DEFY S. McQUAID! #68: Measured

The Question

Tom asks:

Have you ever noticed the signs on the highway which say “Begin Measured Mile”/”End Measured Mile”? What is the purpose of these signs? Aren’t the normal mileposts markers measured as well?

The Answer

It comes down to the type of road you are driving on. Interstate highways ALWAYS have the “measured mile” signposts – they are present by rule. However, state highways (such as Rte. 24 in Massachusetts, for example) and US highways (such as Rte. 1)aren’t regulated as strictly. For them, certain areas may not have the “measured mile” signposts, or the signposts may not start at the state border or the beginning of the road.

In cases such as this, the sign “Begin Measured Mile” lets the driver know that the mile signposts start HERE, and not at the state border or at the beginning of the road. It also indicates where the “official” US measurement begins – any other signposts showing mileage were installed by local or state authorities, not by the federals.

On a side note, on railroads, the “Begin Measured Mile” sign (paired with “End Measured Mile” sign) allow the engineer to check the accuracy of his speedometer by counting the time between the two signs and extrapolating his or her speed to compare against the speedometer’s measurement. Better safe than sorry, it seems…

DEFY S. McQUAID! Diversion #2: Floored

NOTE: This is the second “diversion” posted as part of Defy S. McQuaid. In a diversion, no user-submitted question is answered, but instead, a topic of interest is discussed. (By interest, I mean “interest to me at the moment”, and possibly not interesting to you. Sorry.)

The Question

What is the best material choice overall when re-flooring your basement that was flooded during the torrential and continuous rains last week?

The Answer

Gee, I just happen to have a great answer for this one. Seems that’s exactly the situation I’ve been working on for the last week or so.

Last Monday (not yesterday, the one before that), I happened to go down into my finished basement as usual in the morning to check email and the like. Sitting at my computer, I noticed that the dog had followed me down the stairs. Next, I heard slurping.

It turned out that I was sitting in the only dry spot in the basement. Everything else was soaking wet.

After sucking 100+ gallons of water out of the basement, it became apparent (via the smell) that the carpet we had had down there was done for. But what to put down to replace it?

Here are the options:

Nothing. Just leave it open concrete
PRO: Do nothing. No work.
CON: HUGE downgrade. No way.
Replace the carpet
PRO: Carpet is nice to stand on. Also, the tack strips are already there.
CON: If water happens again, it has to be replaced again. This is expensive. (I NEVER had water down there before, and they ARE saying this is a “100 year storm”, but I don’t trust them.) Also, carpet in a basement can only be musty after a while.
Install wood floor or laminate
PRO: Well, it will look nice. Expensive though.
CON: Well, if it floods again, it’s done. Even if the laminate is moisture-resistant, it can’t stand up to actual water. Also, it’s expensive. And you have to put foam under it, which will absorb water.
Install linoleum
PRO: Linoleum is safe. If it floods again, you mop it up.
CON: Good linoleum is expensive ($2+/sq. ft). Cheap linoleum is not, but you still have to have it installed, which is expensive. More expensive than carpet.
Install your own vinyl tile
PRO: Cheap!
CON: Cheap looking! Also, work. I’m tired now. Seems like a bit of a downgrade.
Install indoor/outdoor carpet (glue down)
PRO: If it gets wet, it dries without dying. Also, it’s inexpensive ($0.62/sq. ft.) and installation is cheap too if you’ve removed your carpet already (which I have). Also, you can do the stairs instead of leaving the sea-foam green old stained carpet on it. Also, you don’t have to install it yourself.
CON: …..still waiting…..nope, ain’t got one.

I assume that you, the gentle reader, can ascertain my choice.

Next week: Back to your regularly scheduled answers!

DEFY S. McQUAID! #67: Construction of a Beverage

The Question
Mike D asks:

Dear Shaun,

I recently discovered Dunkin Donut’s Dunkaccino. I want to be able to make this delicious beverage at home. My question is such:
Can you figure out the recipe to Dunkin Donut’s Dunkaccino?

Curious,
mike d.

The Answer

Yes, yes I can.

Oh, you want the recipe?

Basically, the Dunkaccino is a combination of coffee, cocoa, and cream. Here’s how to whip one up.

Make some coffee. Make some cocoa – BUT make sure to use only whole milk as the liquid in the cocoa – no water, no skim milk. Have some half-and-half on-hand. Also, you’ll need a pinch of salt. And a little non-dairy creamer.

Your cup is half coffee. Fill with cocoa to 3/4 of the way. Mix in about 3 tablespoons of the half-and-half. Add a pinch of salt and a spoon or two of the non-dairy creamer. Mix well. Enjoy!

NOTE: The author has not, in fact, tried this recipe. It was distilled from an ingredients list, nutrition information, and general culinary knowledge. The author does not, in fact, like coffee.

“And just one more time….KARATE!!!”

DEFY S. McQUAID! #66: Moving the Stars

The Question

Patrick asks:

I was driving to work the other day, and there was an old Subaru in front of me at a stop light. And in the lane next to the old Subaru, there was a new Subaru. I noticed that they had different logos!

The current logo has an oval with a large star in the upper left and a pattern of five smaller starts on the right side.

The older logo had 5 of the 6 stars in the exact same place. However, the left-most little star was placed in a completely new location! In the current design, it is to the SE of the large star, but in the old logo, it’s decidedly to the SW, and when you see the metal badge on the rear of the car, that little star actually sits on the oval!

Are you following me?

Anyway, I was wondering what caused the change of star location and when it happened? I can understand a completely redesigned logo, but they just moved one little star. What was wrong with it before?

The Answer

To answer your first question: No, I’m not following you. If I was following you, you wouldn’t suspect it, since I have cat-like reflexes and ninja-like skills. In fact….LOOK BEHIND YOU! I’m not there. I’m over HERE! On the EAST COAST!

Now, to the Subaru question. The word “subaru” in Japan represents the constellation of the Pleiades – hence, the reason the stars are present in the logo at all. And you are correct – there is an “old” logo and a “new” logo. Here’s the old one:

Old!

And here’s the new logo:

New!

Your description of the stars moving around is flawless – one star did make a massive shift in position from the bottom left to the bottom right. Why, you ask?

About 15 years ago, Fujitsu Heavy Industries (the parent company of Subaru) underwent a re-branding process. The old logo for that company was a red…thing. It looked a bit like a boomerang on its side. However, they wanted to make it clear that they owned Subaru, so they took the Subaru logo, re-designed it a bit, and then re-released it as the overarching logo. The reason they chose the logo in the first place was the fact that the company, when it formed in 1953, five smaller companies joined into one big company – hence the 5 little stars and one big star. By moving the little star on the bottom left over next to the other 4 stars on the bottom right, the company sacrifices a bit of astronomical accuracy for a clearer image of 5 small stars on one side, and the single large star on the other. It’s not like the old symbol was very accurate anyways; take a look at the Pleiades constellation some time – it’s close, but not quite accurate.

Hopefully this answers your question. I would like to acknowledge the assistance of Shamus, who felt the need to test his searching abilities against this most difficult question, and who found the images for me of the old and new logos.