The house next to my parents' is vacant and had the copper stolen recently - I think they caught the thieves - at $3 a pound I can't imagine they got more than a couple or few pounds out of a 1200 sq ft house. How desperate do you have to be for $20 or less to break in to a house to steal the plumbing and wiring?
I guess if you have no money and no food, $20 is a lot.
If that were the case, then why not steal food? Sure is easier. Copper pipe theft is usually committed by junkies. Accept that they exist is this world. Will ya?
I apologise for my trollish-ness and you are quite right about homonyms but these are symbols or glyphs not words – shorthand for something.
The '£' is called a pound sign and there is no other name for it whereas the '#' symbol has several, many of which predate the US usage and computers by many years and that even in US English there is not total consistency of usage. Other than to add 'Sterling' to denote that it is the UK version of the pound that is being referred to – '£' is an ancient glyph for currency based on weight.
As to Aluminium... Its first name was 'Alumium' after Humphrey Davy. 'Aluminium' matches the other Alkaline earth metal denomination and is the first officially recognised IUPAC name based on that logic. 'Aluminum' was later tagged-on as an alternative spelling due to it's common use in the USA.
I applaud the variety and adaptability of English in all its forms, the fact that English speakers overwhelmingly ignore the OED prescription of 'z' is a testimony to this and long may it last...
I just feel that '£' has more weight and value that the hashed-together use of the '#' symbol ;-)
As to Aluminium... Its first name was 'Alumium' after Humphrey Davy. 'Aluminium' matches the other Alkaline earth metal denomination and is the first officially recognised IUPAC name based on that logic. 'Aluminum' was later tagged-on as an alternative spelling due to it's common use in the USA.
You have this very backwards. Davy named it alumium in 1808 but then later changed it to aluminum in 1812. It was the Brits, not Davy, that decided to then change it further and after the fact to aluminium. The Brits not liking how aluminum sounds or wanting it to harmonize with other elements does not permit us to rewrite history to suggest the US somehow bastardized the spelling or pronunciation after some pure Brit solution had been discovered. This was Davy and this was before the change in the UK.
You have this very backwards. Davy named it alumium in 1808 but then later changed it to aluminum in 1812. It was the Brits, not Davy, that decided to then change it further and after the fact to aluminium. The Brits not liking how aluminum sounds or wanting it to harmonize with other elements does not permit us to rewrite history to suggest the US somehow bastardized the spelling or pronunciation after some pure Brit solution had been discovered. This was Davy and this was before the change in the UK.
... "for so we shall take the liberty of writing the word, in preference to aluminum, which has a less classical sound." ...
I love that quote. So British!
Thank heavens you Yanks hadn't heard of potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium, and strontium.
There again ... Platinium has a certain ring to it ...
As to Aluminium... Its first name was 'Alumium' after Humphrey Davy. 'Aluminium' matches the other Alkaline earth metal denomination and is the first officially recognised IUPAC name based on that logic. 'Aluminum' was later tagged-on as an alternative spelling due to it's common use in the USA.
You have this very backwards. Davy named it alumium in 1808 but then later changed it to aluminum in 1812. It was the Brits, not Davy, that decided to then change it further and after the fact to aluminium. The Brits not liking how aluminum sounds or wanting it to harmonize with other elements does not permit us to rewrite history to suggest the US somehow bastardized the spelling or pronunciation after some pure Brit solution had been discovered. This was Davy and this was before the change in the UK.
Hmm... Apart from virtually repeating what I wrote but telling me I'm wrong, Sir Davey actually used Alumium, Aluminum and Aluminium He ended up preferring Aluminium. The latter is the one he and professional chemist settled on as being the correct and logical name – Davey (ds Quartely Rev., VIII, an. 1812, 72, ibid. : "aluminium for so we shall take the liberty of writting [sic] the word, in preference to aluminum" Up until the early part of the 1900s Aluminium was the most used form in the USA and it has been observed that Aluminum is the name used by non-chemists & tradespeople, whereas Chemist tend to say Aluminium.
The American Chemical Society exclusively call it Aluminium since 1926 and I have read somewhere years ago that there were more Americans than any other single nationality on the IUPAC committee that chose Aluminium (the IUPAC is Swiss based and I can't find a reference to confirm that).
Besides, Davey was, after all a Brit (specifically an English Briton) and if, after much contemplation, he decided it should be called Aluminium who are we mere mortals to argue?
Hmm... Apart from virtually repeating what I wrote but telling me I'm wrong...
I repeated what you virtually wrote in much the same way that 10010001 is virtually the same as 10001001. They aren't the same and anyone suggesting that aluminum is wrong is simply wrong.
Not defending this guy, but how much did it cost taxpayers for the police to launch a helicopter and bring the canine unit? Why couldn't they just wait for the guy to come out the gate?
Would the police have sent a helicopter if this wasn't Apple property?
Helicopter was probably already airborne "flying its beat." Waiting for him to come out of that massive area would take forever, monopolize officers' time, allow the suspect to arm himself, and increase his chances of escaping. Cops have to get in there before the suspect has a chance to think.
I'm coming late to the party on this, but I have a couple yarns to spin about copper thieves in the steel industry where I worked. We once caught a guy stealing 250-pound copper tuyeres from the blast furnace department storeroom. Tuyeres are large water-cooled copper nozzles that give meaning to the term blast furnace. They're used to blow huge volumes of superheated air into the bottom of the furnace, which causes coke to burn and smelt pig iron from iron ore. The guy would wheelbarrow the tuyeres over to the fence line and drop them there, to come back with his pickup truck after dark. He made off with about a dozen of these babies over time before he finally got caught.
On another occasion a fellow was discovered dead after daybreak at the base of a ladder in a vacant building. Investigation indicated that he had been unbolting some copper busbars about 20 feet above ground. He was not an electrician, so the thought that the busbars might be energized apparently had eluded him.
Scrap thieves can be an innovative bunch, although still not the sharpest knives in the drawer. Last spring, a school bus transportation company in Chicago locked up its yard at the end of the day. The next morning eight of its buses were missing - stolen and driven to a scrap dealer, where they were shredded overnight. A quarter million dollars worth of school buses were obliterated within hours ... almost ... except for some of their GPS units, which apparently survived the shredding. As scrap, it is estimated that each bus would have fetched from $1,500 to $3,500.
The "£" (pound) character predates the hash sign by several hundred years if not more, whereas the number might be called the pound sign by mistake as it has the same position on American keyboards as the pound sign.
Yes, but in America we refer to pounds as a measure of weight, not currency. Meanwhile, back in merry olde England "stone" is still used as a measure of weight.
Comments
This is easily the worst post on AI ever. Please don't post this click bait junk.
There seems to be a TON of click bait lately. To the point where I'm thinking CNET may now have its hands in AI.
The house next to my parents' is vacant and had the copper stolen recently - I think they caught the thieves - at $3 a pound I can't imagine they got more than a couple or few pounds out of a 1200 sq ft house. How desperate do you have to be for $20 or less to break in to a house to steal the plumbing and wiring?
I guess if you have no money and no food, $20 is a lot.
they have free food in jail.
Wow. Really?
OBEY or we release the hounds?
Over a bit of scrap wire. What is the world coming to (not to mention the pathos inherent in a man having to scrounge for wire to make a few $)...?
Or maybe a food addict and desperately needing a fix…
If that were the case, then why not steal food? Sure is easier. Copper pipe theft is usually committed by junkies. Accept that they exist is this world. Will ya?
More like the Copper Copper
Crack Cupertino Coppers Crack Case of the Copper Caper; Cook Contented.
I apologise for my trollish-ness and you are quite right about homonyms but these are symbols or glyphs not words – shorthand for something.
You have this very backwards. Davy named it alumium in 1808 but then later changed it to aluminum in 1812. It was the Brits, not Davy, that decided to then change it further and after the fact to aluminium. The Brits not liking how aluminum sounds or wanting it to harmonize with other elements does not permit us to rewrite history to suggest the US somehow bastardized the spelling or pronunciation after some pure Brit solution had been discovered. This was Davy and this was before the change in the UK.
... "for so we shall take the liberty of writing the word, in preference to aluminum, which has a less classical sound." ...
I love that quote. So British!
Thank heavens you Yanks hadn't heard of potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium, and strontium.
There again ... Platinium has a certain ring to it ...
•
Mr. Bean can talk?!?
As to Aluminium... Its first name was 'Alumium' after Humphrey Davy. 'Aluminium' matches the other Alkaline earth metal denomination and is the first officially recognised IUPAC name based on that logic. 'Aluminum' was later tagged-on as an alternative spelling due to it's common use in the USA.
You have this very backwards. Davy named it alumium in 1808 but then later changed it to aluminum in 1812. It was the Brits, not Davy, that decided to then change it further and after the fact to aluminium. The Brits not liking how aluminum sounds or wanting it to harmonize with other elements does not permit us to rewrite history to suggest the US somehow bastardized the spelling or pronunciation after some pure Brit solution had been discovered. This was Davy and this was before the change in the UK.
Hmm... Apart from virtually repeating what I wrote but telling me I'm wrong, Sir Davey actually used Alumium, Aluminum and Aluminium He ended up preferring Aluminium. The latter is the one he and professional chemist settled on as being the correct and logical name – Davey (ds Quartely Rev., VIII, an. 1812, 72, ibid. : "aluminium for so we shall take the liberty of writting [sic] the word, in preference to aluminum" Up until the early part of the 1900s Aluminium was the most used form in the USA and it has been observed that Aluminum is the name used by non-chemists & tradespeople, whereas Chemist tend to say Aluminium.
The American Chemical Society exclusively call it Aluminium since 1926 and I have read somewhere years ago that there were more Americans than any other single nationality on the IUPAC committee that chose Aluminium (the IUPAC is Swiss based and I can't find a reference to confirm that).
Besides, Davey was, after all a Brit (specifically an English Briton) and if, after much contemplation, he decided it should be called Aluminium who are we mere mortals to argue?
I repeated what you virtually wrote in much the same way that 10010001 is virtually the same as 10001001. They aren't the same and anyone suggesting that aluminum is wrong is simply wrong.
Let's just agree to differ then.
Helicopter was probably already airborne "flying its beat." Waiting for him to come out of that massive area would take forever, monopolize officers' time, allow the suspect to arm himself, and increase his chances of escaping. Cops have to get in there before the suspect has a chance to think.
On another occasion a fellow was discovered dead after daybreak at the base of a ladder in a vacant building. Investigation indicated that he had been unbolting some copper busbars about 20 feet above ground. He was not an electrician, so the thought that the busbars might be energized apparently had eluded him.
Scrap thieves can be an innovative bunch, although still not the sharpest knives in the drawer. Last spring, a school bus transportation company in Chicago locked up its yard at the end of the day. The next morning eight of its buses were missing - stolen and driven to a scrap dealer, where they were shredded overnight. A quarter million dollars worth of school buses were obliterated within hours ... almost ... except for some of their GPS units, which apparently survived the shredding. As scrap, it is estimated that each bus would have fetched from $1,500 to $3,500.
Crackdown! Cops Crack Case, Crook Cops Crack! Cook Cracks Jokes!
Yes, but in America we refer to pounds as a measure of weight, not currency. Meanwhile, back in merry olde England "stone" is still used as a measure of weight.