Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2010 December 24

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December 24

Property taxes

Once a year I get a letter from the government saying what I owe in property taxes, and I send them a check for this amount. But how is my property tax calculated? It is explained on the letter and in a pamphlet that comes with the letter, but I sent the letter filled out with my payment and I lost the pamphlet. 24.92.70.160 (talk) 01:27, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Where do you live (City, not just State or country) - every place calculates it differently. Ariel. (talk) 01:32, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

The questioner geolocates to Wisconsin, USA. To my knowledge, virtually every jurisdiction in the United States calculates property taxes as a percentage of the property's assessed value. The percentage varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and sometimes within the jurisdiction from one type of property to another (e.g., residential versus commercial). Also, a given property may have taxes assessed by different jurisdictions, such as the county, township, school district, fire district, and so on. The assessed value is theoretically supposed to represent the property's market value, but some jurisdiction assess properties at some fraction of market value, and/or conduct assessments so infrequently that the assessed value has little relation to the market value. Finally, some jurisdictions offer abatements or other tax reductions to some classes of taxpayers, such as people over a certain age. Really, the best way to get your question answered with any precision would be to contact your local tax assessor or tax collector and ask for another copy of that pamphlet. Marco polo (talk) 02:26, 25 December 2010 (UTC)

Hindu girl speech

Does anybody know who is this girl? [this video] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.53.228.230 (talk) 02:04, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

cold in summer and hot in winter

Which northen nations tend to have cold summer seasons and which southern nations tend to have hot winter seasons? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.53.228.230 (talk) 03:23, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Areas that have colder summers in the Northern Hemisphere are those that lie a) closer to the poles (and thus have a polar climate) and b) areas that are close to the western coasts of North America, because ocean currents tend to carry cold water from Alaska down towards them. Hence, Mark Twain's quote "The coldest winter I ever had was the summer I spent in San Francisco). Areas that have hotter winters in the Southern hemisphere are those which lie closer to the equator. In the southern hemisphere, there's very little land in the temperate zone (most of it is either Antarctica or near the tropics). --Jayron32 03:28, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Although, to be fair, Twain didn't say that. Matt Deres (talk) 21:20, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

There's one other I can think of -- areas at very high altitude in the northern hemisphere. Tibet, for example, has large regions averaging over 5000 meters elevation, with cold summers indeed; the portion of Siberia directly north of Tibet, higher latitude but lower elevation, is much warmer in the summer. The capital of Tibet, Lhasa, at 3490 meters (11450 feet) is actually in one of the lower and warmer parts of Tibet in the summer. Antandrus (talk) 03:47, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

The temperatures in the San Francisco Bay Area tend to be cool in the summer because the heat of the California Central Valley draws fog through the Bay and cools off its environs. The warmest time of the year tends to be September. Corvus cornix_talk 19:30, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Hereditary monarchy

When did England and Scotland cease to be elective monarchies and became hereditary monarchies? --Queen Elizabeth II's Little Spy (talk) 04:35, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

It is likely that England was functionally hereditary from the earliest undisputed kings of unified England. I see nothing in the articles of Egbert of Wessex or Æthelwulf of Wessex or Alfred the Great to indicate that their kingships were not hereditary; indeed those articles seem to indicate that the kingship was passed via will from a king to his sons, like any other hereditary property or right. Earlier kings of England may have been elected as "Great King" or Bretwalda by the other Kings in England (for example, all of the kings chose to elevate one of their number to Bretwalda) but I am not sure that position is really considered to be an equivalent to the later, hereditary "King of England". Likewise, it looks like the Kings of Scotland passed the throne hereditarily from the time of the MacAlpins, it was frequently disputed among branches of said family, but it does not look like there was any elective element to the Scottish throne. The Scottish hereditary system was based on a a system known as Tanistry, which is different from primogeniture, but it is still an hereditary and not elective system of passing on the kingship. By the time of the House of Dunkeld, the influence of England and continental Europe introduced proper primogeniture to the Scottish kingship. --Jayron32 04:51, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Just because the throne was passed within the same family doesn't mean it was hereditary, the nobility just tends to pick sons or close relatives of the last king. The Merovingians, Carolingian, and Capetians kings of France were all elective till the reign of Philip II of France. The Anglo-Saxon kings were all elective but I was wondering if William the Conqueor introduce hereditary monarchy or did he still continue with elements of the old Anglo-Saxon custom of elective monarchy. Also does anybody know if Ancient Near Eastern monarchies (Egypt, Mesopatamia, Persia) were elective or hereditay.--Queen Elizabeth II's Little Spy (talk) 05:20, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Except that the articles I cite specifically note that, for example, Egbert willed certain parts of his Kingdom to various sons. It doesn't say that this was confirmed, or voted on, by any nobles. He just willed it, and his sons inherited the kingships. On the contrary, I don't see any evidence that the Anglo-Saxon kingships were elective, from the time of the House of Wessex forward. --Jayron32 05:33, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

In a sense, one could say that the British monarchy is currently "elective" in that the monarch does not get to choose his/her successor, it's a process defined by law, i.e. by the "will of the people" as expressed via Parliament. And also, in theory, the monarchy could be abolished or otherwise modified by law. Not that that's likely to happen anytime soon. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 08:26, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Harold Godwinson was the last King of England to be elected by the Witenagemot or Witan (a council of nobles) - there's a lot of information on the election of English kings in this article. Although he had royal blood, Harold would certainly not have inherited the throne if primogeniture applied. He was the best man for the job. William I of England did away with many English institutions including the Witan, which he replaced with the Curia regis, which didn't have any elective powers. Alansplodge (talk) 11:29, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

I think that you're exaggerating the importance and true power of the Witenagemot. It wasn't a case of "the Witenagemot decided to ignore primogeniture (or has the power to do so)". Edward the Confessor simply had no sons or daughters and that's why Harold (the Queen's brother and by far the most powerful noble of the realm) inherited the throne. And the Witenagemotit wasn't a English institution but a Saxon one (there's a diff - English culture comes only later with a fusion between the Saxons and the Normans) Flamarande (talk) 18:45, 24 December 2010 (UTC) PS: Happy X-mas to you all.

I disagree with your terminology. The word "England" comes from the Angles. Anything Anglo-Saxon can legitimately be called "English". The Normans have nothing to do with it. --Tango (talk) 20:20, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

I believe that you're underestimating the Norman impact and legacy in English culture. The Normans were only the last wave of invaders (like the Saxons before them) which merged with the Saxons and slowly produced a new culture which inherited characteristics from both sources. Read: Norman conquest Flamarande (talk) 03:32, 25 December 2010 (UTC)

Exactly. Hence the name of the language Old English, sometimes called Anglo-Saxon, and not to be confused with Old Saxon, which was a language spoken in Northern Germany around the same time. --KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 23:05, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

But Old English changed with the arrival of the Normans: "During the centuries of French linguistic dominance a large proportion of the words in the English language had disappeared and been replaced by French words, leading to the present hybrid tongue in which an English core vocabulary is combined with a largely French abstract and technical vocabulary." Flamarande (talk) 03:32, 25 December 2010 (UTC)

Which belies the cooperative spirit implied by his nickname, "William the Concurrer". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 11:57, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

The succession of William the Conqueror was pretty up in the air for several generations, as primogeniture was not the method of succession. William's eldest surviving son, Robert Curthose, should have been his successor, but he got passed over by his two younger brothers. Then there was the matter of whether Empress Matlida should have succeeded her father, she got passed over for her cousin, Stephen of England, but then Margaret's son, Henry II of England, succeeded Stephen, instead of Stephen's surviving son, William I, Count of Boulogne. And then there ws the War of the Roses...Corvus cornix_talk

Of course, these were still hereditary questions; contested successions arise from different interpretations of inheritance law, and do not mean that the monarchy was not heriditary. --Jayron32 20:31, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

what is the difference between a muslim and a jude?

both believein one god which has no son named jesus.--91.14.189.78 (talk) 13:31, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

See Islam and Judaism. They are not the same. Notable differences: the roles of Mohammed and Ishmael. Staecker (talk) 13:36, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

on which side is god in the war between them? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.14.189.78 (talk) 13:46, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Why do you assume God is on either side? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:39, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

What war is that? But you can look up Mark Twain's "War Prayer"... AnonMoos (talk) 13:52, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Conveniently at Wikisource:The War Prayer... AnonMoos (talk) 13:55, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Gracious Lord, oh bomb the Germans, / Spare their women for Thy Sake, / And if that is not too easy / We will pardon Thy Mistake. / But, gracious Lord, whate'er shall be, / Don't let anyone bomb me. Marnanel (talk) 18:47, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Jews are at war with Muslim as much as Christians are at war with Muslim: only in the head of some people. The conflicts among them are mostly limited to certain very limited number of states/institution. Quest09 (talk) 14:19, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

The central texts between Judaism and Islam differ. See Hebrew Scriptures and Qur'an, respectively. schyler (talk) 17:25, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

This seems like a good time to cite this stanza from Tom Lehrer's "National Brotherhood Week":

Oh, the Catholics hate the Protestants

And the Protestants hate the Catholics

And the Hindus hate the Moslems [sic]

And everybody hates the Jews!

In a similar vein, Don Rickles commented after Obama's election that the next American President would be a Jew, "and then we'll declare war on everybody!" ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:54, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

I love how this question has turned into a poetry recitation. Marnanel (talk) 19:15, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

If you think about it, though, Islam and Judaism are very, very similar religions, much closer to each other than either is to Christianity. I think that goes to show you that much of what we think of as "religious" conflict is really not about religion at all. Heck, Protestants and Catholics share the same religion, yet they've fought supposedly religious conflicts in Ireland, the Balkans and lots of other places. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 20:05, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Not correcting the sentiment of your statement, just your data - there aren't all that many protestants in the Balkans. The three religions from the old adagio about Yugoslavia (six states, five cultures, four languages, three religions, two alphabets, one country) are Catholicism, Islam and Orthodox Christianity. TomorrowTime (talk) 10:49, 25 December 2010 (UTC)

However, Hungary showed a tendency to turn Protestant, before the Hapsburgs intervened in the counter-reformation... AnonMoos (talk) 14:19, 25 December 2010 (UTC)

Mhm, and the parts that were under the Hungary part of Austria-Hungary do have a protestant population, but it's negligible in the context of the Balkan wars. TomorrowTime (talk) 15:17, 25 December 2010 (UTC)

I must have been half-asleep when I wrote that. I was thinking of the Croat-Serb conflict, which of course matched up Orthodox and Catholic Christians. Nonetheless, the point still stands -- this supposedly religious conflict is not really about religion. -- Mwalcoff (talk) 22:38, 25 December 2010 (UTC)

Muslims consider Jesus to have been merely a prophet, hence part of a continuum from Judaism that "culminated" in the Quran, just as Christians consider their religion to be a "fulfillment" of the Old Testament. It seems to be human nature to attach too much importance to earth-bound things. How many battles have been fought over the "right" way to baptize, or the "right" way to observe communion? Ugh. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:43, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

... or even which end to crack an egg! Dbfirs 09:36, 25 December 2010 (UTC)

Evaluating worth of murder's memoirs

Hello all-- how would an archives evaluate the worth of a murder's pre-murder memoirs? The fellow self-published 500 copies of a book, circulated them around Brampton, Ontario, detailing the love lost regarding a falling out with his wife. At this point, he was in divorce court, and she was trying to get restraining orders against him, I believe. He had recently done partial demolition of the family house by tying a (really long) chain around the second floor, and driving away.

Did I mention he was the City planner?

Anyway, after the book was circulated to neighbours, the libraries, even police. Soon after, he published a sequel, mailed it out, bludgeoned his wife on the sidewalk and waited peacefully to be arrested. The book, well it arrived in the mail (to less locations) after this was all over the headlines, even The National Enquirer.

The case isn't really all that well-known, despite the headlines then, and the fact his parole hearing in 2008 was covered by The Toronto Star, Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, albeit not a true national paper.

How does one figure a value for this item, a book by a murder, pre-murder, directly foreshadowing the horrendous deed to follow? -- Zanimum (talk) 14:08, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Since it is doubtful whether any of the books has been sold before, the only real method of finding out its value would be to put it up for auction. My guess would be that it is not worth that much, since 500 copies on a local scale is fairly high, and if the case is not that wellknown, there wouldn't be enough celebrity-value to generate outside interest. But to be honest, it is difficult to ascertain precisely concerning books, because there may be two or more collectors out there that are looking for precisely this item (book collectors are an odd bunch, I should know since I am one), and that would of course drive the price up at an auction. --Saddhiyama (talk) 15:10, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

What is the present educational canon?

What is the present educational canon (by the way, where is the article educational canon?). Who can claim being educated? What has replaced the Trivium (education), and Quadrivium? Quest09 (talk) 14:32, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

These days most schools and collages just seem to 'train' people in what they need to know in order to be productive employees, rather than educate them in order to bring out and develop their talents and understanding. Thou shalt labour and consume and pay ye taxes.--Aspro (talk) 14:45, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

What do you mean by collage? Collage? College? Was that a spell, a typo, a Freudian slip, a sign that you are uneducated, or was that on purpose?Quest09 (talk) 16:42, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

It was probably trying to be helpful. schyler (talk) 17:21, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

The well-rounded individual should be an intellectual "collage", yes? :) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:38, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

By "ye", I have to assume you mean either "the" or "thy", but I can't work out which. Not "ye", anyway. Marnanel (talk) 18:59, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

If any educational canon existed now, you would expect to find some common content between all bachelor's degrees, but there is none. When there was consensus on an education canon, teaching it was the work of the university. Now high-schools are expected to bring a person up to the level where they're ready to specialise. Of course there is also the thorny problem that education tends to decay into training, leading to a lack of education as such and (in Merton's phrase) "the mass-production of uneducated graduates". Marnanel (talk) 18:56, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

It's kind of like a dog chasing its tail. At one time, the universities were the realm of the wealthy, who could afford to become "well-rounded". A high school education was considered good enough for the masses. Over time, it was no longer good enough, as more and more businesses demanded college graduates. Of course, being college-educated demanded higher wages. So now all the good jobs have gone overseas, and college graduates have to be prepared for a lifetime of working at places like Wal-Mart. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 19:03, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Yes: the painful issue of the income gap is a relative problem, not an absolute one. We can't expect to solve the problem by making everyone into graduates, on the grounds that graduates earn more. (They might as well hand everyone a million pounds, on the grounds that millionaires are wealthy people.) But having said that, it doesn't explain why these graduates would need to be trained people instead of educated people, or both trained and educated. A society where everyone had studied (say) the Trivium and Quadrivium would not be any more equal, but would at least have the advantage that everyone had been taught to think clearly. (Though it may well be that the powers that be are not interested in having the masses taught to think clearly.) Marnanel (talk) 19:10, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Thinking clearly is all well and good, but people need to have productive skills too. It used to be that people that went to university wouldn't actually have to work for a living afterwards (except perhaps as clergy). Now, university is expected to prepare people for jobs, so we need universities to teach more useful subjects. The trivium and quadrivium, as they were taught in those days, aren't actually very useful for any occupations. --Tango (talk) 19:59, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Its a case of trying to have your cake and eat it too. There are still only 24 hours in a day, and only 365 days in a year. And yet, we expect people who graduate university/college to have a working knowledge of Shakespeare, be able to do differential and integral calculus, know the inner workings of the human body, speak a second language, AND receive enough training to have a skill to earn a living with. Unfortunately, the average person just doesn't have that kind of time and/or money to learn all of those things. So which is the average person going to value more, things that make them a "better person", or things that put food in their children's mouth. --Jayron32 20:28, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Quest09, by canon, do you mean curriculum?—Wavelength (talk) 06:24, 25 December 2010 (UTC)

No, I don't mean curriculum. The question is more general, I was asking about who are the educated. Quest09 (talk) 14:32, 26 December 2010 (UTC)

This may be of interest to you. Neutrality^talk 04:00, 26 December 2010 (UTC)

Geography /History question

Which fort (built as part of a series of forts during a war) is a part of a large metro and home to one of the largest objects in the world

Would appreciate any help —Preceding unsigned comment added by 183.83.211.172 (talk) 14:57, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Kremlin, Metro 2, Tsar Bell ? --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 15:21, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

If you manage to get one of us to give you the correct answer, rather than researching for yourself, and you win the $100 prize, will you donate it to Wikipedia? Karenjc 19:12, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Oh look, the answer to the previous question (port city which has the same name as some other cities) was Albany. TomorrowTime (talk) 13:53, 25 December 2010 (UTC)

Albany is a port? Then I guess Stockton fits the question, too. Corvus cornix_talk 20:08, 25 December 2010 (UTC)

Huh, and I had just suggested Dover. Goes to show there are multiple answers to these quizes. Pfly (talk) 12:40, 26 December 2010 (UTC)

Torontonian Enclaves

Turkish and Azeri

Which neighbourhood of Toronto has the most Turkish people in the city and which neighbourhood has the most Azeribaijani people in the city? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.31.17.95 (talk) 15:29, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Southeast Asians

Which neighbourhood of Toronto has the most Southeast Asian(Thai, Burmese, Filipino, Laotian, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Malaysian, Indonesian) people in the city? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.31.17.95 (talk) 15:31, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Eastern Europeans

Which neighbourhood of Toronto has the most Eastern European people in the city? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.31.17.95 (talk) 15:54, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Before we answer these (again...and again), can we be sure that you will actually look at the answers this time? You must have asked these questions dozens of times already. Adam Bishop (talk) 18:34, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Toronto Social Atlas: [1]. 174.88.169.182 (talk) 19:21, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

No I am different OP. My name is Jay. I think you referring to another person. By the way, the website you mentioned does not help. Their numbers and maps does not help.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.92.151.17 (talk) 04:07, 25 December 2010 (UTC)

Why not? For instance, this map for the Azerbaijanis shows the highest concentration in 2006 around what looks like Bathurst(?) and Steeles. Clarityfiend (talk) 05:04, 25 December 2010 (UTC)

Jay, here's how to read those maps.

(1) Scroll down to the section called "Ethnic Origins for Toronto CMA (Census 2006)"

(2) Click on the name of the ethnic group you want to look up. That will open up a map. For example, this is the map for Turks. [2]

(3) Look at the bottom left-hand corner of the map, the part called "legend". Look at the numbers beside the darkest colour. For example, on the Turkish map, the numbers beside the dark red block are 126-215.

(4) Look at the map itself for the areas coloured the same dark red. The way you understand this is that the areas coloured that dark red have between 126 and 215 people of Turkish origin living in them.

(5) The map doesn't have streets named on it, but you can compare it to a real map of Toronto, such as the Google map [3].

(6) For example, that way you can figure out that the red part in the far west, near the border of Mississauga, is in Etobicoke and is called Eatonville.

The reason it seems confusing is because there isn't just one place in all of Toronto where everyone of Turkish (or any other) background lives. People are spread out all over. So there may actually be several neighbourhoods with Turkish residents, and two or three that tie for having the most. 174.88.169.182 (talk) 18:16, 26 December 2010 (UTC)

International Phone Call

How do I call an Inn in Sakskobing Denmark from Texas? The number I have for them is listed as 45-5470-7***. Thanks Wikipedians! schyler (talk) 17:49, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

011-45-5470-7***. Marnanel (talk) 17:56, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

What time in Texas would it be a good time in Denmark to contact the inn? schyler (talk) 18:28, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

The better question would be, what local time in Denmark should the call be made? Then subtract 7 hours from it, and you'll have the optimal Texas time to call. Denmark is UTC + 1, and Texas is UTC - 6. For example, in Texas it's currently about 12:30 pm, and in Denmark it's currently about 7:30 p.m. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:34, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

True, I was struggling with how to word my follow-up question. Thanks for the help Bugs. schyler (talk) 18:40, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

In short, right now might be a good time to call, depending on circumstances. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:49, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

A conventional way of quoting European telephone numbers is in the form +45 5470 7*** where the + is understood to mean "whatever your local prefix is for international calls". I gather this is not universally understood in the US because the lady at a US car hire company said it was impossible for them to fax their invoice to me "because there's no + key on our fax machine". Cuddlyable3 (talk) 00:50, 27 December 2010 (UTC)

Nothing to do with Europe. That is the international convention for quoting telephone numbers. --ColinFine (talk) 21:14, 27 December 2010 (UTC)

Las Vegas "comps"

How much gambling would a person have to do to get 5 FREE nights at Bally's? Would all that gambling have to have been done at Bally's or is there an exchange method where gambling in another casino can somehow be exchanged and turned into FREE nights at Bally's? Does Bally's own other casinos?--Doug Coldwell ^talk 18:20, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

In your situation, I think I would take the winnings and make a generous donation to your Township Supervisor's election campaign fund, and make sure he knows about it. :) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:33, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

In this case, it was my sister that got the 5 FREE nights at Bally's. Since she lived in Michigan and just recently went to Las Vegas to collect on this, I was wondering how she did it.--Doug Coldwell ^talk 18:55, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

What's with the FREE as opposed to free? )It looks like some of the ways people render the tetragrammaton in English text. Maybe we should have FREE to mean "free as in speech" and free to mean "free as in beer".) Marnanel (talk) 19:04, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

I'd have thought it'd be the other way around. :) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:25, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

I was impressed when she told me she received 5 free nights at Bally's. There are some casinos in Michigan, which she goes to, however I didn't think casinos would exchange free night stays. She is known to be quit a gambler - so bottomline, how much gambling did she have to do to get 5 free nights at Bally's in Las Vegas - especially when she is not known to have gone there? How would one have pulled off a trick like that?--Doug Coldwell ^talk 19:11, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

That's funny Marnanel. Very witty. schyler (talk) 20:03, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Here's a novel idea. You could ask her... --Jayron32 20:23, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Too obvious. :) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:25, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

The answer was: Because I'm such a nice person! I'm even nicer, however they never comped me, although I used to go there all the time. Go figure.--Doug Coldwell ^talk 20:46, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Let's crunch some numbers. I'm finding a low rate of $39 per night for Bally's, so let's say $200 minimum for five nights. This guide says you get comped 20-40% of your expected losses. For a typical amateur playing blackjack, the casino would have an edge of a couple of percent. Assume 3% and the casino gives back 30%, in which case your sister would be expected to place bets totaling $22,222 over the course of her stay. Mind you, the casinos are slumping a bit and I think a big new casino opened recently, so they're probably more "generous" than usual (ho ho ho), so your mileage may vary. Clarityfiend (talk) 23:18, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

O.K. thanks.--Doug Coldwell ^talk 23:29, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

There was another aspect to your question, which is that your sister got comped before actually arriving in Vegas, right? This could be explained by the fact that Bally's is owned by Caesars, which in turn owns a bunch of other casinos with a common comping system. Orange Suede Sofa (talk) 00:21, 25 December 2010 (UTC)

That answers that.--Doug Coldwell ^talk 00:25, 25 December 2010 (UTC)

My numbers seem to be a bit off. $25 bets for about four hours a day would get you to the neighborhood of $22K, but from my own (outdated) experience, that's not enough. Plus they're not going to give a medium roller a $39 room (or at least charge that little). I think it would take at least $100 bets to get them interested. Clarityfiend (talk) 22:22, 25 December 2010 (UTC)

I'd guess there are two things at work, one that Caesar's has her total betting activity; this would include nights stayed and money bet (if she uses her debit card for funds while staying @ any casino that is a property. Regardless, they would also have access to her being a good prospective customer based on her appearing on various lists, etc. that Caesar's would have purchased to prospect for new customers. Lastly, as someone indicated, with the slump, empty space is empty space. Any empty room that can be turned into a revenue generator will be. The real indicator is that it was likely just the room, not anything else associated with really "free" stays (meals, tickets to shows, etc.) PЄTЄRS J VЄСRUМВА ►TALK 01:35, 29 December 2010 (UTC)

Letter from America

I'm looking for a transcript of a program of the radio show Letter from America. It was from sometime in the 1980s, and it contains an anecdote about the presenter getting in a taxi in New York which was driven by a Russian. The Russian guy doesn't have great English but they start talking. Eventually they start talking about the radio, and this leads on to freedom of speech. The Russian guy says how back in the USSR radio was more restricted, but over here [i.e. in the USA], you can (actual quote) "say good things, say bad things, say anything". He says he likes Reagan. He says there is "what you call it?" "freedom". Where can I find a transcript of this online?--178.167.238.152 (talk) 22:15, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Here's a link, so people will know what program you meant: Letter from America. StuRat (talk) 22:44, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

The BBC say that they're making transcripts available on their website. Currently, the oldest transcripts in the archive are from 1999, so you might want to check their website periodically. Nyttend (talk) 01:41, 26 December 2010 (UTC)

The University of East Anglia plans to release the complete scripts of Letter from America 1946-2004. You can ask them about the project at their address given at the link. Cuddlyable3 (talk) 00:37, 27 December 2010 (UTC)