Get off my LAWN! "Grumpy Old Farts"

[Charlie Tango]

My experience is that watch repair people are a disappearing breed. I have a rather nice Seiko that needs cleaning and adjustment. I cant find anyone within 200 miles to do it. Everyone tells me to send it to Seko...they charge $150 for a basic maintenance.

It was like that with Seiko as far back as the 80s, IME. IIRC, the jeweler even gave me a special mailer to use to send it to their address in New York. I did it once back then and the damned thing was broken again a year or so later. No more Seikos for me.

 

[GwenOnBass]

You prefer an auto-wind typewriter?

That's an Etch A Sketch! My signature on an Etch A Sketch looks exactly like my signature when I electronically sign my credit card purchase. Both of which look like the product of a 4-year-old struggling with a monster pencil on paper so coarse you can get a splinter.

 

[beans-on-toast]

My experience is that watch repair people are a disappearing breed. I have a rather nice Seiko that needs cleaning and adjustment. I cant find anyone within 200 miles to do it. Everyone tells me to send it to Seko...they charge $150 for a basic maintenance.

Watching those watch restoration videos, it could extend as far as disassembly, ultrasonic cleaning, lubrication, and calibration. Somehow for that price, I doubt that they go that far. Maybe an entire movement ultrasonic cleaning and lube. Maybe one hour labor.

 

[GwenOnBass]

I would trust Dave of Dave's World of Fun Stuff to repair my bass properly if on or off camera. I suspect many repairmen perform for the camera first, and maybe your repair sees the same level of attention. Or not. Attention is on number of hits for many interests that may or may not intersect with my interests.

 

[steve_rolfeca]

We used to rescue Irish setters, before we were taking in parrots. Talk about dumb. But they're another breed that's just had the brains bred out of them, like standard collies. We did chows for awhile...so hardheaded it was impossible to tell whether they were stupid or just ignoring you.

We had a Sheltie from a good breeder, and she was smarter than a whip, quiet...

Just a gem.

We now have a 4 year old Sheltie from a different breeder. I love him, but he’s dumber than a brick, loud, and neurotic to boot.

There ought to be a dating period, and then an engagement before new pets move in, just like people.

 

[GwenOnBass]

Sort of off-topic, sort of on-topic

With the passing of the 18-year-old Siberian cat a couple weeks ago, chanced into flower essences made for animals. Now it may be that Odin is a dog (he is), and that dogs in general think very little of cats, the cat was still a recognized member of the household. A senior member. The flower essence for grief and loss arrived and

less than a minute after Odin took his first drop I had to wipe a two inch gloopy tear from his eye. There for a while Odin asked for more. Right now he's not interested, and we're all good with that.

And I do not expect to receive a ghostly kitty visitor on Christmas Eve

 

[beans-on-toast]

My condolences to you and Odin. I’m sure that he feels the loss of Thor.

 

[GwenOnBass]

Today's Odin's fifth birthday!

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[beans-on-toast]

Today's Odin's fifth birthday!

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Happy birthday Odin, from an old dog.

 

[Deleted member 268085]

And typewriter repairmen.


Except I really have no great desire to use a manual typewriter again.

I was writing so much product documentation at one point, that I was the first person in the company to get an IBM Selectric! Changing balls to change fonts! Holy high tech, Batman!

 

[Al Kraft]

...But they're another breed that's just had the brains bred out of them,...

...sadly many breeds have not only had their finer traits diminished by irresponsible breeding practices, but many now have significant health problems and physical weaknesses manifesting at much higher rate.

 

[beans-on-toast]

I was writing so much product documentation at one point, that I was the first person in the company to get an IBM Selectric! Changing balls to change fonts! Holy high tech, Batman!

The neat thing about a Selectric is that it had a port in the back that provided access to trigger the keys. Interfaces were available that allowed connection to lab instruments and computers. This was a big step up.

As for the type balls. The biggest pain was having to change them back and forth within a page. They had a math ball with greek characters and symbols. You’d have to install the ball to type a formula on a page, then go back to another for the text.

 

[Al Kraft]

The neat thing about a Selectric is that it had a port in the back that provided access to trigger the keys. Interfaces were available that allowed connection to lab instruments and computers. This was a big step up.

As for the type balls. The biggest pain was having to change them back and forth within a page. They had a math ball with greek characters and symbols. You’d have to install the ball to type a formula on a page, then go back to another for the text.

They were great for us at shore based HQ's commands as the secretaries or clerks could just pop in an OCR ball and we could easily create Naval Messages for immediate transmission. One of us with authority to sign Naval Messages would add our autograph, and they went to the comm center.

 

[mikeoso]

Shortly after being discharged, I worked in Shipping and receiving for a large firm in Tucson, just when they were adopting Selectrics. So I'd load a hand truck full, take them around, hand them out to the various office types. One of the secretaries asked me if I wasn't going to stay and show her how it worked. I said, "Miss, if I knew how to work that, I wouldn't be delivering it."

 

[GonePlaid]

Shortly after being discharged, I worked in Shipping and receiving for a large firm in Tucson, just when they were adopting Selectrics. So I'd load a hand truck full, take them around, hand them out to the various office types. One of the secretaries asked me if I wasn't going to stay and show her how it worked. I said, "Miss, if I knew how to work that, I wouldn't be delivering it."

Good answer!

 

[GwenOnBass]

Almost five hours and the doctor's office issue "sunglasses" are off as my eyes begin to focus again. Good exam, my eyes are in perfect health.

 

[Al Kraft]

Almost five hours and the doctor's office issue "sunglasses" are off as my eyes begin to focus again. Good exam, my eyes are in perfect health.

Always the answer you hope to hear, especially where your vision is concerned.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Today's Odin's fifth birthday!

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That first photo makes it look like Odin is the black sheep of the family.

Happy birthday, Odin!

 

[alaskaleftybass]

the secretaries

ahhh yes, the secretaries. Fond memories. Then there was the one that got away. But now I'm very happy so all's well that ends well....

 

[alaskaleftybass]

They were great for us at shore based HQ's commands as the secretaries or clerks could just pop in an OCR ball and we could easily create Naval Messages for immediate transmission. One of us with authority to sign Naval Messages would add our autograph, and they went to the comm center.

When I was in, I was at such a low level in the Army that I had to use the Backspace key to type out Department of Army, count the letters, divide by 2 and back up that many. I spent the first ten minutes writing memos just doing the heading!