable, doing so as a business IS regulatable, which is probably why many states require licensure of their private detectives. So, the advantage of being licenced is likely so that you can legally run a detective business. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 04:49, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

One point-- it is illegal in New York for a private investigator to describe him/herself as a "detective". That title is reserved for the police. Rhinoracer (talk) 11:33, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

Anyone can say "I am with the police" or "I am helping the police". Cuddlyable3 (talk) 20:54, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

And those anyones can also get into trouble for misreprenting themselves as police officers. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 21:40, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

I'm just helping the police like any ordinary patriotic and decent citizen who loves his country would want to do, and since you don't feel the same, I think we'd better investigate YOU. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 16:24, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

The most important reason for having one is that without one you cannot serve as a private eye in exchange for money. (In many jurisdictions.) Similar to having to get a law license before hiring yourself out as a lawyer. You may be fully qualified, but if you're not licensed, you can't do it.APL (talk) 16:17, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

(sigh) Thanks to all who repeated what I reckoned was a given, that various states restrict entry into many occupations. As usual I overestimated the degree to which I made my question clear: that I'm interested in privileges beyond the freedom to operate a business. —Tamfang (talk) 22:09, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

Addresses of famous people

I read in the local newspaper (Kolkata, India) recently that a man in the city sends snail mails to famous people like Brad Pitt, Hillary Clinton, George Bush etc. and they send him their autographs in turn. How on earth does he know these people's addresses. I'd like to do the same thing too, but I don't know how to go about it. Thanks in advance! 117.194.224.3 (talk) 06:43, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

I would imagine they use a service like www.WhoRepresents.com, which will provide you with contact details for celebrities' agents in return for a fee. Karenjc 06:57, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

I wonder if the fee's really necessary. Addresses that will reach someone in the celebrity's entourage are usually available not only on the Internet (e.g. at http://www.imdb.com ) but in standard sources like Who's Who. Politicians who want to get re-elected have to provide their constituents with some kind of address, as do most business leaders who want to stay solvent, so they should be even easier to reach. And few journalists will make it hard for people to offer tips and interviews by becoming completely inaccessible. —— Shakescene (talk) 07:07, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

And I wonder how anyone would know that an autograph obtained that way is genuine? It could be a temp signing it. Or a machine, even. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 07:42, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

Because after this man sent his letters, two or three of them even called him up on his birthday to wish him. At least, Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton did... Only, I hope he's not fibbing... 117.194.227.192 (talk) 07:54, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

My guess is he's making the whole thing up. -- BenRG (talk) 09:00, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

I wouldn't be so sure. I've tried contacting a couple of well-known people and they usually reply. It's good for their image, their business, and being appreciated also simply feels good. It has a lot of advantages to respond.

Yes, but Hillary Clinton or any other celeb doesn't have the time to be calling all of these people on their birthdays. Dismas|^(talk) 11:42, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

Probably not in most cases, but they do make phone calls, and it's possible he's telling the truth. -- JackofOz (talk) 11:49, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

Some years ago, when I was a kid, I wrote to a whole bunch of famous people. I had no idea of their real addresses, so I sent them "care of" places they were closely associated with, professionally. It worked. I had about a 75% response rate. It was a pretty eclectic bunch I targeted; my favourite replies were from David Gower and Cyril Smith. --Dweller (talk) 12:13, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

It's pretty well established that if someone has written a book - that their publisher will forward mail to them - so getting your letter to these people (or at least to their flunkies) is very easy indeed. Most celebs will send a signed photo on request (although whether it was "machine signed" or really, truly signed by the person is hard to know) - and perhaps, if it's a very non-busy, attention-seeking celeb and you write a particularly touching, clever or significant note - you might maybe get a short personal note in reply. I flat out don't believe that those politicians phoned this person on his birthday...not unless there was something remarkably special about the guy...so I'd strongly suggest a "fib". SteveBaker (talk) 23:34, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

This WSJ article, printed as an "amusing first-page story" in April, is about a woman who runs a fan-mail service which receives letters addressed to Kevin Bacon, Samuel L. Jackson, Richard Gere, and various others, and discusses what happens to those letters. From the article: "We have a few customers like Hector Elizondo who will come in the office and sign their own photos," Ms. Kehoe said. "He's the sweetest guy in the world. I think Charlie Sheen also signs his photos. He likes to be liked by his fans." Tempshill (talk) 23:37, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

regarding nuclear engineering

Sir, I want to clear my doubt. Can a undergraduate student currently undergoing power systems engineering pursue a m.tech degree in nuclear engineering.

Maybe. Why not ask the institution in question? Algebraist 16:14, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

musical instrument

What is the proper name of the valveless, straight-line trumpet used for fanfares at British coronations and similar high ceremonial occasions?69.132.93.133 (talk) 17:39, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

I think you're talking about Bugle (instrument). Friday (talk) 17:40, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

The key word you missed was "straight." Heraldry trumpets fit the description. Some are shown here. Wikipedia does not seem to have an article on them. They only play harmonic tones, and could not play a scale unless the notes were at a very high pitch. Edison (talk) 19:17, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

I know nothing about music or musical instruments, but clarion might fit your description. Heraldic trumpet also sounds very likely. I presume that the end farthest from the musician flares out into a trumpet-like bell. —— Shakescene (talk) 21:24, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

"Fanfare trumpet" does get some use. --jpgordon^{::==( o )} 21:29, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

Fanfare trumpet sounds like what OP was describing. Here are some pictures [1]71.236.26.74 (talk) 06:15, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

Natural trumpet is also very relevant to this question. Steewi (talk) 01:43, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

Code for numbers to letters conversion

I am attempting to hide the word "catastrophe" using numbers to represent the letters. I need three different ways that could be solved without using any codes specifically designed for the word. I currently have two (using the letters on the telephone buttons; and each letters' position in the alphabet so A=1 etc.) but I cannot think of a third. Is there something else that commonly associates numbers with letters? --Ye Olde Luke (talk) 21:03, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

I don't know how well-known your cipher has to be, but you could play with the abbreviations in the Periodic Table of the Elements. Ca = calcium, Ta= tantalum, (or C = carbon, At = astatine,) As = arsenic, P = phosphorus, He = helium etc., but I'm not sure how to fit in the t-r-o sequence. Then you could replace each element with its atomic number.

You could also play with ASCII and similar text-encoding systems for computers. —— Shakescene (talk) 21:37, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

103-71-101-71-87-101-156-255-97-137-129. Franamax (talk) 22:04, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

If you are trying to encrypt messages, use real cryptography and not kid stuff. A common, low tech, relatively secure system that doesn't involve computers is the book cipher. 208.70.31.206 (talk) 02:38, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

I can't speak, of course, for the enquirer, but this looks more to me like trying to set a puzzle that is reasonably solvable by lay people rather than hard-core encryption for security purposes. —— Shakescene (talk) 03:28, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

Franamax, your amino acid code is good, but I needed something with the same number of letters as the original word. Shakescene (love your username BTW), I decided to go with yours, and I'll just give them the TR (the O could be oxygen). Thanks all! --Ye Olde Luke (talk) 06:20, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

Atbash. (Works in English too) Then convert to numbers using your second idea. --Dweller (talk) 09:40, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

Colors of trolls?

Do nature trolls have a certain colors? If so is indigo or blue color troll the strongest troll, and pink and orange troll is the weakest. Do sequence of troll from weakest to strongest go from pink, coral, peach, turquoise, lime green blue,then purple troll? Is there such thing as a brown, black, and white troll.--69.229.111.118 (talk) 21:04, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

If you're talking about in the context of a particular game, book, or movie, or something, you should say so. Friday (talk) 21:06, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

No, I don't believe there is such thing as a brown, black, and white troll, though I am not an expert in the field, and I have no verifiable sources. 124.154.253.146 (talk) 02:05, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

As far as I can tell, no one has ever bounced white light off of a natural troll to tell for sure. They mainly seem to exist in fairy tales, fantasy novels, and internet forums, where the population is artificially maintained. 65.121.141.34 (talk) 16:20, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

Maybe it depends on what you feed them? Vimescarrot (talk) 18:18, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

Question is, are we currently feeding one? · AndonicO ^Engage. 04:03, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

Going with fictional trolls, it depends on the environment on what color they are as well as the fiction world. -- Legeres (talk) 19:24, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

Deaths coming in threes

What is the proper way to slap down people who keep saying that deaths "come in threes", particularly with famous people? It's not quite the Texas sharpshooter fallacy, is it? Thanks. CSWarren (talk) 21:36, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

Without doing any research whatsoever, it's confirmation bias. Unless all famous deaths are being considered (they're not), and unless all "threes" use the same criteria (they don't), it's nothing more. — Lomn 21:42, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

Tell that to MJ... TastyCakes (talk) 22:48, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

The plural of anecdote is not data. Can you sometimes draw some sort of death-in-three connection? Sure. Can you draw one more frequently than probability suggests? Nope. — Lomn 22:58, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

It's interesting how often people say things like "it doesn't happen more often than probability would suggest", but they have never actually done a study to see if that is true. They simply assume that it isn't true. DJ Clayworth (talk) 14:41, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

You're right, but I'd like to think that the burden of proof doesn't lie with common sense in cases like this. — Lomn 18:27, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

It's the usual deal - since the idea that things come in threes became a 'meme', people notice when something does come in group of three - and they don't notice when they don't - so it becomes self-reinforcing. Also, it's extremely hard to distinguish something "coming in three" twice in a row - versus coming in six at a time. Does the saying come with time limits? If two of your distant relatives died on the same day as Micheal Jackson - does that count as a "three"? If so - ask yourself this: Would someone who doesn't know you or your relatives consider that same "group" to be a "three"? I rather doubt it! Half a million people died on that same day...does that mean that this wasn't a "three" at all? When you start asking what the saying actually "means" - it all kinda falls apart. SteveBaker (talk) 23:24, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

You mean Michael Jackson, Farah Fawcett, and Ed McMahon? Clearly a trio. Edison (talk) 23:35, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

Old superstition. Ironically, Walter Cronkite was rumored dead over the weekend, and so far he's outlasted everybody famous this week. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 00:12, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

Talking of rumours, the commonly rumoured "third death" Jeff Goldblum is quite alive, but the media storm is causing a bit of overload on this police page. Gwinva (talk) 00:55, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

indeed, what even constitutes the three? Before I read that Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett died, my first impression was that David Carradine was the first of the triad; Ed McMahon the second, and was waiting for the third. When two hit at once, it means that a) either Carradine is not part of any celebrity-death-triplet, which of course breaks the meme since he's clearly famous enough, but did not die as part of a "three" OR that b) this is four deaths in close succession, which of course also breaks the "rule of three". As noted, its clearly confirmation bias, which basically means that people expect famous people to die in threes, and so just group them into whatever cluster of three famous people is most convenient. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 02:28, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

Yep - exactly. Had Jackson not died - Carradine would have been the third in those who believe in the meme. Then Jackson dies and suddenly Carradine isn't famous enough to count...and neither are the other half dozen who died recently (John Callaway, Bob Bogle, Shelly Gross, Charlie Mariano...). What rule is the universe using to pick those who 'count' and those who do not. SteveBaker (talk) 03:30, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

Yes, this whole theory irritates me...if it had even a remote shred of validity, the where was number two or three when Heath Ledger, Kurt Cobain, or Michael Hutchence passed away? cheers, 10draftsdeep (talk) 17:58, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

The important thing is that Steve Jobs is safe for now.A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 12:52, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

They're playing Michael Jackson's music all over the radio now. It sounds like he made the right career move. A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 16:05, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

Just so long as they don't turn his house into another Graceland. 65.121.141.34 (talk) 16:14, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

Well, I guess it did once have a theme park 10draftsdeep (talk) 17:58, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

I used to hear this concept as the more generic "bad things come in threes". I wonder if that's connected in some way with with Three on a match (superstition). And I wonder how the Catholics felt about that, given that the Trinity is something that comes in three. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 15:03, 27 June 2009 (UTC)

Interesting question, one I was thinking about recently. I haven't formally examined it, but I think it is the combination of two phenomena, one statistical one behavioral or psychological.

Rare events roughly follow a Poisson distribution.

Consider an event that happens on any day with a 20% probability. I'm making up the number, but it could correspond to a celebrities death, or some personal bad news. On any given day, there's roughly an 80% chance no such event will happen. There's about a chance in six one will happen. If one happens, we say, oh how sad, and reflect upon the event, not on the number of events.

There's about a chance in 60 that two occur on the same day. We call this a coincidence, reflect on the events and a little on the mild coincidence of both happening. But a chance in 60 means this happens several times a year, so it's a coincidence, but not much more.

Now three on the same say, that's more interesting. Just over one chance in a thousand (916 for the anal) three of the same event will happen in the same day. So three celebrities dying on the say day, or locking yourself out of the house, getting into a car accident and hearing about a friends illness on the same day might qualify.

Four in one day is really rare; happens one in any 18 thousand days.

So why is three special? Because one or two are so common, they are just called happenstance or coincidence. And four is quite rare. So three is rare enough to be notable, but common that one can point to many such events. Plus, in the very rare cases that four occur, we don’t say to ourselves - that sounds like refutation of the "threes" rule, we say "Holy Carp, what's going on?"

The above is pure stats (assuming independence). Now bring in psychology, in more than one way. If three celebrities die on the same day, some see it as confirmations of the threes rule. If two happen on the same day, and one a day later, we don’t call it refutation, we say three celebrities dies this week, everyone knows they happen in three. If four die in a week, three might be major and one B list, so we still call it three. If two are major, and one is B list, we still call it three. If it's two movie stars and an athlete, we call it three celebrities. If there's two movie stars, a TV star and an athlete, we'll talk about the three entertainers.

It gets worse - if two happen, and we start talking about bad things coming in threes, and the third doesn't happen, we won’t call it a refutation of the rule, we'll simply be thankful that the rule didn't play out THIS time.--SPhilbrickT 20:56, 27 June 2009 (UTC)

It gets even worse. Check the newstands for a special soft-cover book called "Celebrating the 70s", put out by People or Life or somebody like that. Farrah and Michael are both on the cover. Other still-living members of that photo collection might want to schedule their annual checkups. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 21:40, 27 June 2009 (UTC)

Sometimes they happen in fours.[2] A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 18:45, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

A bonus! Curiously enough, McMahon and Mays kind of "bookended" this past week's celebrity deaths, and both of them served as pitchmen, Mays being a tad louder than McMahon. Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots 20:37, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

How to get a resume out there to become a cosmetologist in a nursing home/assisted living environment??

Question originally posted by IP:66.20.186.220 moved from Talk:Cosmetology by Franamax (talk) 21:38, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

I have had a license for a very long time.....I have had several years experience working in salons, and at one point some 20 years ago owned my own facial/nail salon. I currently live in NC, and have a parent who is in a nursing home. I love elderly people, I have a caring, tender heart. I love putting a smile on their face. I have had the opportunity to offer my services, and have not lost my touch. I am not up to date on the high fashion current styles of todays look, but would love to cater to the senior society. How can I best put myself out there.?

Why don't you send a brief letter outlining your experience to all your local nursing homes? You could even offer to do a few complimentary visits. Gwinva (talk) 22:38, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

How about offering your services for free for a day to a local nursing home - wait a while and then ask if they are interested in paying you to do it again. Or - since you have a parent in a particular home - how about asking the people there for advice. Perhaps make it clear that you aren't looking for a job from them - just whatever advice they have to give. SteveBaker (talk) 23:17, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

I misread the heading here, and had a lovely and creative moment pondering the role of a cosmologist in a nursing home. --Dweller (talk) 09:38, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

A day in the life of a cosmetologist. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 13:48, 26 June 2009 (UTC)