Another busy day, Got a bunch of work done, did some more organizing, and most importantly, I got to the cox communication store and turned in the modem and remote tv boxes that had not been upgraded since 2016 or so. The internet and everything is working MUCH MUCH BETTER now.
Was at Wally World to pick up a couple things for dinner (we had most of the stuff on hand), but I was making chili and wanted some cornbread muffins, so I picked up a box of Jiffy and some jalapeno’s. Is there a better more consistent product then Jiffy brand cornbread? Yes, I’m sure there are better, and making from scratch is always the best, but damned if that shit has been the same for as long as I’ve been cooking and always gets the job done.
While I was there I picked up some yeast, and think tomorrow I am going to bake some bread.
What are you all up to? BTW- I have Joelle crack rock addicted to Loudermilk on Netflix.
*** Update ***
I have also been informed that when explaining how to use a remote saying “Use the button that looks like carriage return” is not helpful because no one other than me has apparently used the term carriage return in 50 years.
Joelle
Yes. You have me crack rock addicted to Loudermilk with absolutely no idea how to use this (technologically up to date and fucking fabulous) TV. A little help My Love?
bbleh
What are you all up to?
Huddling inside as the thermometer creeps toward zero and the wind-chill … ehh, who knows.
Don’t you miss northern WV?
RevRick
My wife and I are watching The Protector, a Turkish version of the Marvel Universe set in Istanbul, on Netflix. We also have a two-year subscription to Wondrium, with topics as varied as Beer, Quantum Mechanics, the Crusades, African Safaris, and the World’s Most Notorious Crimes.
Chacal Charles Calthrop
Here in the actually wintry snowy northeast I got some great photos of my kitty snoozing on the windowsill with a snow scene behind her.
(She was sleeping on top of the radiator, of course, but that’s not evident in the pictures.)
now she’s in my lap while I read this blog. Cats are so much more affectionate in cold weather!
Suzanne
Just found out that school is canceled tomorrow, which means that the kids will get, essentially, a five-day weekend. I’m so jelly. I want a snow day, too!
satby
@Joelle: I’m starting to get very jealous of you 😂
A guy who cooks, cleans, handles all the electronics and enjoys it because he likes to keep busy? Where do I find one who’s about 15 years older?
Speaking of shows, can’t plug PBS’s Astrid enough. Complex, great character portrayals.
a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)
@Suzanne: The great state of Tennessee has closed its offices. (We have no idea what to do with 6 to 8 inches of snow—TDOT is hiring snowplows, none of which seem to have endearing names) Unless you’re working from home, dammit.
Alison Rose
Okay, maybe I’m just a coastal blue state elitist liberal snob, but I had to Google wtf you meant by Wally World because I was like, I’m pretty sure that only exists in a movie. So TIL I learned that apparently some people use the term for Walmart. New one on me.
frosty
What I’m doing: sitting in the recliner after reading a WaPo story about how 30 minutes/day of exercise is great but if you spend the rest of the day sitting in the recliner you’re known as an “active couch potato” and it negates all the benefits of your exercise. Sigh. Time to get up and go upstairs to play some music. Standing up LOL.
Since this is an Open Thread I was very sad to see the Baltimore Sun was bought by the CEO of Sinclair. As a former Baltimorean I am embarrassed to be reading the DC paper. When I lived in College Park and here in PA I always read the Sun. Until they got bought by Tribune and I noticed the op-ed page swung Right. Then the Trib sold the paper to a hedge fund guy instead of the locals who wanted to make it a non-profit*. I didn’t think it could get worse but I think it will. “Light for All” on the masthead. Yeah, maybe not.
* The local group started another paper: The Baltimore Banner (as in Star-Spangled …). I haven’t tried reading it yet; I think it’s only digital.
VeniceRiley
@Joelle: Ooooh, a thing I haven’t watched! I’ll try that. There’s nothing more with the money than a big gorgeous TV, except maybe a very nice mattress.
Finished For All Mankind (outstanding) season on AppleTv+ and giving that subscription up until they have much more I want to watch. I think I’ll do Disney+ to catch up on all the American shows they carry that I miss.
frosty
Ha! You’re right! I used “carriage return” on one of my last years at work and everyone just looked at me funny. Most of my co-workers were at least 20 years younger.
Suzanne
@a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio): There’s not really very much snow, but it’s going to be really cold tomorrow. So the district canceled school so that kids don’t have to wait at the bus stop or walk in it. I told them they have to do some chores tomorrow!
Death Panel Truck
People think my wife and are are weird to do so, but we always eat cinnamon rolls with chili. It’s a Prosser (Washington) School District lunchroom thing. We were eating them in the middle school gym in the mid Seventies. All of our non-Prosser school friends do corn bread, but I personally find that unappealing. Some people we went to school with are still eating cinnamon rolls with chili. You ought to try it, Cole.
Gvg
This weekend I worked on my mothers garden in shirtsleeves. Tonight we are under a freeze warning. Temps have been dropping all day, and might get down to 30 by morning. Sinuses and arthritis do not like. I should get out from under the blankets and cook the lasagna I thawed beef for. But I would rather read Ballon Juice….
Prescott Cactus
It’s right next to the button that look like an 8 track tape and below buggy whip one. .
It’s 18 right now going down 2 degrees tonight, but that’s Celsius. In Freedom units it’s 65 degrees. . .
lowtechcyclist
Maybe 30 years. Many people were still using typewriters in January 1994.
But they sure went obsolete fast, didn’t they? Can’t remember when I’ve last heard or read the term ‘carriage return.’ Before this thread, probably not in any years beginning with 2.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Suzanne:
I’ve heard that some school districts are doing distance learning (like what was done during the pandemic) online when snow days happen. Chores are a better deal than homework imo
narya
Today I cooked up two pounds of beans. Some were combined with the last of the garbanzos I made last trip to make a big batch of minestrone. The rest will be used in bean soup (mom had a hambone in the freezer), pasta e fagioli, and sausage, beans, and spinach. I also made an orange upside down cake (this week’s King Arthur email had the recipe). We also picked three or four cookie recipes that I’ll make one day. And I’m gonna make the rolled omelet from Smitten Kitchen–we’ll do a test run on Thursday, for my cousin’s visit on Monday. Otherwise, nothing much.
lowtechcyclist
As to what I’m doing, goofing off and doing some laundry after a day that felt a lot like work. I’m the treasurer of our HOA, and I’ve spent the past few days pulling together our annual dues letters for our homeowners. This afternoon I put them in the mail*. Now I can catch my breath for a few days before logging in the checks and Venmo payments as they come in.
*How old-fashioned, I know, but we don’t have email addresses or even phone numbers for more than a handful of our residents. So snailmail it is.
zhena gogolia
@frosty: How can a button on a remote look like a carriage return?
zhena gogolia
@Death Panel Truck: Oh, that sounds gross!
lowtechcyclist
@frosty:
One day at lunch, due to some online conversation I was in, I discovered that Dr. Wernher von Braun is buried in the same cemetery as my father is.
After lunch I mentioned this to two of my younger co-workers. “Who’s Wernher von Braun?” they asked. So I explained, and mentioned that he’d been lampooned in a song by Tom Lehrer. “Who’s Tom Lehrer?” they both asked. Ouch.
RSA
I’ve only caught the freebie articles they’ve pushed to social media, but the Baltimore Banner has published some worthwhile restaurant reviews and local interest articles, at least. If I were living in town rather than 20 minutes outside the Beltway I’d probably subscribe.
Another Scott
@lowtechcyclist:
It’s right next to the half-space key!
In a recent Miss Scarlet & The Duke episode, there’s a scene with a bunch of coppers in an office and one of them is working at a typewriter. He grabs the carriage return lever and drags the carriage back to its starting point.
Kinda distracting… ;-)
Cheers,
Scott.
Central Planning
We used to get Jiffy cornbread mix all the time. My wife is partial to the Krusteaz version now so that’s what we have.
raven
Jiffy brand cornbread vegetarian option is best.
We’re watching Slow Horses.
WaterGirl
John, if you are nice to me I will share my FABULOUS recipe for jalapeño cheddar cornbread. You will never want to eat Jiffy again.
I made it today for lunch to have with my leftover chili. So good!
bbleh
“CR/LF” persisted in CS for a long time, although I haven’t seen it recently.
And I think the “button that looks like” may come from the old IBM Selectric button that was shaped like a backwards L.
Of course, somewhere in the basement we still have several typewriters with ACTUAL carriage returns, ie the handle on the left side that scrolled the paper up and released the paper carriage to be moved back to the right so a new line could begin.
Now I’m gonna go dial up the pizza place and order a delivery.
Delosgatos
“Carriage return? Is that some kind of, like, garage for horse drawn transport?”
Prescott Cactus
@Death Panel Truck:
Thanks ! I’m going to give this a try. Worst case my palate rejects this combo and I have cinnamon buns for desert. Or breakfast.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
What are you all up to?
Other than trying not to freeze from the frigid temps, I’ve been looking into some new straps and bracelets for my watches, as well as a good springbar removal tool, a Bergeon 6767-F
I’m also maybe looking at a Strapcode 22mm Brushed Tapered Winghead “SHARK” Mesh watch band, V-Clasp for my Orient Kamasu diver and this leather rally strap from StrapsCo for my Seiko Solar Speedtimer SSC911
Since I have a 8″ wrist, I find it difficult to find bracelets and straps that fit me comfortably. Stock will fit ok, but is slightly tight fit. For the Seiko Speedtimer, it was even worse since it has a 21mm lug width, an uncommon width, so not easy to find straps that are long enough that are also 21mm. I could always squeeze a 22 on a 21, but that’s only an option for softer leather
dmsilev
Carriage return is easy. Raise your hands, everyone who knows what a null modem is, why they were needed, and has recently had to explain both of those to a twenty-something student. “Today, class, we’re going to talk about stop bits and parity bits”.
I guess it could be worse. Could be GPIB. Which at least has the saving grace that if you have one of the cables handy, you’ll never lack for a bludgeon with which to defend yourself in dark alleys.
Jackie
@Death Panel Truck: Tri-Cities (WA) favorite school lunch meal also! It’s still being served in the Richland schools. Big, huge made from scratch cinnamon rolls 😋
wjca
The lady of the house has (without my help!) gotten addicted to One Piece. Hey, it’s got pirates and superpowers galore! Currently working our way thru the 1,000 plus episodes.** Fortunately dubbed in English, as the text captions can be hard to read. And sometimes amusingly different from the dubbed wording.
** Also a couple of live action movies. Amazingly good job of casting, the actors look a lot like the manga drawings.
Redshift
Lots of programmers have used the term carriage return more recently than that, but probably not regular people.
Mr. Bemused Senior
Haven’t they at least heard of ASCII? Control-M, folks. Also, on my keyboard “Enter” includes an arrow that gives the idea.
My grandson will explain to you that I am “old school.”
Tarragon
Ah the joys of feeling old. I had to explain a technical thing to a new (masters degree) hire. I was using CRT TV as an example. After a minute I stopped and asked “Have you ever used a CRT TV?”
They looked at me and said “no, but I know what they are, I’ve seen pictures”
Anoniminous
What am I up to?
Listening to Faun
Ramona
@VeniceRiley: if you have already watched Dickinson (about the poet Emily), then watch it yet another time before surrendering Apple TV. I found it enchanting even including the anachronistic rap.
Redshift
@zhena gogolia:
The enter key on my cell phone keyboard has that arrow down and to the left shape, and I know I’ve had TV remotes with that. Now all my remotes have an OK key instead.
Dorothy A. Winsor
What were the circumstances that led to mentioning the carriage return? I can’t imagine.
frosty
@zhena gogolia:
Dunno. You’ll have to ask JGC; he’s the one who brought it up.
Quinerly
@Death Panel Truck: not weird. I sometime put some cinnamon in when making chili.
satby
@Anoniminous: ❤❤❤ Faun
HinTN
@a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio): Plowing one lane of US64 from Pelham (I-24) to Memphis takes some doing.
Literata
@lowtechcyclist: I can confirm that the term was still being used in a high school typing class around that time.
I have a small collection of slide rules. A friend knew about this, and one day he brought me a twenty-inch model in its original leather case. There was a piece of masking tape over the closure, upon which was written, “In Case of Power Outage Open Here”
Ramona
@zhena gogolia: it sounds like the “go back 10 seconds” button on the roku: a three-quarters circle with an arrow indicating a counter-clockwise rotation and the quadrant III of the circle missing…
It’s to the left of the microphone button on my roku remote.
Just my guess…
NotMax
Major rain storm all day. With strong blustery winds thrown in for good measure,
Fully realizing I’m in a minority, find the Jiffy brand overly sweet.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@Literata: Bemused Senior had a Pickett slide rule from her father [leather case too] I still have it.
mrmoshpotato
LOL! I must be a very old 40 year old. Though I’d probably call it an Enter or Return key.
About to have a few baby back ribs for dinner.
And people with little kids should only be allow to rent first floor apartments. (Fight me.)
ETA – and it’s currently 3° in Chicago. High of 17 tomorrow. Not above freezing until Monday.
Gin & Tonic
@lowtechcyclist: Nobody says CR/LF anymore?
HinTN
@lowtechcyclist:
Nix Besser (fmr. steppy)
@WaterGirl: I’m sure John will ask you pretty please with sugar on top if cornbread is involved, but would you consider sharing with the Jackaltariat? I am a big Jiffy fan but would love seeing a scratch recipe.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@HinTN: discussing octal notation at work I brought up the New Math and of course got blank stares. Kids these days!
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Tarragon:
Some game show was on the electrical teevee device in a craft brewer on one of my recent work trips. There was a question relating to Arnold Palmer and the contestant said “I have no idea who that is.”
Okay, golf is a niche sport but Arnie was the Tiger Woods of his day and very much a break-out figure.
I get hit with the generational divide on a daily basis on other issues but that one really slapped me upside the head.
satby
@satby: I mean, who doesn’t love a hurdygurdy?
Soprano2
Just found the craziest thing. I have an extra fridge on my unheated back porch. I just found the chicken I had for supper and the carrots and lettuce in the bottom drawer in are frozen! It wasn’t like that yesterday, it must be a cumulative effect. Luckily it’s going to be in the 30’s tomorrow. Crazy!
Mrs. Whatsit
@Death Panel Truck: OMG! My husband thought I was absolutely insane when I talked about how my family had cinnamon rolls with chili and I thought it was just something we did. My mom grew up in eastern WA. Maybe that’s where the tradition started!
Gin & Tonic
@Mr. Bemused Senior: If you mean early 1960’s “New Math”, I *loved* it. Maybe why I majored in math. It made perfect sense to me.
Ramona
@bbleh: the backwards L sounds better than my clumsy guess. In my defense, I was trying to find a roku button corresponding to a CR.
Steeplejack
Set the taps to dripping/drizzling as the temperature has dropped rapidly since sunset—about 28° all day, now down to 19° and heading to 14° or so overnight (in NoVA).
Probably will need to venture out tomorrow in search of groceries. Hope the streets have improved somewhat.
Was looking at various “best books of 2023” articles and on a slight digression found this interesting article: “‘Depression Rooms’ and ‘Doom Piles’: Why Clearing the Clutter Can Feel Impossible.” (🎁 Gift link.)
HinTN
@Mr. Bemused Senior: 👍👍👍
Mr. Bemused Senior
@Gin & Tonic: I’m referring to the Tom Lehrer song, but that works too.
“Base 8 is just like base 10 really… If you’re missing two fingers.”
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@comrade scotts agenda of rage:
Wait, seriously? I’m fairly young and I’ve heard of Arnold Palmer, if for no other reason than Arizona’s mixed drink of iced and tea and lemonade named after him
Steeplejack
@satby:
Agreed with you about Astrid in an earlier thread. Excellent series. I have been waiting for Season 3 and need to get to it. But I’m trying to reach a stopping point with Season 2 of Baptiste. It feels a lot more intense than the first season, for some reason, and I’ve found it slow going.
HinTN
@Steeplejack: My weather phone says -2°F tonight. Ugh – glad I shoveled and salted a path to l’auto yesterday evening and then shoveled the slush again today. Cheers
Jackie
@Death Panel Truck: You made me look! Here’s the cinnamon roll recipe used for WA districts school lunches:
https://alumnisandstorm.com/Recipes/RecCR.htm
A few class reunions ago, chili and cinnamon rolls came up, resulting in the recipe being published in our school newspaper.
schrodingers_cat
I am watching X-files on Hulu. I used to love that show when it was on. But it turns out that I missed many of the episodes in its original run. Also recently started watching The Looming Tower, so far I like it. It is hard to watch. Bush administration really fucked up the response. Rs have been terrible since I first came to this country in the 90s. I pretty much figured it out during the Clinton impeachment era but so many are still in thrall of that party. What gives?
Why does it still get over 55% of the white vote? Rs are harming everyone except for their rich buddies.
Nix Besser (fmr. steppy)
@Mr. Bemused Senior: Every now and again, Mr. Lehrer’s tune from the PBS series, “The Electric Company”, runs through my mind. The song is “Silent E.” You know it if you are A Certain Age.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91BQqdNOUxs
zhena gogolia
@schrodingers_cat: Back 50 years ago or more, my father said, “If you’re rich you should vote Republican. If you’re not, you’re crazy.”
Mr. Bemused Senior
Tribalism? Bigotry? Misogyny? I don’t understand it either.
Including themselves. And so many. Is a puzzlement.
mrmoshpotato
@Death Panel Truck: Apparently cinnamon rolls and chili is also a Nebraska thing. (Go to 29 minutes)
NotMax
Watched Loudermilk some years back after the third season dropped on Prime.
Joelle, if dry comedy laced with sarcasm is up your alley, give Corner Gas (the live action series, not the animated one), currently on Prime, a try. Six seasons IIRC.
dexwood
@Death Panel Truck:
Red chile biscochitos. Traditional New Mexican cinnamon cookies, topped with a sprinkle of sugar.
a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)
@Suzanne: It hasn’t been above 20 since 8PM Sunday here, and we’re hoping it doesn’t hit negative numbers tonight. Do not want.
Chores will be good exercise for the spawn. Help prevent cabin fever and all that.
The cat has been hinting that I should open the bathroom window so he can gaze out upon his domain but I am leaving that pneumonia hole shut until it’s in the mid-30s at least.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@schrodingers_cat:
Best ones were always the “funny” ones. Like where Scully & Mulder recount a case from their perspective and how wildly different their stories are, or the brilliant one with the genie (hit home as part of it was set in Misery) or ‘Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose’ with Peter Boyle.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@schrodingers_cat:
Partly because of the culture war, I suspect, which racism, misogyny, and homophobia are major elements of course.
I think several decades of Reganism contributed to this current moment too. More and more power and wealth has accrued into the hands of the few, who use this money to shape the political system to their whims. A lot of white people have been propagandized to vote GOP, if they vote at all.
It’s always incredible to me when ever I’ve tried to criticize a GOP pol to a conservative in a conversation, they always, without fail try to pull a whataboutism instead of directly addressing the criticism itself
jlowe
Road trip next week. Driving our son’s car back to Georgia. He’s returning from deployment in Kuwait next week (whatta relief). From Eastern WA, driving south to Bakersfield then turning east and drive on I-40 to our destination. This week, the weather along the route sucks but is expected to be better during the drive.
Jackie
Speaking of TV… Nikki Haley wins again: She has refused to do another debate if TIFG doesn’t participate. He declined. Pudd’n Boots was more than happy to have solo free air space, but… ABC has canceled the NH debate 😂
https://abc7chicago.com/abc-news-new-hampshire-primary-debate-cancelled-republican-presidential-candidates-donald-trump/14208122/#:~:text=ABC%20News%20cancels%20New%20Hampshire%20Republican%20primary%20debate,-ByAbby%20Cruz&text=Nikki%20Haley%20said%20she%20wouldn,a%20lack%20of%20candidate%20participation.
Steeplejack
@HinTN:
I can see the doughty Kia parked down on the street, looking like a buffalo drenched in snow. Not looking forward to sweeping/scraping it tomorrow. But it will feel good to get out of the bunker. Might treat myself to lunch somewhere.
Princess
Trump doesn’t have the ability to debate any more. Watch. There will be no presidential debates this cycle.
a thousand flouncing lurkers (was fidelio)
@HinTN: And that’s on the less hilly side of the state!
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@comrade scotts agenda of rage:
My favorite bit from Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose
Kristine
@raven:
Are you up to S3? I thought it the best so far.
NotMax
@zhena gogolia
That reminded me of some lines from “Harvey & Sheila.”
Brachiator
That is so funny.
I’m not sure that my young niece and nephew have ever seen a typewriter.
Omnes Omnibus
Tom Keen won the FL special election.
NotMax
@Steeplejack
Sound like a good time for a hot pastrami on rye.
mrmoshpotato
@Soprano2: How cold is it in your neck of Missouri? (Go Tigers!)
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Omnes Omnibus:
👍
It was a competitive district that was won by a Republican in 2022, so good news
RevRick
@Mr. Bemused Senior: It’s white supremacy. Period.
rekoob
@Steeplejack: Not that you’ll want to do it in the next few days, but any chance of your trekking out to Coastal Delaware before too long? I hope you’re doing well.
Kristine
@Steeplejack: Thanks for posting the link to that article. I needed to read something like that.
Ohio Mom
@narya: I made Smitten Kitchen’s pumpkin bread today. I don’t think it will last until this time tomorrow.
Re: Jiffy mixes. Ohio Family visited the Jiffy factory once on a road trip through Michigan — it’s in a little town just west of Ann Arbor. It was like stepping back in time, all the equipment looked like it might have been the original set-up. A very enjoyable and memorable stop. We got free boxes of the mix and a cookbook too.
Steeplejack
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Good luck on the strap search. Wristwatches are one of the few ways a gentleman can accessorize, and I hate to see them fall out of fashion.
My semi-fancy Seiko.
mrmoshpotato
@schrodingers_cat:
On the 20th anniversary of 9/11, someone here (HumboldtBlue?) mentioned that three days later, Shrub called Tony Blair to say they were going after Saddam.
Bastards.
OldDave
@Alison Rose:
That’s for the larger WalMarts. The smaller “Neighborhood” stores? They are also known as “Small-Mart”.
mrmoshpotato
@zhena gogolia: Was your dad a fan of Nixon? What did he think of Ike?
Prescott Cactus
@jlowe:
Are I-20 or I-10 too far South, if the weather breaks horrid ?
BSR
@Ohio Mom: It’s in Chelsea, MI – yes, just west of Ann Arbor. I’m in the process of purchasing land there to retire (from Denver). It does have a sort of Norman Rockwell quality to the town. We are looking for good medical care, close to a large airport, not too expensive, easy access to water (for the coming water wars), so it ticks most of our boxes.
Kristine
@comrade scotts agenda of rage:
“Bad Blood.” The Chaney Texas vampires. I think that’s my favorite episode. Also loved “Clyde Bruckman” and the Jose Chung episode with Charles Nelson Reilly.
NotMax
@Steeplejack
Boy howdy, did I ever misread that until eyeballs focused.
;)
Brachiator
@comrade scotts agenda of rage:
We live in a world in which Arnold Palmer is a name on canned ice tea and Paul Newman is a name and face on salad dressing.
I am sometimes surprised at the degree of disconnect in cultural history. I was watching a video podcast of 20 somethings talking about the movie Pulp Fiction (1994). There is a scene in which Uma Thurman is dancing to a song that she plays on a big reel-to-reel tape recorder. No one knew what this device was or could imagine how it worked.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steeplejack: My day to day watch is an old LL Bean field watch, steel with dark blue dial. Simple brown leather strap (the 5th one since I have owned it) I have a Maurice LaCroix dress watch and a sportier Seiko as well. The Bean one gets the most wear by far.
Steeplejack
@Kristine:
It resonated with me because I have been grappling with the question of what comes after the COVID disruption and how I want to structure my life going forward. Part of that involves simplifying and decluttering my space (physical and mental), and a big realization was simply framing the issue as “clutter” rather than as “hoarding,” which is the angle a lot of books and articles take. I’m not collecting stuff that I want around me; I have stuff that I don’t want around me.
From the article:
I think a lot of people—me, certainly—experienced some psychological effects in the pandemic that are only belatedly emerging.
schrodingers_cat
@Kristine: I just watched Bad Blood, it LOL 😆 funny.
Gin & Tonic
@Brachiator: When my grandkids were visiting a few weeks ago, my 8-year-old granddaughter had loads of fun typing on one of our manual typewriters.
sab
@satby: He’s rearranging her kitchen, which would get him evicted from my house. Joelle seems very laid back.
schrodingers_cat
@Steeplejack: Ooh nice! I have some nice watches but I usually end up wearing my Fitbit.
Jackie
HA! I’m willing to bet if TIFG is the General Election GQP candidate, McConnell will secretly vote for Biden!
sab
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Akron does that now. 10 dgrees tomorrow so granddaughter is back to her computer.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Steeplejack:
Thanks! That’s a beautiful tonneau case dress watch. Seiko always has great looking dials. I’d like to eventually get a dressier piece with a small seconds register like that one
I think wristwatches will be around for awhile longer, yet. The pandemic seems to have brought a lot of interest to them. Though, I wonder if smartwatches will eventually kill the more affordable and mid-range quartz and mechanicals in the $1k and below price range. Omega and Rolex used to offer quartz versions of their watches as recently as 13 and 20 years ago which were much cheaper, but have now decided to focus exclusively on mechanical movements, an ostensibly outdated technology, to charge more money based on marketing (“heritage”)
Steeplejack
@Omnes Omnibus:
My version of the Bean field watch (excellent choice!) is a Citizen Eco-Drive with a soft leather strap. Probably wear it more often day to day than the Seiko.
NotMax
@Brachiator
Kids react to rotary phones.
;)
Steeplejack
@schrodingers_cat:
I have a Fitbit Charge 5 that I end up wearing too much (like when I’m not walking and tracking steps), and it makes my other watches jealous. 😹
Mr. Bemused Senior
@NotMax: I hit that one too. There’s another one I recall where kids look at a variety of obsolete tech items, no luck finding it yet. This one is cute. But, can they dial using the hook switch? A lost art.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steeplejack: Mine is this guy. It came with that black strap, but I have had brown leather on it for 20 years or so.
brendancalling
Later to the party, probably because I just tested positive for covid despite being vaccinated and recently boosted. 5-10 days paid time off, coming up…
Jackie
@sab: My daughter tried rearranging my kitchen cupboards while she and the very young grandkiddos were visiting for an extended trip. I came home from work; told her everything had better be where they used to be when I got home from work “tomorrow,” after threatening to travel to her home and rearranging her kitchen. She complied.😂
KrackenJack
@narya: Yep. Soup weather here in Krackenville. Indian red lentil, beef sinigang, Basque garlic, and something involving pureed cauliflower.
Steeplejack
@NotMax:
I have been lusting for that, ever since I got disenchanted with my previous deli, which started serving unacceptably thin sandwiches. WTF? I have a line on another deli in McLean that gets good ratings, but it is somewhat out of my hunter/gatherer range, so I would have to make a special trip. Which may be coming up soon.
sab
@Gin & Tonic: What a good idea. I have three manual typewriters around collecting dust and a ten year old granddaughter.
Brachiator
@NotMax:
The Dial Phone Comes to Town, 1940.
Gol’ dang newfangled contraptions! ;)
Steeplejack
@rekoob:
I might be down there in the spring. My brother has been renting out the Rehoboth Beach house, so that has blocked visits, but I think it will be available again soon. I’ll make a note to let you know when I know something.
NotMax
@Mr. Bemused Senior
Kids react to old computer.
satby
@Steeplejack: Thanks, that was interesting.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Omnes Omnibus:
Nice watch! I’ve been looking to add a good field watch to my collection. I’ve been looking at the Hamilton Khaki Field Auto/Mechanical. I like that the KFM is based on the 1960s version issued to GIs
Alison Rose
@Omnes Omnibus: Ooh, I like the blue face. Dark blue and silver look nice together.
satby
@sab: With her input and permission.
mrmoshpotato
@jlowe: Safe travels. And glad for your son’s homecoming.
Steeplejack
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
A lot of the brands are going upmarket and abandoning (what I think of as) the “affordable” zone, including Seiko. They still have the inexpensive Seiko 5 line (somewhat bland), but their new, sexy models are all over $1,000.
mrmoshpotato
@Jackie: Haha, Puddin’ Boots. Haha!
Jackie
@NotMax: Several years ago our communications staff had a retreat at my boss’s “Brady Bunch” house. We had pagers back then. My young 30 something year old coworker got paged and had to call in. He disappeared to use the kitchen phone… came back a few minutes later needing help dialing the rotary phone. 😂 I volunteered to help. He never “got it.” I ended up dialing the number for him while he looked at me in disbelief.
Steeplejack
@Omnes Omnibus:
Nice! Pretty much exactly what I was picturing.
Soprano2
@mrmoshpotato: My weather app says 4º right now. It hasn’t been above freezing in the Ozarks since last Thursday. Supposed to be in the 30’s tomorrow – a heat wave!
JaneE
Carriage return is that lever on the left side that you push to move the carriage back to the left side of the paper. When it moves into position it ratchets the carriage one line upward. Double space was a push then a quick tap to ratchet up another line. What is this button thing you speak of?
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@satby: We just watched the Astrid pilot. My wife had heard of it somewhere, not sure where. I agree, we love the characters. And as an added bonus we can both kinda sorta get enough of the French to pick up some vocabulary. I’m pretty sure I heard someone use a verb form of “merde” that was subtitled “screw up”.
KrackenJack
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I went a little crazy on bracelets before Xmas. (Blame KrackenJill since she persistently complimented the only one I own.) My wrist is even smaller, so I got a less cheap 20-in-1 watch repair kits. Between that and my handy Dremel cutoff wheel, I got everything close to the right size.
Soprano2
@mrmoshpotato: According to Richard Clarke’s book, they were talking about going after him before 9-11 happened. They used it as an excuse to do what they already wanted to do.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
Since we’re posting our watches:
Orient Kamasu
My current daily
Seiko 5 SNKL23J1
My dressier watch
Seiko Speedtimer SSC911
A solar chronograph
Prescott Cactus
@Kristine: @Steeplejack:
Moved from a home to an apartment just before pandemic. It was about 40% of the square footage. It was a stress inducing, time sensitive and anxiety producing. During Covid we talked about travel. We sold the car and gave away everything. Now down to a couple of suitcases and 2 carry ons.
How freeing this is. No longer having things to worry about, organize or deal with. We now eliminate things and have room in the 2 suitcases. . .
Anyway
@Alison Rose:
Ha, me too. Thought it was a left coast electronics chain.
Dan B
@Death Panel Truck: And to think that Washington state’s fine wine industry got started dye to the Agricultural Research Station in Prosser. But cinnamon rolls sound great. We get lots of Asian food here and slightly sweet with savory is very common, and delicious!
Steeplejack
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Trying to describe the “enter/OK/confirm” remote button for Joelle.
KrackenJack
@Literata: I recall my father’s circular slide rule. He let me use his linear ones, but not that one.
https://www.si.edu/spotlight/slide-rules/circular-slide-rules
Soprano2
@Steeplejack: I’m slowly working on clearing out Mr. Soprano’s mess. He is a pack rat. When I cleaned off the desk I found bill stubs from 2011! I recycled or threw away a lot of stuff. I tell myself that it’s OK to do what I can when I can; it keeps me from feeling overwhelmed. It’s probably going to take me a couple of years to clear it all; my goal for now is to make the area of the desk and file cabinet usable again.
Alison Rose
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Nice assortment :)
I’m trying to recall the last time I wore a watch. It’s been many years. I have little chicken wrists so watches never fit nicely. I think the last time I wore one regularly was in my mid 20s, nearly two decades ago, when I had my Nightmare Before Christmas watch.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Steeplejack:
Many brands are definitely doing that these days. Orient and Chinese brands like San Martin have taken Seiko’s former place in the market for quality, affordable watches. The added insult to injury with Seiko moving upmarket, is their QC is still pretty bad with misaligned dials/chapter rings and they’re still only offering hardlex crystals instead of sapphire on their Seiko 5 line despite the price increases
NotMax
@Steeplejack
First digital travel alarm clock I had was a blue and silver Seiko. All metal case. This was late 1970s.
Had to save up for it as retail price back then was $100. Ended up being stolen about three months after purchase.
mrmoshpotato
@Soprano2: Even better! They all belong in the ICC.
Soprano2
I learned to type on a manual typewriter. The teacher tried to move me to an electric, but I knew what I was doing. Everyone had to spend a quarter of the school year on a manual; because I did that in the first quarter, I never had to take a timed writing on a manual!
New Deal democrat
@schrodingers_cat:
A couple of years ago I read that in the 1930s attorney general Henry Morgenthau was aghast when FDR said to him, “the United States is a White Protestant country. Everybody else is here on sufferance.”
GOP voters (excluding the plutocrats) want that country back. Once you understand that, everything else falls into place.
brendancalling
Late to the party. I’ll be watching lots of Netflix this week—will check out Loudermilk—because guess who just tested positive for Ye Olde C-19?
rekoob
@Steeplejack: Understood. I’ve helped organize Meetups in Philadelphia and DC recently, and it would be fun to find a time and place to do it along the President’s Coast (if I may).
Omnes Omnibus
@Soprano2: I took typing in summer school between my junior and senior years of high school. I dropped the course on the last day over the strenuous objection of the teacher. She was worried about me losing the credit for the the course. I didn’t need the credit, and certainly didn’t need the D on my GPA. I paid people to type my papers in college. Later, in law school, I composed and/or edited at the keyboard so my typing speed worked out just fine.
Jackie
Anyone sharing ginger mints?
Watch how GQP caucus voters collect the votes:
https://twitter.com/mattsmith_news/status/1747075728728809527?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1747075728728809527%7Ctwgr%5Eda074f98622cc392cd30c5f7c2e0bba558b759f3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rawstory.com%2Fbrown-bags-and-ballots-viral-videos-capture-chaotic-iowa-caucus-system%2F
Really????
Steeplejack
@brendancalling:
Hope you have speedy healing!
AlaskaReader
In my day carriage returns weren’t buttons
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Alison Rose:
Thanks : )
That was probably a sweet watch
Joelle
@sab: I am hella laid back. As far as the hacienda changes, It’s kinda fun to just let JG run with it. I come home from the office and there are all these wonderful upgrades that I would never have the time or the $ or the inspiration to do. I love that he’s making my old house our home.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@sab:
I get why they’re doing it, but that really takes away the fun of snow days. I remember watching Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon on snow days when it was too cold to go out
NotMax
@AlaskaReader
“Carriage returns are ’round back of the livery stable, pilgrim.”
;)
kindness
Krusteaz cornbread is better than Jiffy. Just sayin’.
wjca
My watch is a Pulsar solar. Electric power by a solar cell face, but quite traditional analog otherwise.
The only problem is that the band is a clasp type. What I would like is a basic expanding spring type. But as long as I’ve had this one, not even sure if such are made any more.
Steeplejack
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
Astrid gets better and better as it goes along. Doesn’t just riff off of the “on the spectrum” premise—which is handled very well, by the way.
Ohio Mom
@BSR: Plus a great governor!
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@KrackenJack:
Watch repair kits can be a good investment, especially when resizing your own bracelet
Steeplejack
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Nice collection!
My chronograph (not my arm!).
Alison Rose
Seeing all these men’s watches, can I ask a silly question…doesn’t the stretchy metal band yank on your arm hairs? And doesn’t that suck?
Steeplejack
@Prescott Cactus:
Whoa. I’d be interested to hear more about that. Maybe in an “On the Road” post? I think you mentioned it before.
NotMax
@wjca
Remember “looks like leather, wears like iron?” Blanking on the brand name, pretty sure it began with an M.
;)
eclare
@Alison Rose:
I had never heard that either, I assumed some grocery chain out west was named that. But then since I live at least fifteen miles from a Walmart, I never go.
Thanks!
Eta: I live in TN and went to an SEC school for college, so I am not a coastal blue state elitist snob.
eclare
@narya:
Your schedule makes me tired!
eclare
Currently 6 in Memphis, and we may have rolling blackouts tomorrow because of the strain on TVA’s resources. Both the dog and cat are on the bed with me, snuggling on either side of me, to keep warm. This has never happened before.
Steeplejack
@Alison Rose:
The bands above aren’t “stretchy” like old watches. You adjust the number of (fixed) links and the clasp to make the band the size you want. So there’s no stretching and pinching.
Alison Rose
@Steeplejack: Ah, okay. I figured any band of that type had a bit of stretch to it, but maybe not.
lurker
so the CR (why not CR/LF??? – typewriters did the line feed with the carriage return) drew me in
the cinnamon rolls drew me in further, as my grandmother had a great cinnamon roll recipe which can only partly be passed down on paper, apparently the dough has to feel right. While I lived in central WA for the early years of my life, this was away from big cities like the tri-cities, but admittedly in a bigger place than Prosser. We moved away before I got to junior high, but I never heard about cinnamon rolls with chili. Might have to try that. We also do cornbread, often jiffy.
anyway, this has been a nice diversion and trip down a few different rabbit holes…
Kristine
@schrodingers_cat: I need to either subscribe to Hulu for a while or buy some DVDs.
eclare
@Steeplejack:
That looks a little like the famous Cartier Tank watch.
https://www.cartier.com/en-us/tank.html
Keith P.
@Redshift: My thoughts as well. All programmers *should* know what CRLF means, although I doubt many new ones know the kinds of headaches it used to cause (like going between Unix and Windows)
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Steeplejack:
😍
eclare
@brendancalling:
I hope it’s a mild case and you get to enjoy your paid time off!
eclare
@Omnes Omnibus:
My mother forced me to take typing in high school, and that class ruined my otherwise perfect GPA. I never let her forget it.
Steeplejack
@eclare:
The Tank watch is a classic. Quite expensive these days!
eclare
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
For me it was game shows, especially The Price is Right. Of course this was when there were only three networks to choose from.
Steeplejack
@eclare:
I took typing as a junior in high school. It was a requirement to work on the yearbook and the newspaper. When I went away to college my parents gave me a Hermes 3000 portable typewriter, which I loved and kept for many years.
wjca
Depends on the design. That can be a problem. But, in my experience, doesn’t have to be. (And, contra some of the suggestions above) I’m looking for a straight expansion band. Not just to make size adjustments to a band with a clasp. No accounting for taste.)
AlaskaReader
@Keith P.: Can you translate that for an IBM 029 card punch machine please?
Frank McCormick
Did John just jinx Jiffy cornbread mix?
frosty
@KrackenJack: Circular slide rules were The Bomb. I used my dad’s in high school until he bought me a K&E Log Log Duplex Decitrig. Still have that and his Log Log Duplex Vector (electrical engineer).
wjca
CR LF = 0D 0A
Baloon Juice — nothing is so obscure that we can’t find someone who knows the answer (or, at least, where to find it).
Omnes Omnibus
@Alison Rose: I don’t do metal watch bands, so I wouldn’t know.
AlaskaReader
@wjca: …I’m pondering if I should feel slighted that you refer to punch card technology as somehow ‘obscure’.
Punch card tech was common before Babbage came into the picture.
AlaskaReader
I’ve got to say, supporting Walmart is ever and all ways a self defeating activity.
NotMax
@frosty
Still have the linear slide rule we were all expected to bring in cash from home to buy in 4th grade. Not an el cheapo type either; solid wood. Face of it isn’t bakelite but something similar.
KrackenJack
@frosty: I’m certain my father’s linear was a K&E but I don’t remember it well enough to recognize the model. I do remember that with the circular ones the scales wrapped around so you didn’t have to use inverse scales. Oooh! Aaah! It was more delicate than the slide rule, so no playing around with it for elementary school me. By the time I was in jr high calculators were small enough to be wheeled from classroom to classroom on a cart.
AlaskaReader
@eclare: Our tv here in Alaska was on two week tape delay into the late 70s, so we got Christmas shows the middle of the next month.
The network shows were taped, sent to Hawaii first so they were 1 week delayed, then shipped on to Alaska making us two week tape delayed.
NotMax
@AlaskaReader
Rise of the Luddites.
NotMax
@AlaskaReader
Yup. Well remember The Tonight Show being one week out of date when first moved here.
AlaskaReader
@NotMax: Yep, For some, Jacquard was and is a monster.
AlaskaReader
@NotMax: Many a time I could have exploited sports betting with the unaware, especially in the airport bar waiting for flights. Couldn’t bring myself to do it.
wjca
Quite the opposite. It means you are exceptionally well informed. :-)
As you say, punch cards (the ones we used) use for data storage and analysis date to the 1880 US census. Although they built on the cards already in use to drive fancy looms. (This is the point where we old fogies say “Youth today have no grasp of history.”)
Ramalama
@Ramona: Yeah, Dickinson is really unique and lovely and watchable. Got me pulling down a book of her poems, too. BettyCracker had recommended the show a while back.
Also, I know what carriage return is but what is HOA? A sorority/fraternity for home owners?
Ramalama
@Ramalama: also has everyone seen and talked about how unbelievably great The Bear is? I know they just swept up a cache of awards. But I resisted it because it was labeled a comedy, which is something I watch on my own late at night…but have been not doing since I go to bed early these days. Finally out of things to watch, I insisted we try it, The Bear. Wow. Just wow.
AlaskaReader
@wjca: Whoa, compared to punch card tech, I’m a yoot,
…and rather than particularly well informed,
…I’m just fairly ordinarily old and the data in my head is maybe more likely and for the most part due to accretion than anything else.
At my age, periods of finding that accreted data being lucidly available for retrieval without extended periods of buffering is a wonder.
AlaskaReader
@wjca: What we know about history is that we don’t learn from history.
schrodingers_cat
@Kristine: I got a really good deal on Hulu, last December they had an end of the year sale. $1 per month. IDK if they still have it.
Paul in KY
@lowtechcyclist: I haven’t seen an IBM Selectric III in at least 20 years. Was a really nice typewriter…
Paul in KY
@Mr. Bemused Senior: Now in the 2000s, we cool programmer types just call that the ‘Return’ key.