Writer Jay Stevens recently died and his death has yet to be reported. I assume it will be reported soon. In the interim, I've been trying to cleanup his bio. I noticed something a bit unusual and perhaps someone could help me out. In 1999, a sequel to his book Storming Heaven (1987) was released. It was called Burning Down the House.[1] I remember, because I borrowed it from the SFPL at that time and read it. Fast forward to 2025, and all references to the book are gone. Nothing on OCLC that I can find. Nothing anywhere except that cite on Google Books. Some backstory that might help anyone responding to this: when Stevens initially released Storming Heaven it was hugely successful, but his publisher refused to have anything to do with it, a predictable problem during the 1980s when publishers kowtowed to Reagan and his so-called "war on drugs". In any case, the publisher let Stevens buy back the remaining copies and he did very well for himself selling it online as the internet took off. Now, back to 1999 when he released the second book in the series, Burning Down the House. Where did it go? Viriditas (talk) 02:55, 27 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

If it hasn't been reported, how do you know about it? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 06:41, 27 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

All of his close friends have posted their condolences on their social media pages. Why is this surprising to you? Viriditas (talk) 07:29, 27 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

There are some people in the world who do not monitor the social media for all of Jay Stevens friends. Why is this surprising to you? 68.187.174.155 (talk) 11:25, 27 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

That's not how any of this works. Stevens' "friends" are high profile people with hundreds of thousands of followers. News of his death was amplified to hundreds of thousands more. I don't follow or monitor any of them. Viriditas (talk) 19:33, 27 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I can find "At present he is finishing two companion volumes to "Storming Heaven" entitled "Burning Down the House" and "Consciousness Wars", and reader comments on Amazon that "I loved this book and am deeply disappointed that the promised companion books BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE and CONSCIOUSNESS WARS were never printed". in 2004 "Burning Down The House: Ten Narratives, a companion volume to Storming Heaven, is on its way to the publishers. DuncanHill (talk) 20:47, 27 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Burning Down the House was printed. I read the book, and I offered the ISBN up above in the first link ISBN 0316816868; ISBN 9780316816861 That comment refers to the reprint of Storming Heaven that says "Burning Down the House and Consciousness Wars, are forthcoming". He never released Consciousness Wars, that is true. My question is what the heck happened to Burning Down the House? Can anyone track down those ISBNs? John Markoff acknowledges that Burning Down the House was published in his 2005 book What the Dormouse Said. Viriditas (talk) 20:56, 27 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

All indications are that I'm having a Mandela effect moment. Are there usually ISBNs of books that have never been printed? I remember reading the book. This is all very weird. Viriditas (talk) 21:02, 27 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

As if that wasn't weird enough, I just listened to a rare interview with him on YouTube that is surprisingly good (I didn't know what to expect), and some of the things he talked about directly contradicted what was said about him in his profile in Contemporary Authors (1998). Viriditas (talk) 21:08, 27 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

(ec) I have certainly encountered ISBNs of works which never saw the light of day. I've seen books listed in publishers' catalogues, with publication dates, which were never published, and I've even seen them listed for sale on Amazon and Abebooks. But when you try to buy them the bookseller says "we seem to have made an error in cataloguing". As for reading a book which has never been published, were you perhaps having a "confluence of drugs, culture, and history in America" at the time? DuncanHill (talk) 21:11, 27 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I have a copy of Burning Down the House sitting next to a first edition of The Grasshopper Lies Heavy on my bookshelf. Viriditas (talk) 21:13, 27 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

(I see what you did there, Viriditas :-).)

I concur with Duncan Hill. As a former bookseller and publisher, as well as book collector, I know from experience that (1) books are routinely planned, listed in the trade press, and advertised to the public – all of which usually involves an ISBN – many months before their intended publication date or even Manuscript completion; and (2) several things can subsequently cause the publication to be cancelled (or significantly postponed). I have even held in my hand, in my shop's stockroom, copies of a book that had (for legal reasons) to be returned to the publisher only a week or two before its release date. (Bookshops routinely receive new books several weeks in advance of publication, for logistical reasons.)

The way ISBNs work is that a publisher is from time to time allocated sequential blocks of numbers within the scheme to apply in future as they wish; a particular number might be attached to a forthcoming title that never gets published, or might even never be used at all. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.8.123.129 (talk) 23:11, 27 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you, that's very helpful. I just noticed that the editions of other books containing Stevens' prefaces have disappeared. This includes a book called Aquarius Revisited (1987) which Stevens wrote a preface for in 1991 for Citadel Editions. Google Books has a copy of this unique edition still online.[2] OCLC has the records as well.[3] But the only extant versions available are the 1987 and 2007 versions which don't have the preface by Stevens.[4] I'm guessing Citadel chose to remove it from newer editions. I'm still looking for a copy of it. Viriditas (talk) 23:28, 27 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Having an ISBN does not mean that a real book exists. Anyone can purchase an ISBN. Then, the ISBN exists with a book title, author, and publisher. For example, I can go to any ISBN retailer like Bowker and purchase an ISBN for "Where Can I Find Burning Down the House?" by Viriditas, published by "Random Guy on the Internet Publishers." The ISBN will exist, but there is no book. 68.187.174.155 (talk) 11:16, 28 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I looked on Newspapers.com, and the last reference I found to Stevens in Vermont is in 2018, an obituary of his mother.[5] Maybe he's just not very well known overall. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:51, 27 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Some encyclopedic information about Stevens can be found here. (I have not examined the reliability of this source.) If you like his writing, you may also be interested in these digital albums.  ​‑‑Lambiam 10:40, 5 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, but that’s just a mirror of the Contemporary Authors cite I mentioned above. Viriditas (talk) 13:28, 5 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I'm thinking because true White horses are rare, they maybe who the type of horse that inspired myths of Unicorns and Pegasus. But who knows? I could be wrong. 173.180.228.11 (talk) 05:08, 1 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Yes. See White horses in mythology. Shantavira|^{feed me} 09:23, 1 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Unicorns are associated with purity/virginity, so white is the obvious choice there. Clarityfiend (talk) 21:28, 1 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

There was, of course, only one Pegasus, who is often depicted in ancient art as white, but not universally; see this Roman fresco for example. Alansplodge (talk) 14:29, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Aside: In classical and medieval sources, unicorns are not horses. Deor (talk) 01:21, 3 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I'm just asking how the servers work Gladcape2013 (talk) 19:11, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I think you'll have to be more specific. If you're asking how server infrastructure works, there's an article for that at Server (computing). MediaKyle (talk) 20:21, 2 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

ok I forgot to sign in again but this is ,e 132.147.197.111 (talk) 01:35, 3 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

In one meaning of the term "server", it refers to a CPU or multi-core processor – a piece of hardware. Roblox has its own server farms.^[6] Another meaning of the term refers to a software process, one of two types of components in the client–server model. Roblox uses the term in its user-oriented documentation in the latter sense.  ​‑‑Lambiam 09:24, 3 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Can you edit and or explain how to edit information regarding accurate age on my personal information

Eric Radomski (64 years old-February 1961)

Currently Wiki states 75 years old 1950...Incorrect! RATMAN31 (talk) 00:59, 6 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@RATMAN31: Our article on Eric Radomski does not mention age or date of birth. You were probably not looking at Wikipedia; please see Wikipedia:You can't fix Google through Wikipedia for a likely solution. -- zzuuzz ^(talk) 01:14, 6 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Our sister project Wikidata has the 1950 date, which it sources to howold.co. Howold.co is blacklisted on Wikipedia. If you can link us to a reliable source giving your birthdate, we can add that to the article, and also use it to update Wikidata.-Gadfium (talk) 01:43, 6 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks Gadfium. I've removed the date from Wikidata (not sure how well that will stick so an accurate reference would still be useful). -- zzuuzz ^(talk) 01:50, 6 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The background check website Nuwber.com (accessible from the US only) gives the birthdate February 3, 1961.^[7] While I do not know whether this counts as a RS, the site is cited as a source in several articles (Molly Corbett Broad, Anu Emmanuel, Ken Jenne, Don Megerle, Art Rooney Jr., James Taiclet, Donald Tang).  ​‑‑Lambiam 07:20, 6 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Nuwber.com looks pretty non-RS to me. John M Baker (talk) 02:28, 8 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Eric, are there any news articles, etc., that have said anything about your age? Alternatively, if you have a blog or something that can be definitively linked to you, we could use that. But we can’t use this; we don’t even know for sure that this is you. John M Baker (talk) 02:57, 8 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Does Eurostat have new data for UK? Are there any pan-European statistics that include data from both and EU countries, as well as countries like Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Armenia and Moldova? --40bus (talk) 19:32, 6 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Why don't you look at their website? Nanonic (talk) 20:24, 6 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

It is not clear. Another UK-related questions:

1. 1. Does UK have defined urban agglomerations that include cities with their environs, like metropolitan statistical areas in the US?
   2. Why does UK not have strong administrative regions like French regions, departments, arrondisments and communes? UK has local authority districts (upper, lower and unitary), electoral wards and civil parishes, but they are not used like French ones. In UK it is difficult to estimate the city's limits as some cities are districts and others wards. --40bus (talk) 20:32, 6 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

      If it's not clear, why aren't you asking them to clarify it? Nanonic (talk) Nanonic (talk) 20:41, 6 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

40bus, I don't know why you think that the UK should organise itself in the same way as France. Our history has been long and complicated, and our civil administration has evolved uniquely, as have those of other long-established countries.

Go to the link article Local government in the United Kingdom, and follow up the articles linked from it. Once you have read all of those, if you have any further questions come back and ask them. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.2.64.108 (talk) 22:36, 6 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

• 1) No, since Brexit, the UK has not contributed to Eurostat (even though many non-EU countries do). 2) Yes, the British term is built-up area. 3) Unlike most countries there is essentially total English/British government continuity for centuries (it's never had a revolution nor a military invasion in centuries, and its most significant civil war was completely overturned and the king significantly centralised his power). There's never been a good opportunity for reorganizing the state (unlike say, the French Revolution or the defeat of Nazi Germany), nor a time when central government was weak and regional leaders could grab power. For the same reason, the legal distinction between England and the UK is often confusing (see English votes for English laws). City borders tend be inconsistent because the Industrial Revolution significantly changed the distribution of wealth and population in the UK - cities grew over ancient borough boundaries - and for a long time nothing was done about this. The 1966 Redcliffe-Maud Report would have fixed this, but a change of government to the Conservatives led to those plans being shelved and a much more piecemeal reorganisation happening instead. Smurrayinchester 10:56, 7 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

What is the round stonework along the water of Leith and the Quilt flats in Leith Edinburgh Scotland? It is called Portal on google maps being used for pokeman. Sherilu (talk) 08:08, 8 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Can you give geocoordinates? There is a store in Leith named Portal Leith; any connection?  ​‑‑Lambiam 08:55, 8 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

No, it has no connection to the store. Is there a way I can share a link for google maps or a picture? Sherilu (talk) 09:07, 8 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1EhnJ5AN6U/? Sherilu (talk) 09:13, 8 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

These? Alansplodge (talk) 12:49, 8 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for trying. Unfortunately not. It’s this https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1EhnJ5AN6U/ Sherilu (talk) 12:52, 8 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

That link redirects me to https://www.facebook.com/groups/ILoveLeith, where I see no round stonework.

If you can find it on Google Street View, you can simply copy the url, like this one.  ​‑‑Lambiam 16:50, 8 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I suppose it is this, seen from another angle here. My first guess is that this is an art piece, like land art but on a small scale and with a sculptural element. If so, it was probably commissioned by the owner of the ground it is located on.  ​‑‑Lambiam 17:19, 8 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I also found it on Google Satellite View.  ​‑‑Lambiam 17:28, 8 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Sometimes in a video of helicopter blades rotating at full or near-full speed (both on main rotor and tail) I get an impression that they abruptly change direction of rotation, from a counter-clockwise to clockwise or vice versa. Perhaps others also had this. Is this an optical illusion? 212.180.235.46 (talk) 16:45, 8 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

See Stroboscopic effect and, specifically, Wagon-wheel effect.  ​‑‑Lambiam 16:51, 8 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. 212.180.235.46 (talk) 20:23, 8 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

When I was researching different styles in residential architecture a few months ago, I remember coming across a phrase which had shocked me quite a bit (although I can no longer find it -- it might have been in the article Bungalow, Ranch-style house or Open plan, or maybe somewhere else), something to the effect that in some, but not all, ranch-style bungalows, "bedrooms were part of the open floor plan". Which begs at least 4 questions: (1) Does this mean what I think it means (i.e. that the bedrooms were actually open to the rest of the house)??? (2) If the answer to (1) is yes, then was it actually true??? (3) If the answer to (2) is also yes, then what exactly did it look like in terms of the floor plan??? And (4) if the answers to (1) and (2) are yes, then how could any family (with or without children) function normally in such a residence??? 2601:646:8082:BA0:810B:168D:9380:CDDC (talk) 22:09, 10 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The answer might come from thinking about the meaning of the word "normally" there. HiLo48 (talk) 22:39, 10 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

First of all, could someone please clarify whether or not it was actually the case that any houses were built in the way I described??? And as for whether a family (or indeed any group of people) can function normally for an indefinite period in the complete absence of individual privacy, note that the Mir space station was specially designed to include private cabins (which the earlier Salyut space stations didn't have) -- do you not think there was a specific reason for this??? (And this was from Soviets, no less, who generally weren't big on private or individual anything!) 73.162.165.162 (talk) 03:53, 11 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I can't speak to contemporary architecture, but historically, many cultures around the world lived in Longhouses or similar shared accommodation that can have afforded little personal privacy, even when not everyone in them were part of the same family.

Single-room dwellings were (I believe) the norm for the majority of the population in Europe prior to the mediaeval period. For most of our species' 300,000-year existence, sexual activity has likely not been regarded as requiring privacy from other adults, or concealment from children. Our currently fashionable mores are not unchanging universal laws. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 94.2.64.108 (talk) 05:25, 11 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Nor are there universal standards all around the world. HiLo48 (talk) 05:41, 11 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I have no idea how they were able to live like that in the old days, because it is a scientific fact that a persistent lack of privacy in the home does have severe negative impacts on mental health -- to quote here (note: AI-generated):

"Yes, a lack of privacy in the home can significantly negatively impact mental health, leading to feelings of stress, anxiety, vulnerability, and a sense of being overwhelmed.

Here's a more detailed explanation:

Stress and Anxiety:

When you lack personal space and the ability to retreat for privacy, it can contribute to increased stress and anxiety levels.

Overwhelm and Feeling Exposed:

The constant presence of others or the feeling of being watched can make individuals feel exposed and vulnerable, making it difficult to relax and feel safe in their own homes.

Sense of Control and Autonomy:

A lack of privacy can erode a sense of control and autonomy within one's own home, further contributing to feelings of anxiety and stress.

Lack of Personal Space:

Having no space to yourself within the home means you can't escape the bustle of household activities or responsibilities, which can be difficult when dealing with feelings of stress.

Impacts on Identity and Well-being:

Privacy is a fundamental psychological need and lack of it can affect a person's ability to develop their own unique identity and feel secure in their environment.

Perception of Social Isolation:

A lack of privacy can also contribute to feelings of social isolation as well as make it difficult for people to express themselves authentically and freely.

Impact on Relationships:

A lack of privacy in the home can affect family relationships and create conflict and tension."

2601:646:8082:BA0:24C8:7879:FEC5:96E (talk) 03:03, 12 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Define "privacy" and "mental health" in such a way as to be acceptable to all cultures at all times and places around the world throughout human history. --User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 14:57, 12 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The statement is rather implausible; ranch-style bungalows with such a floor plan will not do well on the market. Anyone can edit Wikipedia and add false or misleading statements, which almost always are soon afterwards removed. If the statement you saw was as you think, it may have been due to such a drive-by edit – I cannot find anything remotely similar in any article.  ​‑‑Lambiam 09:00, 11 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Will not do well on the market where? Which country? HiLo48 (talk) 09:10, 11 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Any country where ranch-style bungalows are a common type of housing.  ​‑‑Lambiam 22:33, 11 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

SO you're simply speculating. HiLo48 (talk) 22:57, 11 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Do you really think these are popular outside of North America?  ​‑‑Lambiam 08:43, 12 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

[un-indent] Good point about possible market impact having a deterrent effect against such experimentation (although there are actually at least a few houses where the sleeping area is open to the rest of the house -- Philip Johnson's Glass House being perhaps the most egregious example -- but the ones I've heard of are technically not ranch-style, and it does appear that these are pretty rare exceptions from the general rule!) 2601:646:8082:BA0:7824:124F:3E3C:908D (talk) 00:07, 12 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

There is a lot of AI generated nonsense above about modern standards of privacy being essential to mental health. I will speak from an American perspective but I am sure that this is historically false in every culture. Abraham Lincoln spent his early childhood living in Kentucky in poverty in a 16 foot by 18 foot one room log cabin with his parents and two siblings, one who died very young. His family moved to Indiana when he was seven, living in a similarly primitive house. After his mother died, his father married a woman who already had three children. Houses like this were commonplace in America for centuries. Native Americans lived in one room tipis, hogans, wigwams and longhouses for millenia. Several interrelated multigenerational families lived in a single large room in longhouses, and in winter, they spent a large percentage of their time in their houses doing craft work. Immigrants in big cities lived in large numbers in one or two room tenement apartments. So, the widespread expectation of a high degree of personal privacy is a very modern invention that derives from the creation of the 20th century middle class. Cullen328 (talk) 04:25, 12 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Apart from anything else, and certainly if we're talking about people living before the early modern era, they'd have had more important things on their mind than privacy. I'd imagine the rampant infectious diseases, low life expectancy, constant risk of crop failure and famine, widespread warfare (at least in many times/places), etc, would have been more of a worry than not having one's own bedroom. Proteus (Talk) 11:00, 12 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

If you don't trust AI-generated answers (and there are cases where they should not be trusted), then here's a non-AI-generated source, directly from a construction company no less, which backs up what I've said: https://www.logspan.com/blog/the-pain-of-not-having-your-own-space-within-the-home-and-solutions?srsltid=AfmBOoogTrhmAY6BNdIZAg1iftMdIKfoMwCh47e-5r7WtTs9avknOvPh And here's another one, from a traditional media outlet generally considered reliable: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/12/the-health-risks-of-small-apartments/282150/ And here's a first-hand account from someone who has actually experienced this: https://www.voicesofyouth.org/blog/living-lack-privacy And another two from psychologists (from India, too, so you cannot claim this is a Western-only phenomenon): https://manochikitsa.com/how-to-deal-with-lack-of-privacy-at-home/ https://mpowerminds.com/blog/Reasons-why-personal-space-is-important-for-mental-health-Dos-and-Donts-of-personal-space And last but not least, a study by the UK Health Foundation which shows a significant correlation between lack of privacy at home and stress levels: https://www.health.org.uk/evidence-hub/housing/housing-stability-and-security/relationship-between-living-in-overcrowded Bottom line is: privacy in the home is very important for mental health, and it is you who are talking nonsense by dismissing this "because history"! (And in any case, the argument "because history" does not fly -- in the Middle Ages it was considered normal to live in an unsanitary environment, and during the Industrial Revolution it was considered normal to live in an environment with extremely high levels of pollution, but that did not make this kind of life any less harmful to those who had to live it!) 2601:646:8082:BA0:24C8:7879:FEC5:96E (talk) 19:11, 12 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The problem with your analogy to poor sanitation and excessive exposure to pollution is that we have excellent epidemiological evidence that these environmental factors caused elevated levels of physical disease and early death. There is no evidence that simply being raised in a one room dwelling caused increased mental illness. Cullen328 (talk) 08:28, 13 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

There is evidence that living in an overcrowded home environment causes stress -- did you fail to notice, or did you choose to ignore, the last link I've provided above??? 2601:646:8082:BA0:24C8:7879:FEC5:96E (talk) 16:11, 13 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

What "overcrowded" means differs across time and space. As does the amount of separation from others expected. Unless you want to say that virtually all hulans throughout much of history were mentally ill, your argument falls apart. Yes, being in a "too crowded" environment with "not enough privacy" is detrimental, but these levels are set by the general circumstances of the society you are in. They are not exact measurements like "more than 3 people in a 10 square meter area " is detrimental. The study you linked to is about people who grew up in low population density households with a high level of privacy who are now living in crowded houses with little privacy. Obviously such a change is detrimental. But it says nothing about people raised in higher density households. I would assume that people raised in such shared living spaces would find your idea of enough room and privacy to be distressingly lonely and isolating. Which would be just as detrimental to them.--User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 16:58, 13 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]