Posts in “Misc 2008”
The Lost Generation
I started a draft of this post way back in October, but when Adam Lisagor posted his take on the Barack Obama HOPE poster (created by Shepard Fairey), I just had to pull it up and finish it. Brilliant. (The posters, not this post, silly.)
The woman in the poster is, of course, Mavis Beacon, or one of them. Like Lassie, there have been a number of Mavis Beacons over the years. But that first Mavis... wow. If my wife ever finds out, I’m dead; pure fireworks. Mavis and I spent a lot of time together for a while. I am ashamed to say I used her—at least until I reached 60 wpm, then sadly we went our separate ways, never to meet again.
I had always been an adequate two-finger typist, but when I got my Mac Plus in 1988, I knew I needed to learn touch typing. Like most boomers, I didn’t grow up with computers and never had a “keyboarding” class. Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing was just the ticket.
Anne had a great insight about boomers and computers that originally inspired this post, and since she isn’t blogging at the moment, I’m using it. She noted that one of the main reasons boomers have trouble adapting to computers is their lack of typing prowess. It makes a lot of sense. I’ve watched my own brother struggle to hunt and peck on his Mac, and it’s clear why computer usage doesn’t interest him. I’m sure there are many older people who might make more use of computers if only their typing were a little better, but who aren’t quite motivated enough to learn. Anne calls these people The Lost Generation. Perhaps there should be a special Boomer Edition of Mavis Beacon with drills tailored just for them.
Pettigrew for President
Timothy Pettigrew to be precise. I went to Catholic schools for grades 1 through 10 and during elementary school, subscribed to Treasure Chest, a “Catholic-oriented comic book series created by Dayton, Ohio publisher George A. Pflaum and distributed in parochial schools from 1946 to 1972” [Wikipedia]
I had a distinct memory of a story about the 1976 Presidential campaign with a surprise ending in which it was revealed on the last page of the final episode that the candidate Timothy Pettigrew was African-American. (For some reason, I didn’t think it was odd that you never saw Pettigrew’s face until the last page.) Some Googling filled in all the details.
From the NPR News Blog, I learned that the story ran in 1964 (I was 10 years old). Catholic University in Washington, DC has scans of most issues from 1946 through 1963. Unfortunately, the issues from 1964 forward are still under copyright. You can see a YouTube video of the comic, however.
1964 was a momentous year for other reasons than this footnote in comic-book history. Three civil-rights workers were murdered near Philadelphia, Mississippi (dramatized in Mississippi Burning and Murder in Mississippi) and shortly thereafter The Civil Rights Act, which had been introduced the year before, was finally signed into law by Lyndon Johnson. It only took another 44 years before an African-American would have a chance at the nomination.
Adventures in Plumbing: When a Trap Dries Out
One of the urinals at work has been out of order so long that the water in the trap evaporated. I noticed because I could suddenly hear the hollow sound of distant flushing and water rushing down a pipe. For a few days, I was fascinated by the acoustics, but the novelty wore off, so I filled the trap back up with water. The sound-deadening properties of a couple inches of water are amazing. I thought it was odd that I never smelled any sewer gas, but I’m now thinking that air only rushes into the stack and never out.
Lunar Eclipse
Tried watching the lunar eclipse last night, but my distance vision has really deteriorated in the last two years and that took most of the awe out of the experience. (My new glasses are ready, and I’m picking them up Saturday.) I tried taking a picture of it, but as you can see, that didn’t work out so well either. The effort reminded me how quickly the sky changes as we hurtle through space. Even with a shutter speed as short as 1/2 second, the stars were elongated by the earth’s motion. This was my best compromise: 1/3 second, f/4 at ISO 320.
For Drummers Only [nanoblog]
Oh, go ahead. Anyone can watch it. Children of all ages (1 to 100) like to bang on the drum all day. Charming and not just cause it’s drum-related. Via Snarkmarket.
Blogger Meetup Recap
A couple of meetups I attend are on life support, including the Philly Blogger meetup, several of which at the end of 2007 had attendance of exactly one person. No problem, as worst case I still get a delicious sandwich, the chance to check out some new beers, and strange looks from the wait staff. Still, it is nice to actually, you know, “meet up” with people at these meetups. I didn't have high hopes for today’s meetup, but this one came roaring back from its near-death experience (probably thanks to organizer Scott McNulty’s deft skill with the defibrillator paddles). Fifteen people showed up! South Philadelphia Tap Room really worked out for the meetup, at least from my perspective. I loved the beer selection (all the beers on tap were new to me), and my sandwich was great. I had a wonderful time catching up with everyone, some of whom I hadn’t seen in a long time.
I gotta give SEPTA some credit for a super-smooth trip. I took the train to Suburban and jumped on the Broad Street subway. I only had to wait two minutes for the subway (they run about every ten minutes), and my total travel time was only 45 minutes. There’s no way I could have driven there that fast, and parking in South Philly is challenging. I was also impressed by the quality of musicians playing in Suburban, including a young cellist burning up a Bach suite, a fine violist, and a guitarist. Shades of Joshua Bell. Please consider joining us for the next meetup on February 16 at 3:00 pm. It’s a fun and welcoming group (registration with meetup.com is not required).
Blogger Meetup Tomorrow
I’ll be attending my first Blogger Meetup since October (at which I was the only attendee) tomorrow—even though I’m barely blogging. I have high hopes of not being the only one there and am looking forward to sampling the fare at an establishment new to me: the South Philadelphia Taproom. I’m planning to get there using SEPTA, a trip that includes the Broad Street subway, which I haven’t been on since high school when I rode it every day. Adventure is my middle name.
Comments
I remember Mavis well. I love those typing games.
Posted by yoko on May 12, 2008 at 10:15 PM
Yoko, No way! I would have thought you learned to type in school. Unless they used Mavis in school? Anyway, I agree, the games really kept it interesting.
Posted by Tony Green
on May 12, 2008 at 10:42 PM