In Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, there is the following sentence (emphasis mine):     It was a flaking three-story house in the ancient part of the city, a century old if it was a day, but like all houses it had been given a thin fireproof plastic sheath many years ago, and this preservative seemed to be the only thing holding it in the sky.   I am not quite sure of what the bold part means. I understand it as a building that is a century old, but in good condition thanks to some preservative.  Is that a correct understanding of this sentence ?
I first heard this phrase in an episode of Family Guy, and they're typically fans of referencing older shows and movies, especially from the 80s. So I'd assumed it was a fairly commonly known thing.  Then I came across it in a friend's novel. The novel is in a Southern American, older time setting, which is about where I'd expect to find examples of it.  Then I had a look online and couldn't find examples of the phrase or it's origin.  Is there such a phrase and origin? Or is this just a coincidence with people choosing something that sounds equally old-timey?
Is a +1/+1 counter I get from, say Unleash or Undying different than +1/+1 from something like  or ? Is there any difference between Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous? In case, if I get a multiple-entry Schengen visa in one of the embassies in Ukraine, Kyiv - should my first trip be to the country which issued the visa?  Any there any requirements of this sort? Does this condition vary depending on embassy which issued the visa?  What are the possible consequences on not visiting that country first? Does it somehow depend on country where the embassy is (i.e. non-Schengen and not EU members)? Execute a large SQL script (with GO commands) How can I download an entire website? How can I download all pages from a website?  Any platform is fine. How to select all faces with the same material? How to unplug a network cable that's stuck? What flash slaves can be used with a Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT? My current flash setup is a standard shoe mount but I've been thinking about getting a remote.  I've been drooling over the Speedlite 600EX-RT. It uses radio to control slaves, which is nice (longer distance, doesn't require line of sight, etc.).  One thing I don't understand: do slaves also have to be 600EX-RTs or do other flash units use radio to communicate already? Can any (cheap?) flash slaves can be used with a Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT or do I need to buy the 600EX and a ST-E3-RT transmitter in order (or multiple 600EX-RTs) to have a radio-controlled remote flash setup? Homemade coconut milk separates into different layers after a day in the fridge Adding HTML entities using CSS content The Definitive C++ Book Guide and List This question attempts to collect the few pearls among the dozens of bad C++ books that are published every year. Unlike many other programming languages, which are often picked up on the go from tutorials found on the Internet, few are able to quickly pick up C++ without studying a well-written C++ book. It is way too big and complex for doing this. In fact, it is so big and complex, that there are very many very bad C++ books out there. And we are not talking about bad style, but things like sporting glaringly obvious factual errors and promoting abysmally bad programming styles. Please edit the accepted answer to provide quality books and an approximate skill level — preferably after discussing your addition in . (The regulars might mercilessly undo your work if they disagree with a recommendation.) Add a short blurb/description about each book that you have personally read/benefited from. Feel free to debate quality, headings, etc. Books that meet the criteria will be added to the list.  Books that have reviews by the Association of C and C++ Users (ACCU) have links to the review. *Note: FAQs and other resources can be found in the  and under . How do I set the grub timeout and the grub default boot entry? In Ubuntu 12.04 (or above), how do I set the GRUB time and the default OS (that I see at boot time) as I'm dual-booting Windows (7/8) and Ubuntu (12.04 or above)? Question  I want to write a book in Arabic (I have an Arabic keyboard, so I don't need a converter). By Arabic book I mean literally Arabic:    title, table of contents  etc    all in Arabic.   The equations, however, I want to write them in English/Latin.  Related    This link helped a lot but it was for Arabic texts in an English main document.    I already checked these two (and plenty other sites). How do I reset a lost password (using recovery mode requires me to type the password)? I need to reset my password. 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Or instead why the software center doesn't download an app while the other is installing Separate labels in cases Is there a closed form solution for the following series? (Without Using Gamma Function): $$ S=\sum _{i=1}^{n-1} \frac{1}{(i+1)!} $$ Locating stolen phone after factory reset I assume any reasonable thief will wipe the phone as soon as possible, thus removing any tracking apps and user accounts.  I there a method to track the phone any way?  A possible method is to use a tracking app (and it's configuration) that's embedded in a custom ROM. BibTeX bibliography not printing I was unable to find a previous post about this - perhaps too simple? I just came across the BibTeX and am trying to use it with an EndNote library. I have exported to the .bib file (which looks good as far as I can tell), but no bibliography is printed and the references aren't being cited. Obviously there is something major missing.  My document looks as follows.  \documentclass[11pt, fceqn]{article} \usepackage{epsfig} \usepackage{setspace, titlesec, caption, floatrow}    \usepackage{amsmath, amssymb, amsfonts, amsthm, cite, mathtools, lineno, subfig, natbib}  \begin{document}   Some text \cite{Alo_1}.  \bibliography{bib} \bibliographystyle{plain}  \end{document}   Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. London Heathrow airport - do I need a transit visa?