pencils by the computers? April 29, 2005
Posted by Library Answer Person in : Uncategorized , add a commentI notice you have those nice little pencils near the reference desk. How about putting a few pencils in little containers near the computers?
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Thanks for your suggestion. I’ll pass it along to the Reference Dept. (who provide the “golf pencils” at the ref desk) and they’ll consider it.
White and Black Smoke? April 20, 2005
Posted by Library Answer Person in : Uncategorized , add a commentHow do Cardinal’s choosing the Pope make different color smoke?
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Chemicals are added to the fire to create the black or white smoke. AP couldn’t find the particular recipe, so I assume that, like the votes themselves, the chemicals are a Vatican secret. Apparently in the past Italian army flares of different colors were used, as well as smoke bombs to produce the black color, but the smoke tended to back up inside the Chapel. Also, straw has been used for the white color, but sometimes produced an ambiguous gray. A nerdy 10-year old kid with a chemistry kit might be able to help.
Spanish slang April 19, 2005
Posted by Library Answer Person in : Uncategorized , add a commentHow do you say “hook up” in Spanish? Argentine slang would be particularly helpful.
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: You could ask our subject librarian for Latin America, who happens to be from Argentina, but she might get the wrong idea. Actually, I don’t think this is the sort of thing where you have get the words right. It’s usually pretty obvious what your intentions are. Enjoy your trip to Argentina!
Recipe for vanilla extract April 19, 2005
Posted by Library Answer Person in : Uncategorized , add a commentI need a recipe for vanilla extract. I can get vanilla beans, but cannot find extract up to my standards. Can I make it?
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: There are some recipes on the web (just google for “vanilla extract recipe”) that involve soaking the cut bean pods in vodka or brandy for anywhere from 3 days to 1 year! Longer seems to be good. Maybe with occasional shaking. Federal regulations require a minimum of 35% alcohol in commercial vanilla extract. I would think that vodka is better, since it wouldn’t add the extra flavors that brandy would. Or, perhaps watered down everclear. Sugar is often added, although it seems this is up to personal taste and it should somewhat be naturally sweet.
hotlines to report violence April 12, 2005
Posted by Library Answer Person in : Uncategorized , add a commentAre there any hotlines that kids could call to report info they have on violence at school? Like a place you could call that would be anonymous so they won’t have to worry about getting in trouble. They could report that someone has a gun or said something threating and stuff like that. I just know that these school shootings like in red lake, MN and the ones that happy in our cities every day could be prevented.
Is there a national anonymous hotline just for students or at least ones done by state govts or even local govts?
Thanks!
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: In North Carolina there’s the Center for the Prevention of School Violence, in Raleigh, at 1-800-299-6054, although this doesn’t look like a “hotline” to help resolve immediate problems. Call 911 if, for instance, someone has a loaded gun! 911 dispatchers are supposed to respect anonymity of callers, although I can’t attest as to the policy of each local jurisdiction regarding anonymity. At the number above they might tell you about what number is best to call in your area for a non-immediate situation.
I can’t find any sort of national hotline, but several state and local juristications seem to have them. School Violence Hotline for Michigan is 1-800-815-TIPS. For Missouri, it’s 1-866-748-7047. The Alabama Safe School Hotline is 1-888-728-5437. Back in 2001 there seems to have been a House bill, the “School Safety Hotline Act of 2001″ (H.R. 899, 107th Congress), introduced by Colorado congressman Tom Tancredo, that would have provided federal money to help states establish such hotlines, but it appears to have died in committee.
Bad questions April 8, 2005
Posted by Library Answer Person in : Uncategorized , add a commentAre there ever any bad questions that you refuse to answer? I hope this wasn’t a bad question…
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Spam sent to the online suggestion book (e.g., book announcements) are deleted. Some rude comments about library staff may be ignored, although these are rare and AP may attempt to gently remind the nasty person to take a deep breath and put things in perspective. To maintain civility, the “answer” to a bad question/comment just might address its style and not its content. Usually, AP likes to publicize an insulting or rash comment to make the writer look as dumb as possible.
deleting files on a Mac April 8, 2005
Posted by Library Answer Person in : Uncategorized , add a commentHow do I delete a file that my Mac’s Finder thinks is “in use”?
The file could very well be in use because it’s on a shared drive, but the file really is useless, thus I don’t care if it’s “in use”. Is there a way for me to delete it manually? Do I need software?
Thanks!
ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Sorry for my delayed answer, but Answer Person was “in use” elsewhere.
Although I’m not currently a Mac user (I use one of Duke’s officially assigned PC’s), there seems to be a web page with information on this topic at:
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/trash.html
It has guidance and links to trash utilities. It may not, however, apply to this shared drive issue.
You’ll have to work to paste this URL into your browswer, but here’s some interesting information:
http://www.macfixitforums.com/php/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=OfficeX&Number=678709&page=&view=&sb=&o=
It mentions some performance utilities:
Onyx: http://www.titanium.free.fr/english.html
Trash It!: http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/14884
