Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with reference

Language-related websites in and about languages other than English?

kandinski — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:24:45 -0800

Non-English speakers: what are your linguistic resources of first resort on the 'Net? Where are the Finnish/French/Serbian/Spanish/whatever websites where you read, write, comment, discuss, ask or answer about your native (or bilingual-competence) language, or about language and linguistics in general, just not in English? For bonus checkmarks: if the site in your answer has any feature that you haven't hitherto found in an otherwise equivalent English resource, please explain them to the mefites who may not speak your language.

Note: I am not looking for resources for language learners, but for the type of resources frequented by people who are already competent in a language.

PHP intro and reference texts?

orthogonality — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:03:20 -0800

I want to learn PHP. Fast. Recommend a book or online resources, please. I know C, C++, Java, SQL. I know my Design Patterns, most of the stuff in Code Complete is second-nature to me. I emailed Stroustrup to point out a (very very minor) error in The C++ Programming Language. (He actually emailed back.)

All this to say that I want an thorough explication of PHP, not an introduction to programming text. There should be chart of operator precedence and arity, a list of what's a first class object, a consideration of the primitive types and their ranges, a basic explication of the underlying object model.

So I don't want a "Programming 101 using PHP"; that'll bore me with stuff I already know. I need something complex enough to keep my interest, complete and concise. But not completely theoretical, there should be examples and exercises. Something like K&R or Stroustrup's The C++ Programming Language, that doubles as a text and a reference. Or even Eckel's Thinking in C++.

Ideally, I should be able to do most things I want to do in PHP in a week.

Ok, suggestions? Thanks!

Using the word count (wd) in Gale PowerSearch

hobbes — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:59:30 -0800

Librarians / Researchers / Gale PowerSearch users/developers! How do I use the word count limit successfully? I'm trying to search for articles on "nafta" and "environment".

Without a word count, I get 141 articles:
CCL: (ke (nafta)) And (ke (environment))LIMITS:( (full text))

Restricting the word count to more than 600, I get 7 articles:
CCL: ((ke (nafta)) And (ke (environment)) And (wd >600))LIMITS:( (full text))

Searching for less than 600, I get 3 articles:
CCL: ((ke (nafta)) And (ke (environment)) And (wd <600))LIMITS:( (full text))>

I've also set the word count at a really high number (200K+) and it still only returns 10 articles. What am I doing wrong? And is there an easier way to go about finding longer full-text articles?

How can "congratulations" be a description /and/ a message?

cmiller — Sun, 04 May 2008 06:34:15 -0800

I'd never put only "question" here. I don't call my dog "Dog" or write out a check "for money Dollars". When I call 911 and request a firetruck, they don't call me back and speak the words "a firetruck" and hang up. Why is it normal to congratulate someone by saying "congratulations"? It seems small and superficial to hand someone a description of what we want to do instead of actually doing it. I have a similar problem with the word "thanks" and even the unwieldy phrase "I thank you". It's like we push ourselves into a different reference frame, out of the immediacy of the instant, like wrapping everything in scare-quotes.

While my question is sincere, I know I'm thinking about a social convention too much, as they rarely make sense. Most of what I want to explore is the linguistic effects, antecedents, et c. Do other languages than English have this (as I style it) problem?

How does one congratulate or thank, or similar -- without handing them a noun and asking them to interpret it?

need... scholarship... money...

veol — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:32:36 -0800

I'm applying for a scholarship. Scholarship requires academic references. Uh oh... I've basically kept a low profile in university. I don't approach professors or TAs, and I study on my own or with my friends and get decent grades.

Now, I am applying for a scholarship that requires two academic references, but now that I think about it, I have no one to ask for a reference letter...

Now I'm considering my options.
Do you think it would be weird if I emailed a professor and ask for a reference letter? Or maybe one of my TAs? What is the likelihood of them writing my a reference letter? Has anybody else had this problem before?

A company want to speak to my accountant for a reference before they give me a job

complience — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 02:31:26 -0800

UK Based question A company have offered me a job, want references to prove I used to be self employed. They have asked to speak to my accountant. This is a problem, because my accountant is a family relative who does them as a favour and has only been working on the accounts for the last 6 months. I used to be a sole trader ship, but when the IT contracting laws changed in 2007 I had to create an LTD. Before then I used a Managed service company for my contracts instead, so its a little complicated. Does anyone know what sort of questions or evidence a Companies HR department is likely to ask of my accountant?

Why are they specifically asking for a non-professional reference?

FlyingMonkey — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 12:19:56 -0800

Every job-seeker's advice guide I've ever seen says that personal references are bad and almost never looked into by the employer and you shouldn't use them. So why am I specifically being asked for one? Unlike this person, the job I've applied for doesn't involve any kind of money-handling---it's a clerk/typist for the local office of a state executive-branch agency. I know the person doing the hiring has contacted at least one of the standard references I listed, and now they want more: I got an e-mail today that said, "could you please supply me with a PERSONAL reference. The ones that you gave me are fine but they are all professional references. I need a reference from someone that knows you on a personal level, as opposed to strictly business. "

Why?

Shinto Me Timbers... help me find out more about this religion!

tittergrrl — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 08:39:05 -0800

Looking for some recommended books and media about Shinto, especially the history, tenets and practices of it. On my last trip to Japan, I found myself getting very interested in Shinto after taking a walking tour in Kyoto. I'd like to continue learning about it, but don't wanna wander around blindly trying to find the best resources. So, I ask upon the spirits of the MetaFilter shrine... hook me (and maybe others?) up, yo!

How to request a reference?

cincinnatus c — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 09:10:33 -0800

Help me write an email requesting an academic reference (for myself). I am applying to study for an Msc starting this autumn, and I need to supply two academic references.

I have a couple of people in mind who may be able to provide one, and know their email addresses at the university. The thing is, though, I completed my first degree five years ago and I'm not convinced that they will remember me. The classes were quite small, and they would know me if they met me, but seeing my name at the bottom of the email might not be enough to jog the memory. What is the best way to approach this? How much detail about my current plans should I include?

The other thing is that I have left it quite late to apply, and places are filling up, so I need the references ASAP. Would it be completely tactless to mention this, or should I wait until I receive a positive reply?

I am thinking there must be a standard way to word such a common request - so what is it?

Site that will help me, um, cite.... (ugh, I've got nothin')

numinous — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 07:02:04 -0800

[Attention-Citation-Officers-Filter]: I am clueless as to the proper way of citing financial documents in the course of my writing. The Chicago Manual of Style has left me high and dry. Hope me! I'm having difficulty finding out how to accurately cite financial documents. Specifically, I need to cite information from a non-profit organization's 990 form. I am citing several figures from this tax document. I've searched various terms, such as citation+financial+report+document+writing etc., with every coupling and configuration in between. No. Dice.

So, my multifaceted question:

Is there a cut-and-dried template of citing data from a tax document in expository writing? For both note and bibliographical references? In a way that is consistent with (or at least acceptable by) the Chicago Manual of Style? Are there any websites dedicated to illustrating this type of citation? If so, which ones?

Also, WHERE CAN I FIND AN EXAMPLE, PLZ.

All suggestions welcome. Seriously. This is driving me nuts.

What can I use Google Sky for?

unknowncommand — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 13:12:58 -0800

What are some examples of questions that you could use Google Sky to answer, and how would you do so?

Useful Books

shotgunbooty — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:01:20 -0800

What is the most useful book you own? Anything and everything. An example list: The Joy of Cooking, Readers Digest Fix-It-Yourself, The Elements of Style.

Not what I'm looking for: "Physician's Desk Reference... hollowed out. Inside: waterproof matches, iodine tablets, beet seeds, protein bars, NASA blanket and, in case I get bored, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. No, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." :)

Eternally useful info

mthomps00 — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 12:34:55 -0800

Say you wanted to print a small chart of eternally and universally useful reference information on the back of your business card, so recipients would have a good incentive to carry it with them and refer to it often. What information would you choose? (I search for things like "business card," "useful information," and "Schott's Miscellany" and turned up nothing; hope this hasn't been asked before.)

Note that I don't know if I'd ever actually put my business card to this purpose, but it'd be sort of a nice idea if it caught on, no?

Is there a word that means "knowing something solely by references to it?"

flatluigi — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 20:06:16 -0800

Is there a word that means "knowing something solely by references to it?" I've never seen an episode of Star Trek nor any of the movies. I haven't seen Spinal Tap nor 2001: A Space Odyssey. However, I know so much of what happens and the basic facts of each that I could fake it well -- I bet that there's at least one comparable thing in pop culture for every MeFite.

I've used the slightly-awkward portmanteau 'recumference' for this sort of thing for a while now, but I've always wanted to know if there's an actual word for this.

Self-referentiality is so meta.

SpecialK — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 21:34:12 -0800

I'm writing a book that is heavily self-referential. How can I place markers in some other part of the document (ex: "For more information, refer to "Foo" on page "Bar") throughout the entire document and have that page Bar change as the information anchor moves around? I'm using Google Docs, but I'm willing to switch software if need be. Solution needs to be compatible with OSX.

Best pocket-sized books to carry in your bag or purse?

mrbill — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 13:37:17 -0800

What are good "pocket-sized" reference books to carry in your bag/pack/purse, with the best ratio of useful information to page count and size? I'm outfitting my new "every day carry" bag, and have room for a few pocket-sized books. So far, I've got these:

SAS Survival Guide Handbook (first aid, etc)
Pocket Ref (charts, tables, formulas)

The only other similar books I can think of would be something like a pocket-sized Bible, but I'm not really religious.
Can anyone think of other options? Non-reference books are fine too if they're tiny and light but dense.

I don't travel internationally, otherwise I'd add a phrase book.

Beyond black cats and four-leaf clovers

Andrhia — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 10:39:46 -0800

Got any great books about luck? I'm looking for books or other great reference material about luck, chance, fortune, that certain something that makes the cards fall your way (or not). Not interested in pareidolia or confirmation bias - no science, please! Not really interested in numerology or kabbalah, either. What I want is folklore, superstition, mythology, from as many cultures and periods as possible. Particular emphasis on actions you can take to make your luck better or worse, and the more obscure the better.

Pickings seem to be slim so far, but there has to be something out there like that, right? ...Right?

Finished the first novel, in research mode for the second. :)

Freeware for Alarming Librarians

exceptinsects — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:53:20 -0800

Help my librarians remember to rove! I need a specific sort of break timer and I can't seem to find one anywhere. We are trying to implement the practice of "roving" at my library; that is, when it isn't busy at the reference desk the librarians should go walk around and be available if people have questions out in the stacks.
The problem is that it's hard to get in the habit of doing this, so I thought a little reminder message would help. I want it to just give you a little nudge when things aren't busy, but not to be annoying when you're trying to help someone.

What I want it to do:
--Pop up a message of my choosing at intervals of my choosing. (e.g. "Rove?" every 10 minutes regardless of what else is going on on the computer)
--It should require the person to click the window to close it, but should close without any further waiting.

It must:
--be free
--be web-based (Firefox or IE) or able to be installed on Windows without the intervention of the IT people. (Similar to Firefox).
--be unobtrusive when it isn't alerting you
--not be linked with Outlook since it doesn't work with the profile we use at the desk

I tried Workrave, but I couldn't get it to work like I wanted--it seems like it doesn't pop up consistently--maybe it doesn't count the time when you're not actually typing? Plus, you can't edit the text.

Other previously recommended options mostly seemed to cost money or not do what I wanted--a lot of them seem to want you to take a break for a certain amount of time, but I just want the message and that's it.

How do I handle being listed as a fake reference?

Anonymous — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 19:01:53 -0800

A friend and somewhat distant in-law put me down as a reference without asking me. The problem is that she's faked my credentials (listing me as a manager rather than a peon) and has emailed me a 'back story' to give to the caller. That ain't all... We work in a rather small field, so there's an outside possibility that my current employer (and her former) employer could find out. I love my job and cannot imagine endangering it in this way. If my current job found out that I masqueraded as management for this person, I have no doubt they'd fire me.

Unfortunately, I know she's also in a tough spot financially and professionally, having lost her previous job (where I currently work) and is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. In addition, her family life has been on the rocks, having previously been pretty much the sole breadwinner. She really, really needs this job.

Also, she's married to the spouse's close cousin. If they ever find out that I torpedoed her as a reference, it would cause really horrible family drama for my spouse.

Lastly, her and I used to be very close until she moved away six months ago. After she left, I found out via several other friends that she was a really horrible person to pretty much everyone *but* me. (We always got along great - I had no idea.) We trade emails every few days, but I haven't seen her since she moved. After all the things I've learned I don't know that I'm really that willing to be a friend any more, but she doesn't know that I know these things. I figured that the friendship would just naturally wind down due to distance. We did part as best of friends though - lots of good times and good memories.

What do I do?

(Quick summary: Old friend puts me in a difficult position, having to balance friendship/family versus my job via a faked employment application with me as reference.)

Book recomendation

scubbadubba — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 16:57:14 -0800

I'm looking for a good reference book on the Phoenix (mythological bird), preferably with plenty of color pictures, as this is for a child. Any suggestions? Thanks.

It's easy as riding a bike. I want to believe!

iamkimiam — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 10:12:13 -0800

At the relatively old age of 29, I've decided to relearn* how to ride a bike. Bicycle, that is. What are the unspoken (ha!) rules and things I should know? I'm looking for answers along the line of when to ride on the street, when to ride on the curb, where to lock the bike up and how, what not to wear and how best to carry stuff, braking tips, biking ettiquette, etc. These are all things that don't seem to be written down anywhere, but everybody pretty much picks up with experience. Except me, of course. I'd like to NOT learn the hard way! Please help me.

Picture of my bike is here: visible.
Other helpful background info: I am a small girl (5' tall, but I haven't even figured out how to adjust the damn seat yet!), I live in semi-sketchy part of Oakland, and *I knew how to ride a bike for about a month when I was six, but then my parents took it away and I was never able to ride again. Otherwise, I'm normal, active (lots of other sports in the mix), and happy (except for the bike part. But I don't want to hear "your parents took your bike away, us MeFites think you need to go straight to therapy!")

With your help, I hope to be out there confidently biking along soon! Thanks!

Looking for info on cause-effect relationships in investing

tomwheeler — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 07:32:29 -0800

I am looking for books, Web sites and other resources that provide a list of cause-effect relationships for investors. For example, if housing starts go up, then it probably follows that stocks for home furnishings and building material suppliers will also rise. Perhaps stocks for rental property management groups might decline because of increased housing capacity in the market.

I am looking for some reference material about these types of relationships, particularly that which is aimed at a person who does not have any significant formal background in economics but who is reasonably intelligent and not afraid of learning new things.

Help me find again a famous quote about design.

_dario — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 08:47:11 -0800

I remember reading somewhere a quote, perhaps from a famous architect or designer, which described how most of the designer's work is striving to achieve a certain elusive and trascendent "quality", being a designer myself I found it very inspirational but, in zen-like fashion, I forgot about the exact wording of it, and whose it was.

Looking for a solid weightlifting exercise reference book

dubadubowbow — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 17:02:26 -0800

Looking for a Muscle and Fitness exercise reference notebook-type of book, which is proving way more difficult to find than I'd imagined. I did a couple of sessions with my sister's personal trainer when I went out to visit her, and he highly recommended this book he showed me. He said it should be on the Muscle & Fitness web site, but I have found neither hide nor hair of it anywhere there or anywhere else on the internet. All of our correspondences have several-week delays, but I'd like to find the book (or a substitute) well before then.

THE FACTS (as well as things I think might be facts):
-Definitely made by Muscle & Fitness
-Very thorough reference of weight exercises-- free weights and machine-- but possibly some other stuff as well
-Coilbound with thicker-than-normal, kind of glossy pages, maybe in the 150-300 page range
-My own searches are proving futile

Anybody else ever see, own, or know where I could get a copy of this book? If not, any alternatives?

Favorite Integral Tables?

kiltedtaco — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 14:15:03 -0800

What's your favorite math reference book, specifically for integrals? I need a book of integrals for an undergrad quantum mechanics class (and for the rest of my physics career, too). I'm thinking something like Gradsheteyn and Rhyzhik, but I'd like to hear what other books people like or dislike.