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| Thread ID: 59003 | 2005-06-18 22:36:00 | Heat Pumps | rny (6943) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 365104 | 2005-07-15 02:24:00 | We call a line of vehicles for a single purpose (the circus, a parade or a funeral) a caravan. Which is the usual and accepted use of the word. Our "caravan" comes from England where gypsies used to roam in covered wagons called caravans, drawn by horses. The modern gypsy migrated to the modern car drawn caravan when they were invented in the 1950s. Similar to your Airstream and Winnebago RVs but not as splendid. As I recall these were developed in the 1940/50s being the result of the formidable interstate freeways. These in turn were the brainchild of FD Roosevelts New Deal. |
Winston001 (3612) | ||
| 365105 | 2005-07-15 03:50:00 | ....this language thing is kinda like: "I know the words, but the music's all different" | SurferJoe46 (51) | ||
| 365106 | 2005-07-15 04:32:00 | . . . . this language thing is kinda like: "I know the words, but the music's all different" That sums it up pretty nicely . :) There are a couple of other terms that you Americans use for things which I could not work out what our equivalents were but unfortunately I have forgotten what they are now . I think we Kiwis are generally more familiar with Americanisms than vice versa due to all the US TV shows and movies we see here but you seem to be managing to suss ours out quite well . Your pullmans are what we call bathroom vanity units here and they sound pretty much the same . They come in various flavours ranging from basic budget models to very elaborate and expensive jobs for in the millionaire's homes . I was about to say that our caravans are generally not as large and fancy as yours until I came across this site ( . nscaravans . co . nz/) which have the American-style "5th wheel" type for sale . They are not commonly seen here though . Well, not at the camping grounds I have been in anyway . Examples of the most common types can be seen here (http://www . fourseasonscaravans . co . nz/used_caravans . htm" target="_blank">www . nscaravans . co . nz/) which have the American-style "5th wheel" type for sale . They are not commonly seen here though . Well, not at the camping grounds I have been in anyway . Examples of the most common types can be seen here (http:) . The other type of "mobile home" that is very popular with tourists here are campervans such as these ( . maui . co . nz/) or these (http://www . tuicampers . co . nz/vehicles . html" target="_blank">www . maui . co . nz/) or these (http:) . It seems like every second vehicle on the road in summertime is a campervan and if you happen to be in a camping ground at that time you are often the only English-speaking (or at least Kiwi) person around . |
FoxyMX (5) | ||
| 365107 | 2005-07-15 05:30:00 | Pullman is defined as a luxury car in my USA dictionary. | Cicero (40) | ||
| 365108 | 2005-07-15 05:53:00 | Maybe the NZ vs US tongue at work here too . . but "car" in the US MAY be an automobile or a traincar . As for the latter I submit: George Pullman never forgot his first overnight train ride . It was the early 1850s, and he was making the trip from Boston to Westfield, Massachusetts . Like everyone else he spent the night lying fully clothed on a rough mattress . Like everyone else he didn't sleep much . This was no way to travel, he thought, and began to consider the cash to be made in creating comfort . Pullman had ideas and ambition, and a few years later -- now in Chicago -- he had money, a stake of $20,000 made from raising buildings in the city's flood-prone neighborhoods . His greatest feat, in 1858, involved elevating the stylish Tremont Hotel . After workmen installed heavy beams in the basement of the four-story building, Pullman supervised the simultaneous turning of 5,000 jackscrews by 1,200 men . Slowly the Tremont rose to higher ground . A man who could move hotels wasn't likely to be cowed by the challenge of building a better train car . Besides, almost anything would be an improvement . Rail travel was a miserable experience, a back-battering ride on stiff benches in cars thick with dust in the summer and smoke from the wood stove in the winter . Even when some rail lines began offering overnight accommodations, passengers were given little more than cots or mattresses and little privacy . Pullman saw a market there: the growing number of businessmen traveling from city to city . He began to rebuild two coaches, dividing the oversized cars with curtains into 10 sleeper sections . With the cleverness of the cabinetmaker he had once been, Pullman hid his beds in upper berths that could be opened at night, and similarly installed hinged chairs that could swing back up to the ceiling . He built a linen closet and toilets at both ends . He mounted everything on four-wheeled trucks with heavy iron wheels and springs, softening the ride . But perhaps most important, Pullman paid enormous attention to detail, lining his sleepers with rich cherry wood and covering the seats with plush upholstery that seemed even softer in the glow of oil lamps . By the end of 1858 his sleepers -- which he considered experimental -- were carrying somewhat confused riders . Most couldn't fathom actually trying to sleep on a train . When they realized this was indeed possible, they still had to be convinced that they could remove their shoes . No one would steal them, the conductors promised . George Pullman's sleeper was a thing of beauty . But he was just getting started . Soon he would create a luxury car the likes of which had never been seen . . Here is a view of a restoration ( . iamaw . org/publications/sj2004/pullman . htm" target="_blank">www . iamaw . org) of one of his famous "cars" . |
SurferJoe46 (51) | ||
| 365109 | 2006-07-25 05:55:00 | I went the whole hog and installed an 18 kW inverter heat pump ducted system. My house was built in the early 50s and has all the ceiling and about 2/3 of the walls insulated. The system is new and we just caught the begining of winter. We keep the system running 24/7 with the setpoint at overnight 16 degrees, day 19-20 and evening 21-22. The total energy cost for the household over a real cold month (and that's heating the whole house) has turned out to be $300. I'm real happy with this and any further insulation work I do on the house can only improve the energy cost. The system also keeps the widows dry which THE BOSS is realy chuffed about. I hope this info is useful. Dave |
Wainuidave (8377) | ||
| 365110 | 2006-07-25 18:42:00 | I went the whole hog and installed an 18 kW inverter heat pump ducted system . My house was built in the early 50s and has all the ceiling and about 2/3 of the walls insulated . The system is new and we just caught the begining of winter . We keep the system running 24/7 with the setpoint at overnight 16 degrees, day 19-20 and evening 21-22 . The total energy cost for the household over a real cold month (and that's heating the whole house) has turned out to be $300 . I'm real happy with this and any further insulation work I do on the house can only improve the energy cost . The system also keeps the widows dry which THE BOSS is realy chuffed about . I hope this info is useful . Dave Again I am totally flummoxed by the prices youse guys pay for utilities and generally . . . EVERYTHING! $300NZ sounds like a lot of money to me . . . let me check out the currency exchange . . BRB . . . . (play musical interlude here) Hmmm . . . it's about $187 . 283 USD (we don't go past the second decimal usually!) So . . . $187 . 28 is still a little stiff for most US areas except the coldest or hottest areas . But you were talking just electricity here . . . that's still a lot! My combined utilities are: natural gas, electricity, water, sewage, trash/garbage equalling about $90 . 00US / $144 . 097 NZD . My utility bills are costed as level-pay; that is they don't vary over the year and are averaged out . That is for people on set retirement or minimum wages |
SurferJoe46 (51) | ||
| 365111 | 2006-07-25 21:15:00 | Yes Joe, "Privatisation" is the thing that increased our prices over here in spite of claims about the resulting increased efficiency resulting in reduced prices, blah blah, hah hah. We listened to American "think tank right wing wingnut economic policies" which benefited the already rich not the poor, had idiots (Roger Douglas, Richard Prebble, may people spit on their graves forever) over here that implemented them and we have still not seen the end of it. Now we all have fancy phones but our electricity bills have more than tripled. |
zqwerty (97) | ||
| 365112 | 2006-07-25 22:16:00 | I used to work in the power industry pre privatisation (NZED) and am dismayed at what has been done to it. We used to get various power industry visitors from overseas and a number of them said that whatever we do don’t privatise - NZ has an excellent system and privatising stuffed theirs. I could get on my soapbox and rant for hours about this but in a nutshell the whole thing was stuffed by (spit) politicians who had no idea what they were doing. On another note, what Joe was saying about household energy costs in America it would be interesting to equate it with cost-of-living and wages etc in the two countries to get a handle on the full picture. Dave |
Wainuidave (8377) | ||
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