Another funny from my daughter:
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Get off my LAWN! "Grumpy Old Farts"
- Thread starter B-string
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- Oct 22, 2015
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Who says? We DO want to know!
Sixteen years old. All-girls, and secular. And not military.
The new dial telephones to replace the old ring-down system were installed that summer before my first year! Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks get a lot of play on my "stereo". Dinner from Monday through Friday is semi-formal. Dress codes were recently relaxed so we can wear casual clothing to class. Dress codes are still strict, just not as strict as they used to be. The day begins - working hard to recall the hour but I believe it stars with an address to the entire student body at 6:30. Breakfast follows and classes run until 2. Then it's Sports for All, back to the dorms and off to dinner before study.
Any who completes her homework on the school's PDP-8 receives and automatic A. Little do I suspect one day DEC will pay my salary. Wow. That hurts to recall. My hobby at school is calligraphy and this leads to figuring out how to make the computer create letters that form words. So yeah sports is not my thing here at school.
The only sport I do reasonably well is rock climbing. All the rest, it seems to me, involves running. Really, really hate running in every way. My body is just not made to be a runner.
Later in life I'll still be working the computer to make letters. Just a whole lot more sophisticated .... Still own and use my fountain pens.
Observing nothing written here thusfar tells anything about what happens at boarding school. I find it best not to explore that memory hole too closely.
I went to an American high school for my Senior year and I needed to earn my As even in Computer class, on BASIC and FORTRAN with the PDP-8 as the platform. 1 k ferrite-core memory, shared by about 8 students at a time! Some dedicated girls learnt COBOL as well.
I did JV hockey and was the assist leader in our local JV league-winning season.
The team was named "Chinks"... somehow they have changed that to "Dragons", but the town is still Pekin, Il.
I did JV hockey and was the assist leader in our local JV league-winning season.
The team was named "Chinks"... somehow they have changed that to "Dragons", but the town is still Pekin, Il.
I didn’t go to boarding school but I was board. If your school was anything like mine the mantra would have been, stand still lassie while I thrash you to within an inch of your life.
Not the same as Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks but I had a set of Arlen Roth Hot Licks instructional tapes. They later branched out and signed many other artists. They were very popular in the 70’s.
Hot Licks — Arlen Roth
As part of TeX that we used for writing papers, I dabbled in font design when postscript printers came out. When I started school, we started with these big fat pencils. Funny ow memories come back. They used to distribute them to the class. Some kid would stand at the front sharpening them with a hand cranked sharpener. Have one of those somewhere.
Then the class moved to nib pens and bottles that were filled with a jug of ink. Then cartridge fountain pens were allowed. They were good for flicking ink onto people. When using fountain pens, black india ink would get all over your hands. There’s a lot of skill involved drawing letters. Many kids today aren’t taught cursive writing.
Later, drafting class also taughted us the art of precision. I still have Mont Blanc and Waterman pens. Building pens is a hobby that some folks enjoy. There are mini lathes and other related tools, lots of pen hardware. Seeing how much they cost today, I can see why people build them.
Pen mini lathe
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Passinwind
I know nothing.
- Dec 3, 2003
- 23,077
- 46,033
- Disclosures
- Designer/Toaster Tech @ Passinwind Electronics
- Oct 22, 2015
- 21,164
- 256,801
- Disclosures
- I am an affiliate for Ari Cap.
It appears to me that in ascending order of team savagery it goes
field hockey
ice hockey
lacrosse
hurling
- Oct 22, 2015
- 21,164
- 256,801
- Disclosures
- I am an affiliate for Ari Cap.
It is the venerable PDP-11 that owned the publishing world. Let's say you're a third party contractor with the rights to modify and re-sell a PDP-11. Pretty much you can afford to give the software away for free and this is exactly what happened. Or so a friend told me.
Had enough troubles flying with my pre-postscript pica pole but it brings a lot of street cred in the composing room. Daresn't actually touch the cold type with your fingers because that's strictly a union job. But anyone loopy enough to write type spec in octal is pretty much welcome to come and go on good terms. Always on good terms with DEC, though there is a great deal of truth in the joke DEC couldn't market a cure for death. The VAX ....
None of which is about boarding school save in it starts with kids who have a resonance with the written word and access to a computer.
No nuns where I went. Strict but never saw or heard of corporal punishment. More than a few students expelled for greater or lesser lapses of good judgment.
That pen at the time was a student Pelikan that I grew to loathe. Interchangeable nibs meant lots of calligraphy practice with the Speedball Textbook. Because it is better than running and that never stopped the teachers from seeing we Ran. Every. Single. Day. Rain, Sleet, Snow, You-Name-It. Except for the rock climbers. We weren't required to run. We might have the notion not to look beyond what is most important this moment - where both hands and both feet are and for how long.
Had enough troubles flying with my pre-postscript pica pole but it brings a lot of street cred in the composing room. Daresn't actually touch the cold type with your fingers because that's strictly a union job. But anyone loopy enough to write type spec in octal is pretty much welcome to come and go on good terms. Always on good terms with DEC, though there is a great deal of truth in the joke DEC couldn't market a cure for death. The VAX ....
None of which is about boarding school save in it starts with kids who have a resonance with the written word and access to a computer.
No nuns where I went. Strict but never saw or heard of corporal punishment. More than a few students expelled for greater or lesser lapses of good judgment.
That pen at the time was a student Pelikan that I grew to loathe. Interchangeable nibs meant lots of calligraphy practice with the Speedball Textbook. Because it is better than running and that never stopped the teachers from seeing we Ran. Every. Single. Day. Rain, Sleet, Snow, You-Name-It. Except for the rock climbers. We weren't required to run. We might have the notion not to look beyond what is most important this moment - where both hands and both feet are and for how long.
What we need on this site is a calligraphy font. yeah That ’s the ticket! 
- Oct 22, 2015
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- 256,801
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Oh yeah the old Wedding Invitation Italic.
Actually the two calligraphic hands are known as Spencerian and Roundhand. They require a pointed pen - a very flexible superfine nib that can go from hairline to broad strokes. Doing it with a machine .... well computer, this gets very complicated very quickly the deeper you look. Kind of like how hard can this instrument be with only four strings.
"In the files" I have an example of a grotesque misue of a "handwriting font" ... really not appropriate to post because it says one thing and looks like something else entirely. We here at TB do have some with graphic arts experience (@40Hz ) anyways ... for me the graphic design people are natural enemies, much like tigers are to goats. See, there is a font [someone important] wanted that rounded out to a half million USD ... The miracle of it is the font wasn't even for print .... This is one reason I took a powder ... permanently
My fountain pen of choice is Sheaffer. Have two hand-turned bespoke pens, and enough ink for ages. About 30 fountain pens all told. Geek points to the the Sheaffer Snorkel!
Actually the two calligraphic hands are known as Spencerian and Roundhand. They require a pointed pen - a very flexible superfine nib that can go from hairline to broad strokes. Doing it with a machine .... well computer, this gets very complicated very quickly the deeper you look. Kind of like how hard can this instrument be with only four strings.
"In the files" I have an example of a grotesque misue of a "handwriting font" ... really not appropriate to post because it says one thing and looks like something else entirely. We here at TB do have some with graphic arts experience (@40Hz ) anyways ... for me the graphic design people are natural enemies, much like tigers are to goats. See, there is a font [someone important] wanted that rounded out to a half million USD ... The miracle of it is the font wasn't even for print .... This is one reason I took a powder ... permanently
My fountain pen of choice is Sheaffer. Have two hand-turned bespoke pens, and enough ink for ages. About 30 fountain pens all told. Geek points to the the Sheaffer Snorkel!
- Oct 22, 2015
- 21,164
- 256,801
- Disclosures
- I am an affiliate for Ari Cap.
And the TB rule of "pics or it's only a flappin' jaw" is followed through with
My Sheaffer Balance. It's probably a 1936 but impossible to tell for certain. It's not a White Dot (Lifetime) so the price new was likely $5 or less. Which is a great deal of money in America in 1936. The upscale White Dot line with a lifetime warranty started at around $10. This pen likely saw lifetime service for - perhaps - a woman in a bank who signed a lot of papers. It would have been too expensive for a teller and too downmarket for management.
It's a lever filler and utterly devoid of any pretense. Not a bit of gold or silver anywhere, not even the nib. The nib is steel and is a fine nib. Had the pen belonged to an accountant the nib would be extra fine. Had the nib belonged to a manager (with some ego) the nib would be at least medium and possibly broad. It's the nib suited to someone with smallish and careful handwriting.
The lever, when lifted, simply depresses a sac inside. Release the lever, and the ink is drawn up from the bottle through the nib's feed. As simple as it gets and stone reliable. Until the sac wears out. Our imaginary lady pen owner would have taken the pen to the stationary shop where the pen repair guy works. She'd be given a loaner pen until her pen was re-sac'd and cleaned.
Likely this little gem never saw anything but black ink in its life. Until it came into my keeping. That's nearly certainly Sheaffer Turquoise I use in the writing sample. So yeah, that's my natural handwriting. Unless I'm signing my name with an E-pen at the doctor's or something. SMH
My Sheaffer Balance. It's probably a 1936 but impossible to tell for certain. It's not a White Dot (Lifetime) so the price new was likely $5 or less. Which is a great deal of money in America in 1936. The upscale White Dot line with a lifetime warranty started at around $10. This pen likely saw lifetime service for - perhaps - a woman in a bank who signed a lot of papers. It would have been too expensive for a teller and too downmarket for management.
It's a lever filler and utterly devoid of any pretense. Not a bit of gold or silver anywhere, not even the nib. The nib is steel and is a fine nib. Had the pen belonged to an accountant the nib would be extra fine. Had the nib belonged to a manager (with some ego) the nib would be at least medium and possibly broad. It's the nib suited to someone with smallish and careful handwriting.
The lever, when lifted, simply depresses a sac inside. Release the lever, and the ink is drawn up from the bottle through the nib's feed. As simple as it gets and stone reliable. Until the sac wears out. Our imaginary lady pen owner would have taken the pen to the stationary shop where the pen repair guy works. She'd be given a loaner pen until her pen was re-sac'd and cleaned.
Likely this little gem never saw anything but black ink in its life. Until it came into my keeping. That's nearly certainly Sheaffer Turquoise I use in the writing sample. So yeah, that's my natural handwriting. Unless I'm signing my name with an E-pen at the doctor's or something. SMH
Being left handed, I have to ensure that I don't smudge the ink when I roll over it with my hand.
People don't write like they used to.
People used to take pen to paper to write out lyrics. It was just another day in the life.
A reply to a letter about Strawberry Fields
Going further back in time, there was cleary a pride in penmanship that is lost today. Life is to hectic to be concerned with the details. Not our fault but it dimishes how the days pass from one to another.
People don't write like they used to.
People used to take pen to paper to write out lyrics. It was just another day in the life.
A reply to a letter about Strawberry Fields
Going further back in time, there was cleary a pride in penmanship that is lost today. Life is to hectic to be concerned with the details. Not our fault but it dimishes how the days pass from one to another.
Last edited:
- Oct 22, 2015
- 21,164
- 256,801
- Disclosures
- I am an affiliate for Ari Cap.
Who'd be better at spotting Ancient Nerds than Steve Martin, known banjo player?
Gawd, both my mother and my father had Beautiful handwriting!
My youngest sister, in Colorado, has all of me da’s notebooks from his 6 years of school, growing up in Ireland.
Precious!
Writing with a ruler as a guide helps with the neatness. I've always been inpressed with people that can paint signs and do pinstriping.
My parents both had that type of handwriting as well.
Passinwind
I know nothing.
- Dec 3, 2003
- 23,077
- 46,033
- Disclosures
- Designer/Toaster Tech @ Passinwind Electronics
It appears to me that in ascending order of team savagery it goes
field hockey
ice hockey
lacrosse
hurling
Heh. When I played club soccer in boarding school our coach was a lovely little French guy. The first day of practice he looked us over and announced that we needed to work on our high kicking. Words to live by...
- Oct 22, 2015
- 21,164
- 256,801
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- I am an affiliate for Ari Cap.
rulers....
The paper I use in the photo of the 36 Sheaffer is French Ruled. There are both vertical and horizontal guidelines. It was the standard paper used by all students in France when handwriting was taught. Every French citizen "of an age" learned with fountain pens and violet ink.
The paper I use in the photo of the 36 Sheaffer is French Ruled. There are both vertical and horizontal guidelines. It was the standard paper used by all students in France when handwriting was taught. Every French citizen "of an age" learned with fountain pens and violet ink.
At one time in my life I received awards for my handwriting. Now my hands shake so much my signature is almost unreadable. I don’t do long hand anymore but print what I need. Even my printing is shaky! 
Going out in a little while to see my Chiropractor who is helping the hands and repairing the damage I did to my left arm toting my B15 to the audition for the country band I failed. I have to admit I’d like to know what I did wrong. Traditionally I pass all my auditions!
Going out in a little while to see my Chiropractor who is helping the hands and repairing the damage I did to my left arm toting my B15 to the audition for the country band I failed. I have to admit I’d like to know what I did wrong. Traditionally I pass all my auditions!
Prolly played too good for them.At one time in my life I received awards for my handwriting. Now my hands shake so much my signature is almost unreadable. I don’t do long hand anymore but print what I need. Even my printing is shaky!
Going out in a little while to see my Chiropractor who is helping the hands and repairing the damage I did to my left arm toting my B15 to the audition for the country band I failed. I have to admit I’d like to know what I did wrong. Traditionally I pass all my auditions!
At one time in my life I received awards for my handwriting. Now my hands shake so much my signature is almost unreadable. I don’t do long hand anymore but print what I need. Even my printing is shaky!
Going out in a little while to see my Chiropractor who is helping the hands and repairing the damage I did to my left arm toting my B15 to the audition for the country band I failed. I have to admit I’d like to know what I did wrong. Traditionally I pass all my auditions!
Traditional country? You prolly played "too many notes". Modern country? You prolly didn't play enough notes! Ain't hardly no in between.
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