Now that it’s summer and I have fewer textbooks to read, I’m looking for some fun reading. I loved all the Dan Brown books (eg. DaVinci Code) because they were highly entertaining but at the same time somewhat intelligent (I’m a science geek!). Any suggestions for similar books that I could read? Thanks!

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: For a medival angle, perhaps something from Umberto Eco, such as Foucault’s Pendulum or The Name of the Rose). For a sophisticated mystery, maybe something from John Le Carre or one of the spy novels of Graham Greene.

You might want to go to the database NoveList. You can get to it from the Articles and Databases interface at the library’s website. If you look up a book, you can click the link “Find Similar Books.” This gives you a list of topics related to the book you looked up (for The Da Vinci Code it includes “women crytographers” and “Holy Grail”) that you can click as Required or Preferred (or not at all), publication date, length, and so forth. Since this is a bit cumbersome and some books have very few subjects, it might help to just look at the reviews availble from NoveList, Literature Resource Center, or one of our other fine databases.

If the duos were to get into a duel, who do you think would win and why? Also it would be interesting to consider different combinations (e.g. Itchy and Jerry vs. Tom and Scratchy).

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: I think Itchy is by far the most ruthless and brutal of these cute, cuddly creatures, so I&S would win in a duel. But since the different species fight each other, I think it’s more logical for Itchy and Jerry to team up to totally decimate Tom and Scratchy. It wouldn’t be pretty.

is there free software to get rid of trojans on macs? I can do it on PCs with Hijack This, but macs are a whole different beast right?

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: I guess since Macs aren’t much known for getting such things, there’s not as much available as with PC’s. Duke OIT has licensed DrSolomon’s Virex from McAfee for Mac virus protection, free to Duke users. http://www.oit.duke.edu/site/software/virex.html The vendor’s website is a mess, but AP did find an Acrobat document that claims that Virex protects against trojans (does it clean them?)http://www.networkassociates.com/us/local_content/datasheets/ds_virex_macintosh.pdf You could also look at a software site such as TUCOWS: http://www.tucows.com/ Search “trojan” and choose Mac as the platform. However, this yielded no hits, although some of the virus software programs may also handle worms and trojans.

Is there a way on a mac or pc to capture the image that is on your computer screen at that moment and save it. Like if I hit a button could I capture not only this web page but also my task bar and other programs, etc.? Should I have written etc? or etc.? Oh, you’re a life saver!

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: On a PC you can hit the button to capture the image of the entire visible screen and save it to the Windows clipboard. will capture the image of just the active window. Duke doesn’t provide staff with Mac’s (at least not library staff), so you’d do best to ask another expert at the OIT help desk or elsewhere. According to the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed., rule 6.123, “Neither a period (aside from an abbreviating period) nor a comma ever accompanies a question mark or an exclamation point.” Since “etc.” is an abbreviation for et cetera, then according to this manual “etc.?” is correct. AP likes the 19th century form of the abbreviation: &c.

Please fix searching!

It didn’t work at
http://www.lib.duke.edu/suggest/.

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Sorry about this. How will you locate all the messages about sex in the stacks? AP has notified the proper authorities and hopefully they can get it running again.

What happened to the statue of James B. Duke that used to stand guard over the lawn in front of the chapel? Is he away for cleaning, or did some graduating senior abscond with him? The pedestal looks mighty empty out there….

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Buck Duke is visiting Cincinnati. The Duke News & Communications office has some information on the statue’s cleaning by a bronze specialist there: http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2005/05/jbd_statue_cleaning.html “The Sower” statue on East Campus was recently cleaned by the same company: http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2005/04/sower.html

Has the AP been the same individual since the inception of the Suggestion Book program? Or have there been a series of APs who have somehow maintained a seamless continuity of wit and erudition through the years? Perhaps the AP is like the Dread Pirate Roberts in The Princess Bride — an role to be occupied with robust vigor and elan (and anonymity) for a time, and then be handed over to an eager apprentice who will subsequently be responsible for grooming the next successor. The AP would live forever, outlasting us all!

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: I tip my hat … you seem to have answered your own question to your own satisfaction. AP is both a single individual and a little bit of a lot of people. In fact, there’s a little bit of Answer Person in all of us — you just need to nurture it a bit.

Is there a way to take separate pdf files and combine them into one multipage pdf file. It would eliminate my collating needs for my final paper. I don’t have expensive software. Just a mac with Preview, Adobe Reader 7.0, and adobe photoshop CS. I know you can do some stuff on adobe’s web site, but not this I don’t think.

Thank you for shedding light on this important issue!

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: To edit Acrobat files, you need to get Adobe Acrobat Professional. All you can do with Reader is use the text or image tool to copy sections and then paste into another application. You mention that you have Photoshop CS, implying that you have the Creative Suite package. Acrobat Pro is part of the Creative Suite, so please check. Beyond that, you may want to look at one of the basic books on Acrobat, such as a Dummies or Idiot’s guide.

AP, I hit a curb this weekend and broke two of my tires. In the process of repairing the damage, I had many questions but little time to ask. I am sorry to throw so many questions out at once.

1. Can two tires that are not the same (ie. made by different companies) be placed on the same axle if they are the same size?
2. What did it mean when someone told me I had a directional tire?
3. What does the speed rating mean? Does it matter if two tires have different speed ratings? What speeds do the speed rating letters represent?
4. Does a damaged rim:
a. increase the risk of damage to my car/tires?
b. create unsafe driving conditions?
5. Why are tires so expensive?

Thanks!

ANSWER PERSON RESPONDS: Uh, oh. I see liability issues here. Just for this one question, pretend that AP is like the TV psychics who function for entertainment purposes only. You should really ask an honest tire dealer, or perhaps a mechanical engineer here at Duke!

My dad used to purchase used tires for $5 or $10 each, so none of them would match (except the size). This was for an old beater car that he just drove around town. It didn’t seem to matter. I’ve been told that it really *does* matter, certainly for the front axle (or any axle that steers).

Directional tread will point differently depending on which way you mount the tire. Even with non-directional tread designs I’ve always heard that with radial tires they get used to revolving a certain direction. That’s why you rotate radials front to back, never side to side (although for short distances at reasonable speeds, like when you put on a spare, it shouldn’t matter).

Speed ratings indicate the highest recommended speed, and there’s usually a huge safety margin (e.g., the tires can go faster than your car can safely go). I’m sure it’s advisable to use the same speed ratings all the way around (one corner of your car isn’t going to be slower, hopefully), and you certainly want all of them to surpass the capabilities of your car.
F = 50 mph
G = 56 mph
J = 62 mph
K = 68 mph
L = 75 mph
M = 81 mph
N = 87 mph
P = 93 mph
Q = 100 mph
R = 106 mph
S = 112 mph
T = 118 mph
U = 124 mph
H = 130 mph
V = 149 mph
Z = 149+ mph

You should replace the wheel that has a damaged rim, or see if the rim can be repaired. Get a mechanic to look at it (I don’t know the extent or location of the damage.) It could lead to losing air pressure or making it more likely that the tire will catastrophically blow. Yes, this is unsafe.

There’s probably profit in the price somewhere, but there’s also a lot of engineering and rubber. It’s pretty amazing that they can run over abrasive surfaces for tens of thousands of miles before wearing out.