Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2007 August 9

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August 9[edit]

Metallica at Wembley 8/7/07[edit]

What was the official attendance for the Metallica 'Sick of the studio tour' gig on the 8th July at Wembley stadium please?

About 70,000, according to a youtube forum comment ([1]). That may not be entirely reliable, but from what I saw on MTV2, it looked about 4/5 full, and Wembley Stadium holds about 90,000 for concerts (75,000 standing, 15,000 seated). Neil  14:51, 9 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Wembley's official site doesn't include a figure in its release about the concert, but does include a photo ([2]) which shows an awful lot of gaps. It's possible that the picture was taken at a bad time (eg 2 hours before the concert) but for their own publicity, one would assume they'd go for the best possible shot. If the photo's accurate, I'd guess that 70,000's somewhere over the mark, but it's hard to say how much. From personal experience of Wembley, TV coverage can give a stilted view, as the camera positions often give a misleading impression, especially regarding the top tiers of seating. Yours penitently, --Dweller 18:35, 9 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Southernmost point of mainland Europe[edit]

Both the article Punta de Tarifa as the article Cape Matapan maintain being the southernmost point of mainland Europe. Where's the mistake? --Man77talk 10:15, 9 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Looking at live maps (I can't use google maps at work :|), i would say that spain wins. But I cant find out how to get it to tell me the latitude. Capuchin 10:25, 9 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]
According to Google Earth, Tainaro (Cape Matapan) is at 36° 23' N, farther north than Punta de Tarifa at 36° 00' N. (Our article Extreme points of Europe agrees.) Rmhermen 14:00, 9 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]
(edit conflict) According to Google Earth, Punta de Tarifa is at 36° 0' 1" N, whereas Cape Matapan (or Tainaro) is at 36° 23' 7" N. I have revised Cape Matapan to remove the error. Marco polo 14:01, 9 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]
See also Extreme points of Europe --Tagishsimon (talk) 19:36, 9 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Sandhill[edit]

The BART maps on the BART trains show a community called "Sandhill" in eastern contra costa county adjacent to Knightsten Oakland and Brentwood, i cant find any information about it though, does anyone have any clues? let me know on my talk page?CholgatalK! 12:25, 9 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

According to Google Maps, there is an area called Sand Hill (two words) along Highway 4 (Main St.). This area would have an Oakley postal address. I'm not sure that it can be called a community in its own right. It may be more of a neighborhood or even a housing development. Marco polo 13:49, 9 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Oh okay, well the BART maps don't show non cities or CDPs/Unincorporated communites so it's probably an actual place in its own right i think. Any written source?CholgatalK! 22:43, 9 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]
What makes you think that BART maps don't label unincorporated areas? Do you have access to their cartographic specs? Who knows how that label got on their map? A solid Google search of web sites (as opposed to Google Maps) produces no evidence that "Sand Hill" or "Sandhill" is a widely used label for this area. Google offers no evidence at all that there is an incorporated municipality named Sandhill or Sand Hill. This source, when compared with Google Maps, shows that the area with the label "Sand Hill" on Google Maps falls within the zip code (94561) and postal address of Oakley. Here is a document for a business located at the center of the area labeled "Sand Hill" on Google Maps. The business lists its address as "Oakley, California". I certainly do not think that Sand Hill merits a Wikipedia article on the basis of a stray label on a BART map. Marco polo 15:37, 10 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Does it include San Lorenzo? 'Cause that's an unincorporated area. Corvus cornix 17:36, 10 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Good point, Corvus. I expect that the BART map does show San Lorenzo. However,unlike Sand Hill or Sandhill, or whatever, San Lorenzo has the attributes of a recognized place, such as a school district and a post office, and therefore merits an encyclopedia article. Marco polo 18:29, 10 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Rare Flower of 1000 years[edit]

Rare Flower Opening of 90's Comedy Film: I can't remember, I thought BigTopPee-Wee at first, but then realized no. The film is a cheezy plot I think, maybe an alien or something coming in a human body? Or no, maybe just a dork. But the point is, having a flower and it only opens on an exact time of like 100 or 1000 years or something stupid like that, and something happens bad, like someone steps on the flower or something, and then they have to find another one somewheres else? Does anyone remember the film? Thanks. --Jacob

This was asked here two days ago. Dismas|(talk) 22:54, 9 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I asked 2 days ago yes, but was just told of memories of a Dr.Seuss book. I'm thinking more along the lines of Phil Hartman, John Lovitz, or like Gary Shandling like films. Thanks again, --Jacob

Dennis the Menace (film)

What is this?[edit]

http://www.ph012b2086.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/harry/images/telco2.jpg

Its probably just a normal truck and they are delivering a demountable small office block somewhere. They were made to fit on the trucks so they could be moved where-ever.
The sign on the door says "Post Office Telephone" - it has what looks like a 1940's or 1950's number plate (it's hard to be sure) - it has a ladder on the side and workmen standing in front. The cloth cover over the engine is weird. It's right-hand-drive - so the odds are good that it's British. The top rung of the ladder is curved to fit around a telephone pole. I'd say it's probably a telephone repair truck from the early 1950s belonging to the British Post Office (who were also the state-run telephone company until it was split apart to become 'British Telecom' and 'The Royal Mail' in 1981). As with lots of these kinds of vehicle, there is a small workshop on the back which would normally be used how it is now - on the back of the truck - but which could be unloaded in the event that there was a long job so that the truck could go off and do other things while the guys were working. SteveBaker 00:34, 10 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Hey thats pretty incisive Steve. Are you a detective? No, I see you are a programmer, but very observant!--SpectrumAnalyser 01:12, 10 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]
(Actually, the biggest clue (which I missed) is probably the filename: "telco" - short for "Telecommunications"!) SteveBaker 16:32, 10 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Colin Gray[edit]

I am urgently searching for infomation on Colin Gray, a decroated veteran of the RNZAF who is a hero and did honorable service to his glorious nation of New Zealand. I recently discovered that he is infact my genetic father, and I would like to discover more information about who this man was. Please give infomation as I am trying to complete my family tree! Thanks! God bless! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 58.28.172.100 (talkcontribs) 23:18, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

Have you seen this : http://www.nzfpm.co.nz/article.asp?id=gray Dacium 00:16, 10 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Either at the speed of lightning, or by a strange coincidence, Clarityfiend began a wikibiography of Gray about an hour ago at Colin Falkland Gray. However, he was already listed at Wikipedia:WikiProject Missing encyclopedic articles/NZ/Dictionary of New Zealand Biography/A-M and at List of World War II aces from New Zealand. Xn4 02:37, 10 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]
See also No. LIV Squadron RAF and No. 43 Squadron RAF. Xn4 03:50, 10 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]