Miscellaneous Questions

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Miscellaneous

¨ What are 4 characteristics of a good traffic citizen?
¨ My best friend cries every day because people tease her. How can I help her?
¨ How old do you have to be to ride a gas scooter?
¨ What is the high jump?
¨ Which one is the best for furniture: Oak/Pine/Beech/Fir?
¨ I speak Spanish. I want to learn English. Please help me.
¨ How long can a house be severely flooded before damage is irreparable?
¨ Searching for a path in religion
¨ Bonnie Bracey's ethnic background
¨ How has Corona, California changed in 3 years?
¨ Size of quorum
¨ How do you use math in your job?

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QUESTION:
What are 4 characteristics of a good traffic citizen?

ANSWER from Dana Johnson on 15 January 2006:
1) Do your best to do the speed limit. Unless you are on an expressway, then go safely with the flow.
2) Do not "dart" from lane to another.
3) Use your turn signals.
4) Stay off the cell phone when driving. Even a hands free one.

Off. Dana Johnson
VA Beach Police
VA Beach,VA

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QUESTION:
When my best friend goes to school everyday, she's been teased by numerous of guys. She is quite emotional too. How can she control herself from crying about once a week in school? And how can I help her?

ANSWER from Imagiverse Team on 25 December 2005:
I understand that you want to help your friend, and I applaud you for that. Since I am removed from your situation, I can only give a short perspective from what I gathered from your message.

First of all, the problem is not in your friend's REACTION. People respond to stresses in different ways, and she is expressing her stress emotionally through crying. The problem is the teasing. Please tell you friend to go to your school counsellor or teacher and have her tell them of the teasing. Bullying/teasing is unacceptable. It should not be tolerated. These matters must be dealt with by letting your parents/teachers know, since these things can sometimes lead to dire consequences. If your friend is reluctant, persuade her again, or go to talk to the counsellor/teacher yourself.

If this is resolved, you will probably see your friend become less emotional. If she still is excessively emotional after this, then please speak to her about other possible underlying problems... but I'm afraid that's all I can suggest here. Please ask for teacher/parental advice. Do not be afraid.

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QUESTION:
How old do you have to be to ride a gas scooter?

ANSWER from Roger Herzler on 8 December 2005:
This is going to vary from city to city. Many places have no restrictions on age. Other places may have restrictions based upon age. There could even be differences in the safety equipment required to be worn while operating powered scooters. You or your parents should contact your local police department (non-emergency line) to discuss it further. They will probably be very helpful.

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QUESTION:
What is the high jump?

ANSWER from Scott Davis on 8 November 2005:
The high jump has been around for years! You simply have to clear the bar without knocking it off the standards. In the old days, athletes used roll and scissors techiques. Now most of the athletes use the backwards flop tecnique. I have US lists in this event back through the 1880's. It has been around for a long, long time!

The high jump is one of the many events in Track and Field. A bar is placed on 2 standards and the person simply tries to jump over the bar. The current world records are 8 feet for the men and 6-9 3/4 for the women. It is similar to the pole vault, but no pole is used for the high jump. Just you against the bar. Most jumpers use the backwards flop techinque these days.

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QUESTION:
Which one is the best for furniture Oak/Pine/Beech/Fir?

ANSWER from Jenny Alvarez on 7 November 2005:
This all depends on whether you are looking for outside furniture, indoor furniture, strong tables or decorative pieces. White Oak is the strongest wood for outdoor furniture because of its natural decay resistance. Ash and Maple can equally handle strength but wouldn't last as long outdoors, because they need to be kept clean and dry. Here are some websites I found that discuss how to find quality wood furniture and various wood strengths.

http://www.thehome.com/woodfurn.html

http://www.woodbin.com/ref/wood/strength_defs.htm

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QUESTION:
Hi! I speak Spanish. I want to learn English. Please teach me.

ANSWER from Luis Flores on 10 October 2005:
English is a pretty big language - the rewards of mastering the language far outweigh the work required to learn it.

Unfortunately, there isn't too much we at Imagiverse can do to help teach you English, but we can point you in the right direction!

Try using the translate options of both Google and AltaVista. These powerful search engines can translate the text of webpages to other languages. Try translating the text of your favorite Spanish websites into English. If you are familiar with the material - it will be easier for you to pick up on the new language.

Here are the URLs for the websites:
http://babelfish.altavista.com/
http://www.google.com/language_tools

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QUESTION:
How long can a house be severely flooded (4-5') before the damage is irreparable?

ANSWER from Roger Herzler on 13 September 2005:
The answer is "it depends". Many factors can go into such a problem and there really isn't a direct single answer. For example, is the water flowing or stagnant? Fast moving water will likely push a house off its foundation, in which case irreparable damage will occur very quickly. If the water is stagnant then the question might become what type of wood was used in the construction of the framing? Some woods will soften and decay much faster than others (ex. pine vs. oak). If there is little decay and the wood can be dried out quickly after the water recedes permanent damage may be avoidable, although certainly material like drywall would have to be replaced. Additionally, you also have to deal with organisms such as mold and fungus after the flood, which could also require much or all of the wood to be replaced due to health issues regardless of its structural condition.

The good news is that nearly everything is 'repairable' with enough money, time, and labor, but the question often becomes "is it worth the attempt to fix damaged material rather than just start over". As you can see, many variables exist to complicate the answer to your question. I would suggest that any amount of time a house is flooded under 4-5' of water is a major problem and a guess for permanent damage could be a week or less, but that will not be the correct answer in many cases.

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QUESTION:
I have read your overview [about religion], and I have say that's the best explanation I've found so far.

I have been exposed to religion in my life growing up. However I have never really understood a lot about it. I'm searching for something in religion, a way or a path maybe, I'm not sure yet. I would like to know what would be your suggestion as to where to start?

ANSWER from Michelle Mock on 10 April 2005:
Thank you for the compliment! This is a question that could be answered in many different ways. I will give you my personal opinion.

I believe that religion is really a very personal choice. Some of us grow up in a particular religion and some are very happy to follow that religion for life. Others reach a certain age where they stop believing what they have grown up with and start questioning things or, for whatever reason, looking for something more. Some never grow up in a formal religion and later find one or maybe they never need a formal religion to follow.

Only your heart knows what you are searching for. I would go to the library and find different books to read about different religions. I would get copies of books like the Bible, the Koran, the Book of Mormon, etc., and start scanning through them (what you are looking for may jump off the page at you). The most important is to be true to yourself and follow what you believe is right, ethical, and moral.

I personally believe in prayer and believe that it doesn't matter what religion is doing the praying... it is all the same. When I need prayers, I ask my Catholic/Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist friends ... all my friends, for their prayers.

I recently read a fictional book which is not "religious" but has a lot of spiritual points to ponder. The book is called The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield [http://www.celestinevision.com/]. I think you might enjoy it.

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QUESTION:
Browsing through your site I ran across an interesting lady I'd like to research. Her name is Bonnie Bracey. I am looking to find more information on her background, such as birthplace, ethnic background, age, etc. If you could help in anyway it would greatly in appericated.

ANSWER from Bonnie Bracey on 10 February 2005:
I am of Native American descent on my mother's side of the family. I am from one of the tribes that chose NOT to go to Oklahoma: Powhatan, but my family has never lived on a reservation. I am of African American descent-Hispanic mix on my father side of the family. Blacks and Indians often found community and places to live in harmony after the Civil War. In the US a mixture of anything was considered Black. I was born at home, since we were not allowed in hospitals.

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QUESTION:
I am 16 years old and I was born in the city of Corona, California. I moved to Washington 3 years ago and haven't seen Corona since and I wanted to know how it has changed.

ANSWER from Michelle Mock on 10 January 2005:
Thank you for writing to Imagiverse. I am not sure if you realize it, but Imagiverse Educational Consortium is actually located in Corona, California!

In the last three years, Corona has not changed as much as it changed in the 13 years you lived here. When I moved to Corona in 1981, everything south of Ontario Ave was orange groves with a few scattered houses. Most of the shopping was in the area of Main Street and River Road. We had Mervyn's, Alpha Beta, K-Mart, Savons, Albertsons, Vons and Thrifty. They were all within a few blocks of each other and most of them were long gone before you were born. In the early 80s, virtually all of the "big" stores were north of the 91 Freeway. Today, there are so many big shopping centers in south Corona, I have lost count! Corona has continued to grow since you left. More and more houses are being built every day. Even though many new schools have been built through the years, most are at or near capacity.

Corona (and all of Southern California) has had a LOT of rain lately. You may have heard about it on the news. We haven't seen this much rain in a long time. I have actually been able to use my umbrella on a daily basis. As you know, we have needed the water for a long time. I think the drought may be over, but we currently have problems with flooding and mudslides. The Corona airport is flooded too!

Here are some websites that will give you more information about Corona. Have fun looking through them.

http://www.cnusd.k12.ca.us/ (Corona/Norco Unified School District)
http://www.ci.corona.ca.us/ (City of Corona)
http://www.hometownlocator.com/City/Corona-California.cfm

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QUESTION:
My committee is authorized to have six members. A quorum is four members. One member has resigned. Now that we temporarily have five members should our quorum remain at four or would it automatically go to three?

ANSWER from Michelle Mock on 21 December 2004:
I believe the answer to this lies in your bylaws. A quorum is the number of people required to have a valid meeting to conduct business. Since you still have more than four members, and the change in number of members is only temporary, I would think that in your situation, a quorum would still be four. I can't give you any more specific answer because I do not know anything about your organization or bylaws.

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QUESTION:
I am doing a bonus project for my math class and I would like to know how you use geometry in your job description. If you could get back to me today, if possible.

ANSWER from Michelle Mock on 3 December 2004:
Thank you for writing to Imagiverse. Our experts can not answer questions on a deadline. They try to get back to us quickly, but we can't expect them to answer immediately. You did not send your question for a particular expert so I am sending you a quote from a new interview which has not yet been posted. This is from the interview of Miguel Muelle, a graphic designer:

"I think perhaps the only mathematics that influence my life to this day would be geometry. As a graphic designer my vocabulary is shape, my grammar is composition and my syntax is the relationships among the shapes. Even back in high school I could see that "parallel lines cut by a transversal" or lines being tangent to circles had a sort of "meaning"… they elicited a reaction. That is graphic design."

You can see some of his work at miguelmuelle.com

Many other occupations use geometry. Some examples include architecture, engineering (e.g., mechanical and civil engineering), and navigation. How many others can you think of?

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Last Updated:
19 July 2006