So, Mr. Beagles, did you manage to snag a few souvenirs from your time guarding Spandau Prison like this guy may have? Got to keep an eye on those Limeys, if you ask me. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-60169376
And speaking of your time in Berlin I got to thinking about how I got into photography at the Special Services facilities and I was wondering what the price of a Leica was in the PX. Nikons and other fine Japanese cameras were almost dirt cheap compared to the prices in the states.
Everything was dirt cheap as I recall, especially the government subsidized vices. Cigarettes at 15 cents a pack, a fifth of Ron Rico dark rum for a couple of bucks, maybe, and the on-base nightclubs for the youngsters to learn the ways of the low-lifes. Good times for the future leaders of our country.
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Digging through the Institute's archive I discovered that I came aboard in 2016 and that, finally, I am no longer the "new guy." That singular distinction now belongs to Beantown's own B-B-Boxer! Sorry about that, all those Bs...Boston, Boxer, Beantown; can't help hearing Elton John in my head with Bennie and the Jets. It will pass.
But (b-b-but?) consider this: we all live in locations in or near swamps and marshes. Surely a coincidence?
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That is a beautiful instrument. Do you own that?
That's an odd question, but saying it was from my archive could be misleading. Archives usually consist of written or printed material but some allow the inclusion of objects. To say it was from my "collection" doesn't work for me because I didn't intend to collect any of the stuff I have. It's an "accretion" if anything. Check out this portable typewriter of mine, a much more recent acquisition.
Ribbons are still available, and you can buy a new portable manual typewriter on Amazon for a couple of hundred bucks. We are living in the age of miracles! You want data security? Follow the lead of the KGB, use typewriters and carbon paper.
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I'm getting closer to a name for this place, with none of the Geezer nonsense. How does Villa Viejo sound? Slightly exotic, even romantic I'd say, with dreams of faraway places. There are 74 units in this building with more than 100 residents and I rarely see anybody. The most people I've seen recently was more than a week ago when a couple of dozen folks were playing bingo. I showed up to get the fancy Covid-19 test they were offering, the one that takes a couple of days. No bugs in this Old Dog's bloodstream I'm pleased to report.
Anyhow, I'll have to sniff around to find out how other folks refer to this place without being too much of a busybody.
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Uncle Ken mentioned how he misses the sounds of typewriters, no bells with computers. But there were add-ons that did just that, providing a healthy "ding" when you hit enter. I forget if it did more than that, like add an appropriate sound with every keystroke but it was a lot of fun, for a while, anyhow. I wouldn't want to be in a room with computers all making those sounds.
Here's a social engineering prank for you to consider. Get a half-dozen or so Boomers with portable typewriters all showing up at the same Starbucks with reams of paper, typing away and carrying on just like in the office spaces of days gone by. Remember typing pools? Forget the big shots in the office; those ladies are the ones you want to make friends with.
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I did a lot of programming for fun at home with Basic, and am deeply disappointed that that no longer exists, and indeed there is no programming language to fool with on pc's. I don't know why.
You lost me on this one or is your Google key broken? Lots of languages, some I've even heard of, and you can go to the Microsoft site and get a free copy of QBasic. What's holding you back?
Programming in and of itself never interested me but fiddling with motors, lights, and other control systems is kind of cool. Robots! That's the ticket! I know I have some Arduino boards around here someplace, maybe a GRBL board or two also. Just got to add it to the pile of crap to deal with, one way or t'other. That list is getting longer every day.
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I hope my experiment with the click bait subject line worked. Be assured, no felines were harmed. Can you spell encyclopedia without humming this tune? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy2jWJtO3lE
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