dognhorsemom

Here in Greece I recently heard a young man address an older man as "lo." A friend told me that this is a term of respect, but another said that it's very informal slang which should not be used in that context. Which of them is correct?

It sat on a fence about 50 feet away. Its shape and size resembled a mockingbird or a meadowlark: fairly large, sleek, long beak and tail. But its chest was yellow with black dots and when it flew away I saw that it had a white rump under its wings, and the wings seemed barred black and white. I was thinking maybe a kind of woodpecker?

Here in my front yard in northern Virginia, I turned over a log to find an extremely strange-looking (to me) spider. It's legs and thorax were pure red, and it's abdomen was fat and pale beige. It was about a half inch long, toes to toes. Any idea what it was?

There are no honeybees in my neighborhood. I would love to put a hive in a distant corner of my back yard, not to get the honey, but just so we can all enjoy the insects' presence, and they will help pollinate the trees and flowers. Might this be possible? If so, how to go about it?

I have a 1950's house with a huge maple tree in the front yard. There are thousands of heavy surface roots (due to poor watering when the tree was young, I think) that nearly fill the entire yard. Barely any grass grows, and that which does can't be cut well because of the ground's lumpiness. I have been told by tree experts that to cover the roots with sod - or with soil and then plant grass over it - will eventually kill the tree through suffocation. Is that so? If it is, how else can I make my front yard look a little less leperous? I did have another maple removed and chipped a few months ago; could I spread the fresh chips from that tree between the big one's surface roots without harming it?

There is a nest of yellowjackets underground in my yard. Normally I live and let live, but this is very near the house, and the critters seem to be looking at my dogs with too much interest.

I got a big can of wasp/hornet/yellowjacket spray killer and a couple of traps. I figured that I would put the traps out first, thereby reducing the population somewhat, then spray into the nest to get the rest. But they show no interest in the traps. I baited them as the instructions said, with some stinky liquid on cotton balls, hung them up, but since yesterday mid-afternoon they have caught only one sorry-looking yellowjacket. The instructions say to hang the traps at least 20 feet from the nearest nest; why is that?

I also thought of waiting until night when they're all asleep, then pouring a bottle of cheap dishwashing soap down the burrow; I know this kills bugs faster than spray poison does. Would this be ... unwise?

One character in "Che Ti Dice la Patria" is a "property sailor." What is that?

BTW, "I don't know" doesn't count as an answer.

I probably learned this in fourth-grade science, but forgot and it's been bugging me lately so now I'll bug you all.

Why is it that for certain kinds of animals we have so many collective nouns in English that are the same as singular: that is, the singular and the plural forms are the same? Examples: sheep, elk, moose, etc; and perch, goldfish, trout, salmon, haddock, cod, etc. Is it a special ruminant-fish thing, did we get those groups of words from a single older language, or what is going on with this, if anything?

I probably learned this in fourth-grade science, but forgot and it's been bugging me lately so now I'll bug you all.

Why is it that for certain kinds of animals we have so many collective nouns in English that are the same as singular: that is, the singular and the plural forms are the same? Examples: sheep, elk, moose, etc; and perch, goldfish, trout, salmon, haddock, cod, etc. Is it a special ruminant-fish thing, did we get those groups of words from a single older language, or what is going on with this, if anything?

My 2001 Buick Century was fine until the wipers froze in the last snow and ice storm. When I finally got them free an hour ago, they just started wiping with the switch still off. They stop for a moment, then start again and never seat themselves. They ignore the stalk switch completely. They only way to make them quit is to take out the fuse - a fine solution until the next time it snows or rains. What's up?

I asked this a week ago but got no answers and am trying again:

I'm a 58-year-old employed, active woman, a few years into menopause (hot flashes still, darn it) who has always believed that sleeping is a waste of time, but this is getting truly annoying. I wake every night at 2:30 AM and essentially don't go back to sleep until time to get up at 6. The house is quiet, nothing special happens then, it doesn't matter what time I go to bed. Sleep aids using diphenhydramine hydrochloride help a little - they let me go back to sleep much easier, but I feel doped all the next day, especially in the afternoon. Hot milk, turkey sandwiches, melatonin, nothing helps. What's going on, and does anyone have any useful ideas?

There are a lot of Lebanese, Iraqis, Pakistanis, Indians, etc, but you never see an Afghan. Do the refugees go elsewhere? Is there an Afghan embassy in Athens?

I am going to work there soon and need to know about security, amenities, and all around "livability" of the city.

I've been trying to access it for the las 24 hours - it accepts my log in but will not complete the process. Is it personal?

I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I've had Greek Forthnet service for years, first dial up, now DSL, and I have never checked my forthnet email in all that time. I only know it's time to pay them again when the internet suddenly stops working. I'm not a complete techno-idiot and I do read Greek, but have never been able to find the email. Help!!

Why are the two faces of coins and medals and suchlike designated "obverse" and "reverse" instead of something more obvious like "front" and "back?" There must be an excellent historical reason, and I'd love to know what it is.

And I can't tell you how dumb I feel for having to ask this question ... But "quadrilogy" just CAN'T be right.

When someone constantly changes the focus/subject of an argument in order to "win"?