ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, September 22, 1996 TAG: 9609240020
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: 5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: COX NEWS SERVICE
Q: How many states have enacted the ``three strikes, you're out'' law?
A: In addition to a federal law, which is part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, these states have passed the ``three strikes'' statutes, whichallow or require life imprisonment or long sentences for three-time violent felons: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin and Washington. Montana's law is scheduled to take effect in January.
Q: I saw something that listed centillion as the largest named number with 600 zeroes. I thought it had 303 zeroes. Is this a difference between the American and European systems?
A: O those zeroes. The Guinness Book of Records says: ``The largest lexicographically accepted named number in the system of successive powers of ten is the centillion, first recorded in 1852. It is the hundredth power of a million, or 1 followed by 600 zeroes.'' But you're right, that's the system used in Britain. In the United States, centillion is defined as a 1 followed by 303 zeroes. What is important is not the word for the number, but the number itself, said Andrew Granville of the University of Georgia mathematics department. ``In the American system, we don't really have a number higher than a trillion,'' he said. ``Mathematicians would say `10 to the power of' '' whatever number they were discussing.
Q: A card I sent to Ronald Reagan was returned. What is the address and phone number?
A: Office of Ronald Reagan, 11000 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif. 90024 (310-552-1980).
Q: Can a president pardon a person convicted of any kind of crime?
A: The presidential power to pardon, delegated by the Constitution (Article II, Section 2), is absolute. But logic and history indicate it wouldn't be done for something petty. President Harry Truman pardoned more than 1,500 people who had violated the Selective Service Act during World War II. President Ronald Reagan issued nearly 400 pardons during his two terms in office. The most publicized recent pardons were that of Richard Nixon by President Gerald Ford in 1974 and those of six former Reagan administration officials by outgoing President George Bush in 1992.
Q: The Navy has christened one of its ships the Harry S. Truman. I thought Truman didn't have a middle name, so isn't it incorrect to use a period after the S?
A: Even though Truman indeed had no middle name, the aircraft carrier christened Sept. 7 at Newport News, Va., does have S with a period. ``The Presidency A to Z'' says Truman's parents chose the S to honor both grandfathers, Anderson Shippe Truman and Solomon Young. Anita Henderson at the Truman Presidential Museum and Library in Independence, Mo., said S with a period is typically used in anything official. As for Truman, he said in the early 1960s that ``it makes no difference to me.'' .
Q: What is President Clinton's e-mail address?
A: Clinton's e-mail address is resident@whitehouse.gov
Q. I thought hurricanes were named alphabetically. But after Fran came Hortense. What happened to G?
A. Tropical Storm Gustav formed in the Atlantic behind Fran, but dissipated. For those who like to keep track, here are the 1996 Atlantic tropical cyclone names: Arthur, Bertha, Cesar, Dolly, Edouard, Fran, Gustav, Hortense, Isidore, Josephine, Kyle, Lili, Marco, Nana, Omar, Paloma, Rene, Sally, Teddy, Vicky and Wilfred. Not every letter of the alphabet is represented.
Q. While watching TV coverage of hurricanes, I frequently see two red flags with black squares. What is their significance?
A. They're storm warning flags to advise boaters and others of hazardous wind and sea conditions. Each of the four flags signifies varying strengths of wind and, therefore, danger. One red triangle indicates a small craft advisory, with winds up to 38 mph; two red triangles, one above the other, mean gale warning, with winds from 39 to 54 mph; one square red flag with black center represents storm warning, with winds from 55 to 73 mph; and two square red flags, one above the other, with black squares in the center, mean hurricane warning, with winds at least 74 mph.
Q. I'd like to write a letter of support to Susan McDougal, the woman sent to prison for refusing to testify against the Clintons in the Whitewater case. Do you have an address?
A. Write her in care of Faulkner County Jail, 801 Locust St., Conway, Ark. 72032.
Q. I recently saw a New Hampshire license plate with the motto ``Live Free or Die.'' What is the origin of that?
A. It came from a letter written in 1809 by Revolutionary War Gen. John Stark, said Bill Copley of the New Hampshire Historical Society. Stark was invited to a Revolutionary War victory celebration in 1808 and again in 1809, but he was too sick to attend the second time, Copley said. In his letter apologizing for missing the event, Stark included this toast, from which the motto was derived: ``Live free or die. Death is not the worst of evils.'' Stark died 13 years later, at age 94, Copley said, but his toast lives on.
Q. Can anyone submit potential names for hurricanes to the Weather Bureau? The one before Fran was almost unpronounceable.
A. The Weather Bureau is not involved. The World Meteorological Organization in Geneva compiled a master list of names and doesn't accept nominations for new ones. There are sets of 21 names for each of six consecutive years; after the sixth year, the list is repeated. For example, this year's list (Arthur through Wilfred) will be used again in 2002, 2008 and so on. Edouard, the one before Fran, is one of a number of names chosen to reflect an international flavor because hurricanes affect nations other than the United States and are tracked by countries other than the United States.
Q. How many people are registered Libertarians in the United States?
A. There are ``close to'' 150,000 registered Libertarians in 28 states, said Bill Winter, spokesman for the Libertarian Party headquarters in Washington. Winters said some states do not have registration by party and other states have ``restrictive laws'' that virtually require voters to register as Democrats, Republicans or Independents, with no other choices. .
Q. Is there a way to order a Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog by phone?
A. Yes. Call 800-825-8000. A $6.50 ``subscription fee,'' refundable with your first order, must be paid for with an American Express or Neiman Marcus charge card. You can arrange a Neiman Marcus account when you call.
Q. Tropical storms and hurricanes strike throughout the Caribbean and Atlantic, but we never hear of any hitting Cuba. Why is that?
A. Over the past 15 years, several deadly and damaging tropical storms and depressions have struck Cuba, then turned into hurricanes as they moved on, said Frank Lepore at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Tropical storms have wind speeds of 39 to 73 mph, he said, and can cause devastating floods and winds on mountainous islands such as Cuba. This was the case in 1981, when a tropical storm that later became Hurricane Arlene hit Cuba on May 7. The same thing happened in 1985, when a tropical depression struck Aug. 28 before turning into Hurricane Elena. In 1987, a tropical storm hit western Cuba on Oct. 11 before becoming Hurricane Floyd, Lepore said. And on Oct. 15, 1991, Cuba was hit by a tropical storm that later intensified into Hurricane Fabian. On Nov. 13, 1994, the island was struck by yet another tropical storm that would become Hurricane Gordon.
It's certainly possible that the winds in a tropical storm could reach more than 73 mph before it reached Cuba, but that hasn't happened in recent years, Lepore said.
Q. I understand that there's a source on the Internet for getting information on scholarships. Do you have that Internet address?
A. You're referring to fastWEB (Financial Aid Search Through the Web), which lets Internet users search, without cost, a database of more than 180,000 private scholarships. The address: http://www.fastweb.com/.
Q: How is the number of alarms determined in fighting a fire?
A: Each alarm adds more equipment and firefighters, but there's no strict mathematical formula involved. The response to a fire depends on the type of structure involved, the number of lives at stake and whether the fire is ``working'' or is under control. After firefighters arrive, they advise alarm headquarters how serious the situation is and, if necessary, ask for more help. ``If it's a residence on fire, we will send two engines (firetrucks), a ladder truck and a battalion chief on the first alarm,'' said Tim Szymanski, public information officer at the Atlanta Fire Department. ``If it's a business, we will send three engines, two ladder trucks and a battalion chief.'' Because more lives are involved, a two-alarm fire at a hospital or hotel will get more firefighters and equipment than a two-alarm fire at a house or empty building, Szymanski said.
Q: When was the name Roebuck dropped from Sears and Roebuck? Who was Roebuck? What was his relationship to Sears?
A: Roebuck's name was phased out in advertising and on store exteriors in the 1970s, a spokeswoman said, but the company's name is still officially Sears, Roebuck and Co. Sears is ``easier and catchier'' and ``that's what the consumer knows,'' she added. Roebuck was Alvah C. Roebuck, a watchmaker hired in 1887 by Richard W. Sears, who had started the R.W. Sears Watch Co. in 1886. After selling the watch business, Sears in 1891 formed a mail order business that, in 1893, became Sears, Roebuck and Co. It issued its first general catalog in 1896. Roebuck left the company in 1895 and Sears found two new partners, Aaron Nussbaum, who left in 1901, and Julius Rosenwald. After differences arose between Sears and Rosenwald, Sears left in 1908 and Rosenwald became president. Despite all the changes, the company's name has stuck.
Q: Do you have any details about the North Sea Protection Works in the Netherlands? It's on the new ``seven wonders of the world'' list.
A: The Protection Works has several major elements, which together prevent the North Sea from inundating the low-lying Netherlands with flooding in stormy weather. It includes a 19-mile-long enclosure dam; the Delta Project in southwest Holland, where a series of dams, dikes, canals and sluices have prevented a repeat of a 1953 flood in which more than 1,800 people died; and the Eastern Schelde Barrier, a series of steel gates slung between massive concrete piers that can be closed if storm-level waters threaten.|
Q: In the Walt Disney movie ``Lady and the Tramp,'' what was the mongrel's name?
A: In the 1955 animated film, it was simply Tramp. But in the book on which it was based, his name was Happy Dan, the Whistling Dog. Tramp's voice in the movie was supplied by Larry Roberts, Lady's by Barbara Luddy.
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