Dear Uncle Ezra - Questions for Tuesday, July 7, 1998

hi uncle ezra,
how do i configure eudora so that when i click on a link that appears in a email message, netscape, instead of internet explorer, opens? thanks for your
help!

your biggest Fan

Uncle Ezra

Dear Uncle Ezra,
Regarding 3/26/98 Q09, I guess people do name cars and guitars, so wanting to name a gun shouldn't seem too troublesome... but it sounds like a personification step that would allow for such exclamations as, "But I didn't shoot her; Bessie, my gun, did!"

Anti-Anthropomorphizer

Dear Anti-Anthropomorphizer,
That's a disturbing thought! Having named cars and other possessions on occasion, I've found that personifying objects is one way to appreciate and value them, especially in interactions with young children. But naming should never be used as an abdication of responsibility. To the contrary, it should remind us to use our possessions for life-giving purposes.

Uncle Ezra

Uncle Ezra,
I'd like to hear from current students (I'm an alum).  When I lived in Sheldon there was a terrible mouse infestation.  I told everyone that I thought could help (housekeeping), but no one did anything. Finally I bought my own traps and I estimate I caught about 20 of the little things in about 2 months.  (Most of them were caught in the kitchen under the sink.  Only 1 in my room.)
        Maybe it's just me.  Perhaps no one else worries about the critters.  I stayed in a fraternity one summer while I was taking a summer course and again - the mouse problem.  I heard noises in my room at night.  I set a trap the next day and the following night...WHAM!  I didn't set any more though.  I decided the battle was useless and I was only going to be there a few more weeks.  So, why do so many mice call Ithaca home and why don't people mind?

                                                                  Unsigned

Dear Mouse Hunter,
Peggy Beach, Associate Director of Campus Life, says that Sheldon Court residents are not currently experiencing a mouse problem. Perhaps when you were a resident, there was an ice cream shop in the retail space on the first floor of Sheldon in Collegetown. Many times mice are attracted to food-service areas and this may have created an environment conducive to mouse habitation.
If and whenever a "critter problem" is reported to Campus Life's Housekeeping department, the staff gladly sets traps or takes other steps to resolve the situation so that residents are happy and creatures are treated as humanely as possible.

Uncle Ezra

Dear Uncle Ezra,
Do you know which professor here invented teflon?

Unsigned

Dear Inventive,
Roy J. Plunkett (1910-1994), who discovered tetrafluorethylene polymers (better known by the trade name Teflon), did not have any association with Cornell as far as I can tell. He graduated from Manchester College in 1932 with a B.A. in chemistry, got his master's (1933) and Ph.D. (1936) from Ohio State University, and received honorary doctorates from Manchester College, Washington College, and Ohio State. Following his graduate studies at Ohio State, he worked for Du Pont as a research chemist, a chemical supervisor, and an administrator. You can read more about him at the Inventure Place Hall of Fame website: .

Uncle Ezra

Dear Uncle Ezra,
Last December I reare nded someone and scratched (very small black mark) his rear bumper. Now I have a bill from his insurance company claiming $500+ damages. Should I be suspicious of such a high bill? It looked like he replaced his entire rear bumper, could this be fraudulent? Also, I had some trouble with my car insurance last year, so I didn't have liability insurance at the time of the accident. Now I have to pay the whole bill by muself. My question is, when I reapply for insurance next year with a different insurance company, would they know of the previous accident record? Do I have to tell my insurance company next year of the accident, or can I lie and say I never had car insurance before (this was my first year with a car).

Unsigned

Dear Insurance-less,
The folks at Seabury & Smith (the company that provides home and car insurance coverage for many Cornell employees) supplied good information for me in response to your questions.  You can contact them at 257-2160.
        They suggest that you request from the person whose bumper you damaged two detailed estimates for repair of the bumper.  This will give you some negotiating room.
        They also advise that you disclose the accident when you apply for insurance next year.  Most insurance companies require that applicants disclose traffic violations or accidents from the past five years.  Insurance companies run motor-vehicle reports on applicants' driving histories, so it is unlikely that you could "hide" the accident.

Uncle Ezra