Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with signs

Legit corp?

lockestockbarrel — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:45:00 -0800

What are the signs of a legitimate corporation? What do legitimate corporations do that fake ones don't? I have to figure out if companies are legit or sham in an area where there are lots of benefits to being a sham. I can get ANY documents from the company, such as employee rolls, tax returns, charter papers, etc., and I can call them up and ask them questions. What should I ask for to make sure the company I'm looking at is legit?

Here's an example: Company X gets rejected from the benefit they're requesting from me. Next year, they apply under the name Company Y, but it's the same company run by the same person or people (usually these are small companies or sole proprietorship). How can I tell that Company Y is a legitimate different company and not just Company X in Y's clothing? What makes this more difficult is one person may found 5 or 6 companies and they all will apply for this benefit.

Mysterious sign, perhaps no longer in production?

RedReplicant — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:36:32 -0800

I can't for the life of me find a picture of a particular road sign, which I consistently misunderstood as a child. It's a traffic sign in North America that I saw many times as a kid but almost never any more. It was a yellow-orange sign with a "no" symbol and some random-looking detritus behind it, which I later understood to be a crumpled can. Probably a "no littering" sign, but a search on that or like terms seems to turn up nothing! A pretty silly question, I know! I ask partly because when I was a kid, I thought the item behind the "no" sign was a mouser from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Hopelessly lost in algebra land

hollygoheavy — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 06:40:28 -0800

I am having the hardest time working with positive and negative integers in elementary algebra. Please hope me. I'm back in college after 20+ years and have gone back in time to elementary algebra. I didn't get it in high school and I'm still having a hard time getting it now. My specific problem is adding and subtracting positive and negative numbers, as well as accurately reading them in an equation. For example:

5(-2) - 4(-2) + 3

this has my eyes crossed. I want to rewrite it as -10 - 8 + 3 which is I'm pretty sure incorrect. I have to get this straight now because otherwise I'll be making sign errors all through the rest of my class, even if my math and rest of the problem solving is correct.

I have made flash cards with the "rules" for addition and subtraction with signed integers and refer to them but sometimes I still come out with the wrong answer.

Does anyone have any other ideas or tips for how to get over this mental block I have with the whole signed integer thing?

How do I obtain measurements of exterior corporate signage at the top of skyscrapers...from the ground?

muirne81 — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 10:59:01 -0800

How do I obtain measurements of exterior corporate signage at the top of skyscrapers...from the ground? I'm a graphic artist who has been asked to obtain/determine the exact dimensions (height + width + depth) of two dozen+ specific skyscraper's worth of corporate signage (usually mounted towards the top of the building). These buildings/signs look similar to those I'm researching:

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

My first inclination was to determine each building's height and number of stories, then use this information to guesstimate the respective sign's dimensions. I also thought about doing a pixel grid overlay and setting up a pixel to feet ratio. Unfortunately I was told that guesstimates aren't acceptable.

I really want to avoid contacting two dozen companies and/or building maintenance departments and inquiring about their signage--it seems unlikely that they would have the information I'm seeking, plus in this day and age such a request would probably be considered suspicious at best.

Short of hiring a survey company with fancy scopes and lasers (not an option) how on earth can I measure these signs from the ground? Or, alternatively, how can I creatively obtain the dimensions without measuring or rapelling?

Why are LED signs so often seen broken?

LSK — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:32:53 -0800

Why are LED signs so often seen broken, at least in part?

is my potential housemate a drug dealer?

I like to eat meat — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:18:36 -0800

how can i determine if a potential housemate is a drug dealer? My friends and I found a potential roommate on Craigslist who seems really cool, but we we're worried that he may be a drug dealer - he claims to have "saved up a bunch of money" before coming here from some sort of freelance computer repair job, but I'm skeptical that anyone can make that much doing that, and he also works at a drug advocacy group of some kind. Not damning, but definitely enough to give me pause. I'm not morally opposed to drugs or anything, just worried about something crazy happening at the house.

Anyone have any good ideas on warning signs, or experience about whether his explanation for having all this money is plausible, or anything that we can ask him for as evidence one way or the other?

Would it be weird to just directly ask him? We really want to get this house and the pickings for housemates looks a bit slim, so I'm just seeing what the internets think (and also because I'm a little curious)

I know this is kind of a ridiculous question, so hilarious snark appreciated as well.

"Beware of the Physicist."

daisyk — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:33:42 -0800

What might |000> + |111> mean, on a garden gate? This morning on the way to work, I passed a house where the garden gate bore a sign reading: |000> + |111>. (This isn't too surprising in Cambridge. My other favourite signs include "Silence" in Latin, Ancient Greek and Babylonian and "Don't lean bicycles here" in Latin and Ancient Greek.)

I'm at work now staring at a database, and it's been a few years since my last physics or pure maths courses. Can anyone suggest what the houseowners meant by their sign?

What foods tell you they are cooked?

Tapioca — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 03:28:20 -0800

Gnocchi let you know when they are cooked (they rise to the top of the pan of water you are cooking them in). What other foods have simple, visual and unambiguous indicators of doneness?

It's not a six foot by six foot political banner

jeribus — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:53:32 -0800

Question about yard signs (not of a political scope). The house across from mine went into foreclosure a while back. A few days ago a for sale sign went up. Now it is a billboard. Location, Saint Paul, MN. I have no problem at all with the for sale going up. I'd rather see someone living in it then it sitting empty. That didn't bother me one bit.

But today another batch of signs (not from the real estate company) got plastered all over it. These are are from an auction company and have FORECLOSURE plastered all over them. Included one giant one on the garage, like 6 foot by 6 foot.

Searching for signs and foreclosure is pointing me to signs of foreclosure. Not actually foreclosure signs.

I am fairly certain that I cannot put up a large series of giant signs up to promote a company. Can they?

Public proclamations and personal poster pulling

dogwelder — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:44:40 -0800

An ethical question about political posters/signs. An argument I've been having with friends: People have been putting political posters on the public medians where I live (Los Angeles, in the San Fernando Valley) that support a position I disagree with. When I see those posters, I take them down. Some of us believe this is fine and well withing our rights of free speech in a public area, while others feel that it is a suppression of the free speech of others. Posters/signs on public medians are technically considered litter, so it is legal to remove them- but is it morally acceptable to only take down those signs that I disagree with?

Vote For The Candidate On This Sign

davidmsc — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:46:41 -0800

Have campaign yard signs ever convinced you to vote for - or against - any particular candidate? Prompted by this question, I'm curious about why people put the signs out. Do such signs serve only as "vanity plates," proud political statements -- or do people place them in their yards sincerely believing that they might/will convince someone to vote for said candidate?

Cheap mattresses?

internal — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 07:57:06 -0800

Ultra-cheap mattresses: does anyone know what the deal is with these? I am in the market for a mattress and I constantly see roadside hand written signs for new mattresses at ridiculously low prices ($200 for a queen pillow top, $300 for a king). I also see comparable deals in the classified ads and on craigslist. Are these for real? Anyone purchased one of these? Is this the mattress equivalent of buying speakers from a guy in a white van?

looking for hand lettered signs in NYC.

abirae — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 21:07:23 -0800

Where can I get hand lettered signs in NYC? I want to get hand lettered signs made for a friend's wedding. Ideally I would like signs like those in old grocery stores and times square tourist shops. Here is a picture I found on flickr.

$6.99 sign

The sign at the bottom of the photo that says $6.99 is the kind of thing I am looking for. I have also seen much more complex ones that use a lot of neon orange and blue.
Where do all of the souvenir shops get them? I have tried asking at the stores, but no one seems to know.

What do these signs mean?

haikuku — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:58:40 -0800

I live in western North Carolina. Recently I noticed a couple of signs along my road and am curios as to what they mean. The signs are bright blue rectangles with white letters at the top reading "WP". There are white numbers below the letters.

Cheap and portable signs for a protest?

de void — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:46:00 -0800

I'll be participating in my first ever protest later this month. What is an economical way to make hand-held signs and sandwich boards which are sturdy enough to survive a day of protesting on possibly windy streets, but also light and compact enough to transport easily? I'll be participating in a protest on the street in New York City later this month.

I'd like to cobble together some hand-held signs and sandwich boards for myself and others to use.

Since many of the participants will be traveling in from out of state to attend, I'd also like to be able to easily transport a bunch of signs/boards with me on trains and subways so that I can give them to others to use.

My initial thoughts are for foam core sheets with laser printed paper glued to them, using small pvc pipe for hand-held signs and linking two sheets together with plastic cable ties for sandwich boards.

Any better ideas out there?

Danger! Water contains high levels of hydrogen.

Mcable — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 15:10:13 -0800

WTF is up with this sign? Background: I live in Louisville, Kentucky. Today I was downtown at the big park on the riverfront shooting reference for a project, and I saw this sign beside of a fountain. Now, since there are two atoms of Hydrogen in each molecule of water already, what's up with this? Is the city parks department pranking us? Is there a legitimate situation in which flowing water at an outside fountain would somehow be infused with extra hydrogen? Discuss.

I'd like to know when it is safe to walk on Park Ave.

nomad73 — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 12:12:46 -0800

Why are there certain intersections in Manhattan that do not have "Walk/Don't Walk" signs? Virtually every intersection in NYC has the Walk/Don't Walk signs which tell pedestrians when it is and when it is not safe to cross. However, there is a stretch of Park Avenue, roughly between 47th and 58th streets, that do not have these signs. And being that Park Avenue is very wide, it would seem a weird place to omit them. Is it for aesthetic reasons? That section of Park is mostly office buildings and few (if any) ritzy residences that might shun such lights.

Does anyone know why these lights are absent on this section of Park Ave?

Spraypaint, plastic, weather, shall they be mixed?

otolith — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 08:25:01 -0800

Spray painting plastic curtains for outdoor display. Advice needed. I need to make some big, primitive signs that will be displayed outdoors for at least a month. This is in New York City, so they will be subjected to wind, rain, snow, plus occasional unseasonably warm weather.

My idea, so far, is to spray paint some plastic shower curtains, which I can get on the cheap. I am aware that painting plastic with regular spray paint is bad news, but it seems like water-based spray paints should be safe (is that a good assumption?).

My questions: does anyone have experience using water-based spray paint on plastics and do you think my scheme would be durable enough to withstand the outdoors for several weeks?

Thanks.

Who sells "Store Closing" signs and banners?

The Deej — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 08:58:32 -0800

Does anyone know a good source for ready made "Store Closing" and related signs and banners, with quick delivery times? I am helping a friend/client with closing one of his stores. I know there has to be several places that sell ready made banners for the windows and related banners for inside, such as "Clearance sale" etc. But my Googling doesn't give me much. Anyone have any suggestions? Extra points if they fit the impossible criteria of being good, cheap, and fast. Yes, all three. We need these by January 1.

Oh, and we already have a source that can make them locally to order. I just thought there might be some vast "Store Closing" supply warehouse somewhere. Or maybe they closed.

Thank you!

No, this ISN'T a mortuary, and no this ISN'T a meat locker.

melorama — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 23:29:47 -0800

I want to buy an "official" sign or sticker that implies to the reader that "THE ROOM YOU ARE ENTERING IS GODDAMNED COLD!!!" My clients semi-jokingly complain that the air-conditioning in my office is way too cold. But since I have about $25,000 worth of video editing equipment in front of my Captain Kirk chair, I like to err on the side of keeping the gear cool (I live in a sity where the median temperature is 85-89F, all year long).

It's become a running joke that I have sides of beef hidden in the drop ceiling, as if I'm a video producer by day, and butcher by night. To be honest, I've gotten sorta tired of the jokes, but since they will never stop, I might as well play along until they actually do. So I'd like to put a big sign or sticker (or some other creative thing that I haven't thought of) on my office door that--in a humorous, sarcastic and/or ironic way--says to the world, "yes I know my office is fucking cold, so I'll spare you the trouble of making a snarky comment about it".

I'm looking for things that are actually "real" signs (i.e. butcher shop signs? Antarctic research facility warning signs? Morgue signs?), and not necessarily things that are outright "jokey" signs, per se. But I'm still open to any suggestions.

Links to actual websites where I can purchase the type(s) of signs or stickers I'm looking for are even better!

Hand-painted supermarket signs

Nancy Lebovitz — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 09:04:23 -0800

I'm looking for information about big paper supermarket window signs and for images of them, preferably from the 80s or earlier. I'm wondering how they were made (brush lettering, big markers, stencils?) and if there's a standard name for them.

Mmm, how gothic

avocet — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 17:54:19 -0800

Name that typeface: used on the Michelin road signs in France. I've tried all the usual Gothic suspects.

Come on baby light my "M"

bjork24 — Sat, 10 Jun 2006 18:08:57 -0800

Keeping with the fine, fine tradition of querying the hive mind to build a better indie theater, I'm wondering if any mefites might be able to help me build a giant, glowing, red letter "M." Here's what I'm thinking: first I'll build a giant aluminum case (4' x 4') and cut a big "M" out of the front panel. Next I'll glue a semi-transparent sheet of red plastic to the inside of the front panel. The final step will be hanging the monstrosity behind a huge window that's filled with old-fashioned, wavy glass (very thick, and very light diffusing). My question is this: how do I light this sucker? Should I line the box with florescent bulbs around all 4 sides? Would incandescent lights be better? How much of an issue will heat be? Where should I leave holes for proper ventilation? Should I make the back side mirrored to make the light more uniform? The red plastic will diffuse the light, as will the thick glass it sits behind, but I want to make sure that the big red "M" glows uniformly.

And if you were wondering, the "M" stands for "Metafilter"... ;)

You can see pictures of the glass here (sorry for the self-link). The third and fourth pictures show it the best.

Why are these signs backwards?

cmonkey — Mon, 01 May 2006 12:05:30 -0800

Why would someone paint backwards signs onto the side of a building? In Portland, there's an old mirror image of a Coca-Cola sign painted onto the side of a building (apologies for the lack of a clear shot; it's always obscured by plants and vehicles). There's an old mirror image of an Oldsmobile sign painted on a building that can be seen from the smoking patio of the Elysian in Seattle.

These don't appear to be sneaky ways of getting drivers to see the signs; they're both clearly quite old, quite intentional, and perfect mirror images of what the sign should be. So what's the explanation? Are there more than these two out there?

Name that sign...

provocateur — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 21:03:51 -0800

dictionary filter: Is there a word for the universal "no" sign, that circle with the line through it? You know, the red one?