And the beat goes on.

Sometimes all it takes is reading a few blog posts to get an idea for a new post of my own. I was reading Joe VC's recent post regarding the Cold Hard Type project. I started entering my comments when I suddenly realized I had too much to say. Now my comments have become this post.

Hope you're reading Joe and Kent.

...and then, the light came back on.

Not quite cabin fever, but one does get a might squirrelly after a few days in the dark.   In a way, it was nice to disconnect and just live.  Of course, I did make morning trips to a local coffee shop to check e-mail, catch up on the typosphere and get my coffee fix.

Got some work done on Cold Hard Type.  Brainstorming works best with no distractions, including electricity.


*  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28170940-lethal-white

******

Sitting in the dark, I spied this skull sitting up on a shelf.  Then I recalled a painting by Pieter Claesz.  https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/49.107/

Power? We don't need no stinking' power.

Welcome to winter in the Pacific Northwest.  It rains all the time and the wind howls.  Unyielding trees are defeated by gale's force and tumble onto power lines.  Out here in the woods recovery is slow since we are at the end of the line for service.  It's times like this when I'm thankful for my not connected word processor that requires no power source to continue with its mission of writing, writing, writing.  Of course, I am spoiled, so after two days of darkness, I am sitting in a Wi-Fi equipped coffee shop so I can post this.  Too bad the cafe doesn't have a hot shower.

Feliz Navidad!

Bittersweet Samba

Bitter Sweet Samba

PS - I was surprised to see the word HOME superscripted in my text. I used the caps-lock to type this.  Might have to see about some adjusting.  It's times like this that I wish I had some knowledge of such things.  Suggestions are welcome.

PPS - still looking for mail correspondents.  See my post - Fixing a Hole  Give an e-mail address, or if you're brave your postal address, and I'll send my postal address to you.            Still waiting on yours John Cooper :)

Safari Solution

As a safari user, 

I have run into a problem a few months ago where I was no longer able to post comments on other Blogger user's contributions.  All works well if I use Chrome, but that seems a PITA to shift from one browser to another.  Though both browsers have there merits, I prefer Safari when I am on my Mac.

There has been some chatter here, but no solutions other than to change browsers.  Since I tend to obsess on things and am tenacious enough to keep going until I die, essentially, I think I may have come upon a solution.

While in Safari hit the command and , keys together to open preferences.  Choose the Privacy tab and then uncheck the Prevent cross-site tracking box.    You will be able to post in Blogger comments.

Not only am I obsessive, but I am a bit of a paranoid too, so when I finish my business in Blogger, I reverse the process and recheck the box.

...and now for something completely different...

Because I am a mature adult, I like to read the comics in the morning.  One that I enjoy is 9 Chickweed Lane.  This entry shows a recurrent them through out the strip.  Note how the advice columnist replies to his correspondents.  Seem familiar?

Cheers,
-Mike

I'm fixing a hole, where the rain gets in

Click here to listen to the above mentioned podcast.

Supply Run

On running and daydreaming.

*****

And now for something completely different

No stories or life reflections this time.  I was transcribing a recipe I saw to paper.  I thought I'd share.




Instead of that rubbery ball o' moss that one can get at the grocery, I think I'll substitute bufala mozzarella.  I also prefer kosher salt, so I'll sub in a full tsp of that.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

Thankful

Cold Hard Edits

Time To Hit The Bricks

Grab your typer.  Pull out the dictionary and thesaurus.  It's writin' time!

The Battle of Marathon

Well, I have been practicing my typing and my hands are sore. I am also an uncoordinated klutz. I have to get my fingers to work independent of each other. I lift one finger and the rest follow instead of resting on the keys as they should. When I go to hit a key, my other fingers seem to follow along and several type slugs head for the platen. I know this will change in time, but for now it's a might frustrating.

As I mentioned earlier, this process gives me a wicked hand workout. They get tired and achy too. It reminds me of when I decided to run barefoot. That was a similar process which gave me quite a bit of discomfort while I learned a new way of running. But as my feet got stronger, my running improved. Best of all it was healing. Problems with my feet, knees, hips and back got better. I suspect the same will be true as I learn touch typing.

In the mean time I found a new device that works like a typewriter, but is a lot easier to carry around. It affords distraction free typing. It is quiet enough that I could work in public without disturbing anyone. I like it too because it gives my hands a good rest from all that touch typing on my iron word processors.

So what am I talking about? I'm talking about the AlphaSmart NEO. I understand this was a device designed in the early 2000s to help kids in school to learn type. I'm hoping it will teach this kid to type. Now I am learning to navigate this gadget. This NEO came loaded with the previous users files which I spent a good part of the morning eliminating. I feel ready to give this thing a shot.

Today was election day. I had my mail-in ballot all filled out and ready to go. I could have dropped it in the mail and waited for it to find its way to the polls. The local firehouse has a drop off for these ballots. I decided to hand carry my ballot to the drop box while on my run this morning. I parked at a nearby coffee shop, secured the ballot in hand and took off running. I arrived at the drop box soon enough and deposited my vote. Then I continued my loop until I completed the run.

I felt like Pheidippides. I was delivering the message to the city of Athens many miles away. Okay, so it wasn't some great long journey through treacherous country. I didn't die at the end either, but it was cold and foggy out, so there was some adversity. And, in the end, I did my civic duty. I got in some good exercise finishing with a brisk cup of very strong coffee loaded with heavy cream. Now that is a great way to start the day.

Typed on an AlphaSmart NEO and edited using Hemingway Editor.

New Addition to the Family

My wife found this one at a local consignment shop. I found it in fair condition.  The keys felt gummy, but loosened with repeated use so I felt it could be fixed with a bit of cleaning.  On first look, it didn't appear too dirty.  I think it just stayed in its case and was well taken care of.  The asking price was a bit high for me so I worked with the shop owner and the seller.  A few back and forth calls and I got it reduced by about half.

Got off to Paul who did a great job cleaning it up.  He replaced the feet, which were very tired, but the rest of the rubber was in good shape.  Had a new ribbon installed too.  This types like brand new.  Want to see for yourself?  Write me a letter and I'll use it in my reply.

Keep on Typin'

Easing Intro the Dark Realm

The Letter

The trick now will be to put this into practice.

Applied Learning

Waste Nothing

Thanks For The Memories

Combining the new technology with the old worked well. I dictated some fleeting thoughts into my iPhone and then went back to compose a couple of paragraphs to get the ball rolling. A few days later I sat in a local coffee shop and wrote the rough draft in pen and ink. Ultimately, I composed the final, though still in need of grammar and word-smithing to the typewriter. 

All in all this was a relatively smooth process. I am having some Google issues and am unable to comment or reply to Blogger posts, even in my own blog. According to the help forum, this is not new and may never be solved. Might be time to switch to Chrome browser. Hmmm... [insert favorite conspiracy theory rant here] 

-Cheers-
 Mike

The Great Iron Hunt

927 Underwood Standard 4 Bank

DIY Receipt Holder

What to do with those old receipts.

Thanks to JVC for his excellent YouTube video on re-using old receipts as a free source of typing paper.

Back of a Starbucks receipt

Get a sheet of Legal paper - long works best - an old, or new, Post-It and some tape. 

Tape the Post-It upside down and backward to the legal paper.  Use the lines on the paper to align the Post-It perfectly.

Now line up your receipt to the paper using the gummy bits of the Post-It to hold it down.

Pack the whole business into your writing machine of choice and wax on.

Fixing A Scanned Image

How to make a scanned image, even a poor one, look okay.

So even though the quality of the original image is weak because of the poor ribbon, the scanned image is still quite readable.

By adjusting the image size in HTML the scanned image can be made to fit exactly in the space afforded.

Special thanks to the Right Reverend Ted Munk for suggestions.

Thanks To Mr. Hanks

A Good Read Can Fix Anything

I really could stand to get a new ribbon.  Apologies in advance for any eyestrain.

Better By The Seat Of My Pants

Some thoughts typed out on a scrap of table paper.

 

Mr. Montgomery

Mr. Montgomery established and ran the Bremerton Office Machines business in Bremerton, WA.  This is where I take my machines for service and maintenance.  I never met Mr. Montgomery, but certainly knew of him and his legacy.  Now I place my typers in the capable hands of Paul Lundy who keeps them in tip top shape.  I feel fortunate that small businesses like this can still be available to us in a world that goes too fast.

Here's an article from the local news.

Where Did All The Flowers Go?

Been a while since I posted anything.  Seems to be a bit of a clog in the word flow system.  Got some mental Drain-O going and all seems well for now.  Pretty sure this old Remington could use a new ribbon.

Typing Assignment

One of my favorite YouTube channels belongs to Joe Van Cleave.  He has a monthly feature of Typing Assignments.  He gives a prompt and then sets the viewers off to write up and post to his channel.  The caveat is that it has to be typed on a typewriter.  Very cool when you get right down to it.  Since moving to type writers, I find I focus better on my work.  Something about connecting mind and body that I find is a very satisfying way to create and it lets me enjoy my love of things old and past.

I encourage you to visit the channel and participate in this month's assignment.


Here is mine:

I'm Back - Running Again

1964 - Royal Royalite

Gustatory Generations

Smith Corona Galaxy XLL

References

Click here to read