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  Universal measuring device
From: "G. D. M." <doji at interpac.net> on 2004.05.10 at 06:43:47(11483)
Dear Aroiders,

I have been racking my brain for a few months trying to come up with a proposal for us all. Those of us that are new to Aroids, or have not been able to see many species, would be greatly assisted by the inclusion in the pictures of the specimens a universally recognized "thing" that we could all find to determine the size of the specimen or flower. Something that is common in all lands, more or less. I thought of the Euro, but have never seen one nor am I likely to do so. And I doubt that the average enthusiast in Asia, Africa, Europe, etc. has ever seen an American quarter.

A solid object is easier to carry, and less subject to damage than a metric plastic, wood, or metal measuring device, and is less subject to damage. This may be a futile gesture, but I think that the collective international minds reading and contributing to this forum might be able to determine a universally available object that would work.

An example (extreme) the picture of Alocasia robusta 'Sarawak' that is at http://www.malesiana.com/plant/10Expand.asp?ProductCode=AL-43-1
would not be as dramatic without the man standing below it. And a pocket sized object would be lost in the picture. But most plants could have it worked in for scale.

Thank you for listening. Respectfully, Gary in the middle of the Pacific Ocean

From: Don Martinson <llmen at wi.rr.com> on 2004.05.10 at 15:45:58(11484)
A solid object is easier to carry, and less subject to damage than a
metric plastic, wood, or metal measuring device, and is less subject
to damage. This may be a futile gesture, but I think that the
collective international minds reading and contributing to this
forum might be able to determine a universally available object that
would work.
Although the "crush factor" might be a problem in transportation,
I'd nominate the ubiquitous aluminum soft drink/beer can. They're
everywhere.

--
Don Martinson

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From: "Tropical Plant Resource" <Tropicals at SolutionsAnalysis.net> on 2004.05.10 at 16:20:16(11485)
EXCEPT some islands in the WEST INDIES. Not one can on the Island of
Jamaica, at least not in the 19 years I've traveled there...Christian

www.SolutionsAnalysis.net

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From: LLmen <llmen at wi.rr.com> on 2004.05.10 at 18:26:55(11486)
EXCEPT some islands in the WEST INDIES. Not one can on the Island of
Jamaica, at least not in the 19 years I've traveled there...Christian

Good for them!!

--
Don Martinson

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From: GeoffAroid at aol.com on 2004.05.10 at 22:27:13(11487)
umm....why not use a simple ruler? Most have both inches and centimetres on
opposite sides and that way you have a direct and accurate read-out of size.

My two penny-worth,
Geoffrey Kibby

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From: "Julius Boos" <ju-bo at msn.com> on 2004.05.10 at 22:45:44(11488)
Reply-To: aroid-l@lists.ncsu.edu
To:
Subject: [aroid-l] Universal measuring device
Date: Sun, 9 May 2004 20:43:47 -1000
Dear Gary,

I have always used whatever can be recognised and is available when needed
to give 'scale' to a picture in the field. Recently while visiting
Trinidad we were photographing the blooms of a large Xanthosoma cf. undipes
in the field, I believe we used either a pen or a folding pocket knife to
give a sense of 'scale' to these blooms. For a larger object like an
entire plant, we might have laid a shovel or a machette alongside the plant.
Where in the middle of the acific are you located??? Any Cyrtosperma
merkusii nearby??? I want to correspond with someone who has
sampled/eaten the corms!!

Good luck,

Julius

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From: Paul Tyerman <ptyerman at ozemail.com.au> on 2004.05.10 at 23:00:11(11489)
At 12:20 10/05/04 -0400, you wrote:
>EXCEPT some islands in the WEST INDIES. Not one can on the Island of
>Jamaica, at least not in the 19 years I've traveled there...Christian
>

And also unfortunately from this point of view, the ml amounts (and
therefore the size) of cans in varying countries differ dramatically. I
used to collect Coca-Cola paraphrenalia and the variance in the size of
soft drink cans between countries is phenomenol. Some of them literally
are twice the height of others, plus variance from tall and thin to short
and fat (sort of sounds like differences in people doesn't it ).

So unfortunately even if there were cans they wouldn't be a standard size.
I had no idea of this until I actually started collecting, and when you
stand different cans beside each other the differences are dramatic.

If you're talking individual flowers then a ruler of some description would
give people a scope, be it inches or cm as it can be worked out at least.
I'd imagine that most countries have some length measuring device that can
be used in this way? Just a thought.

Cheers.

Paul Tyerman

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From: ken at spatulacity.com on 2004.05.11 at 00:18:41(11490)
That's kind of funny about Jamaice, because one of their biggest exports,
if no their biggst, is bauxite - aluminum ore!
-Ken

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From: ken at spatulacity.com on 2004.05.11 at 02:18:21(11491)
I feel like a complete idiot - how many typos can one person make in a
single email? Usually I double check but this time I guess not :(
-Ken
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From: MossyTrail at cs.com on 2004.05.11 at 04:58:27(11492)
"G. D. M." wrote:

>A solid object is easier to carry, and less subject to damage than a metric plastic, wood, or metal measuring device, and is less subject to damage. This may be a futile gesture, but I think that the collective international minds reading and contributing to this forum might be able to determine a universally available object that would work.
>
When I photograph plants, I tend to include a standard #2 pencil. True, the length of the pencil changes as it is used; but all standard #2 pencils I have seen are the same diameter, and this can be used to judge the length. And, a pencil is an item one is likely to have anyway, whether working with specimans in the greenhouse or the field.

Jason Hernandez

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From: "danny wilson" <mudwasp_ at hotmail.com> on 2004.05.11 at 14:19:30(11493)
The #2 pencil is a good idea, but i have broken many of them when i fall face down or roll down a hill. I was thinking about this topic last night and thought, "Why not a 9 volt battery?" Im sure everyone has access to one, used or not. That is what im going to start using now. But then again, i dont think it would do much good next to an A. titanum flower, but how many of those do we come across every year?-Danny Wilson
>From: "G. D. M."
>Reply-To: aroid-l@lists.ncsu.edu
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