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Spacetraindriver

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10 hours ago, richfiles said:

On Wednesday, the forecast says it will be -29°F (-33.9°C) with 16 MPH (25.7 Km/H) winds...
On Saturday, the forecast says it will be 34°F (1.1°C) with 14 MPH (22.5 Km/H) winds... With a 30% chance for showers... RAIN!!!

That's snow and rain, in the span of a week, with a 63°F (35°C) temperature swing in a span of three days!?!?

Why is Minnesota weather so crazy?!?

It’s bordering Canada. Now Canada is crazy.

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13 minutes ago, Delay said:

"Stone has gone"

Is that correct?

Probably not. But that's 'Murca for you. We likes our English a lot on the incorrect side. There's a reason the crown referred to us as wayward children... :D

 

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Just saw an HP 9100A calculator go up on ebay...

It's my holy grail.
My dream machine.
My most sought after masterpiece of constrained engineering...
My... GOD it's expensive!

Starting bid is $1999, and I know from past experience, that that's a fair price... It doesn't even WORK, and yes... That's STILL a fair starting bid!?!

I want it SO BAD... I've never been able to afford one, and I don't live anywhere near where these would be discarded... And yes, I've read stories of people just picking these up for nothing. That's what drives me crazy... That they are out there, out of my reach. Ugh...

To make matters worse, the seller starts out their description with the WORST POSSIBLE THING... "Everything powers ON!!!!!  The display of the calculator is out, however, I have not fiddled with it or opened the machine up." NOOOOoooo........ Let's see... You have a 51 year old piece of electronics in unknown condition, with a high voltage power supply and a glass CRT. You've never opened it up, never tested the condition of any of the parts... and you just apply line voltage to it and see if it comes on!?!? NO! That is how you turn small problems into forever problems! The HP 9100A and 9100B have a unique CRT... NO other device used that CRT, and it is irreplaceable. It's so rare that people have actually taken damaged CRTs to glass signage shops (neon sign makers) and paid to actually repair the CRT itself! There is a very fragile glass support inside the CRT that can be easily broken if the machine is dropped or impacted hard enough. If it moves a certain way, it can short the beam deflection plates to the anode, pumping high voltage into the logic circuits... It's a CATASTROPHIC failure, if that ever occurs. Even if that's okay, it's best to TEST for it before powering on, just to not take that gamble. Likewise with he power supply. 51 year old electrolytic capacitors are definitely past their use by date. Any one of them could fail as a short, an open, or even explode! It's not with the instant gratification of seeing the thing MAYBE power up, when you have literal ticking time bombs inside the machine, waiting to ruin your day, and possibly spray foil and paper confetti all over your high voltage circuits and logic, or possibly short out something.

I know it's because of ignorance... People just don't know better, but it's SO discouraging to see people randomly power on vintage electronics as if it were as ready to run as something brand new! Nothing lasts forever. It'd be like cranking an engine for the first time in 51 years and just letting it run... Are you really gonna trust that 51 year old oil? Are ya not even gonna think about pre-lubricating the reciprocating and rotating parts, even that they've certainly all gone dry in five decades... Electronics is the same... Certain things do not stand the test of time. There's basic maintenance that ought to be done to make sure those electrons are corralled correctly... Don't need an electron stampede ruining your day, and your device!

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On 1/28/2019 at 11:11 AM, Just Jim said:

but it's only 48 and crappy drizzling rain

Meanwhile, parts of Australia casually sauntered past 48°C (118 and change in the old scale) over the last few weeks. The weather station in my yard has only (only?!) hit a top of 44 this month, and I'm counting myself fortunate.

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46 minutes ago, TheSaint said:

And we can't even get enough for my kids to go sledding. :mad:

If there’s one thing to say for mayor Sobyanin (a.k.a. Siberia, Tundra, deer-herder, and the Mole, among yet more nicknames bestowed upon the man who seems to pay his wife’s business to change cobblestone twice a year) is that, at 32 sled slopes and 25 skating rinks, the man takes winter festivities seriously.

gorkanew2.jpg

2a81122874810dfc8fba1e65e0f6a091.jpg

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Current temp is -22˚C, and this will drop to -32˚C by tomorrow morning! Classes are cancelled tomorrow, and many are today as well. I'm looking at the forecast, and it might get colder here than the South Pole and Gale Crater.

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20 hours ago, Geonovast said:

Welcome to America, where FedEx actually has to make an announcement that they will, in fact, be doing their jobs during the Superbowl "festivities".

 

We may be taking this nonsense a bit too far, guys.

You're just realizing this now???

 

 

1 hour ago, kerbiloid said:

Fooling the silly birds with yo-yo.

Who's fooling who?  Silly birds, eh?!  See those white spots on the guy's hood?... that's not snow. ;)

 

Edited by LordFerret
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19 hours ago, richfiles said:

Snippy Calculator wheeeeee

Yesterday I learned about fountain pen enthusiasts and today I learned about calculator enthusiasts. What a world.

Speaking of fountain pens- I get they're nice and some have gold tios, but $2800USD for a pen!? Also I don't want to wait for Amazon to ship the $15 one I had my eye on, and there's no professional stationary store near me. (Pilot Metropolitan with a black/ silver finish).

Does office Depot or Staples stock pens and ink Wells?

 

9 hours ago, cubinator said:

Current temp is -22˚C, and this will drop to -32˚C by tomorrow morning! Classes are cancelled tomorrow, and many are today as well. I'm looking at the forecast, and it might get colder here than the South Pole and Gale Crater.

Oh my God are you a polar bear with thumbs for solving cube puzzles? Where on Earth does it get that cold outside of polar research stations?!

10 hours ago, TheSaint said:

And we can't even get enough for my kids to go sledding. :mad:

Same here.

Edited by Kernel Kraken
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29 minutes ago, Kernel Kraken said:

Oh my God are you a polar bear with thumbs for solving cube puzzles? Where on Earth does it get that cold outside of polar research stations?!

The Midwest, apparently.

LO3zTbE.png

 

38 minutes ago, Kernel Kraken said:

Does office Depot or Staples stock pens and ink Wells?

Ink well  - https://www.staples.com/Parker-Quink-Permanent-Ink-2-oz-Bottle-Black-30011/product_245589 (one of them at least)

Pen - https://www.staples.com/Pilot-MR-Metropolitan-Collection-Fountain-Pen-Medium-Point-Black-Barrel-Black-Ink-91107/product_102063

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41 minutes ago, Kernel Kraken said:

Oh my God are you a polar bear with thumbs for solving cube puzzles? Where on Earth does it get that cold outside of polar research stations?!

Canada.

Oh and Russia.

Enjoy a taste of the Great White North, eh? :D

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1 hour ago, Kernel Kraken said:

Oh my God are you a polar bear with thumbs for solving cube puzzles? Where on Earth does it get that cold outside of polar research stations?!

Minnesnowta. I've been wearing little less than a spacesuit to go outside. No class tomorrow, but I'll go outside in the morning just to experience it for a bit - maybe insta-freeze a cup of boiling water or something and evaluate whether I really want to go to the South Pole.

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8 minutes ago, cubinator said:

Minnesnowta. I've been wearing little less than a spacesuit to go outside. No class tomorrow, but I'll go outside in the morning just to experience it for a bit - maybe insta-freeze a cup of boiling water or something and evaluate whether I really want to go to the South Pole.

Currently because I don't live in minne-freezebitsoff-ota, I personally have an answer of yes for that last question.

Maybe I'd have second thoughts if I was over there.

Edited by qzgy
graamammamr
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3 minutes ago, qzgy said:

Currently because I don't live in minne-freezebitsoff-ota, I personally have an answer of yes for that last question.

Maybe I'd have second thought if I was over there.

That's what I hope to discover...depending on how things go I might send some emails towards the physics department...get on that South Pole Telescope... :D

 

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7 hours ago, Kernel Kraken said:

Where on Earth does it get that cold outside of polar research stations?!

Hello, comrade.

Tlcn8SwgfxeXzsKI.file

The nearest (relatively speaking) village is a strong contender.

3-49-681x681.jpg

7 hours ago, Kernel Kraken said:

Yesterday I learned about fountain pen enthusiasts

Oh no, I’ve been found out.

7 hours ago, Kernel Kraken said:

Speaking of fountain pens- I get they're nice and some have gold tios, but $2800USD for a pen!? Also I don't want to wait for Amazon to ship the $15 one I had my eye on, and there's no professional stationary store near me. (Pilot Metropolitan with a black/ silver finish).

Does office Depot or Staples stock pens and ink Wells?

Being the fancy dandy that I am, I tend to stock up at Kaut-Bulliger in Munich with enough inkwells to last half a decade... I’ve already snapped the Pelikan I bought there in two due to heavy use, so I guess ink really is a long-lasting consumable.

Whereas ballpoints would run out in like two weeks, so I had to wear a bloody bandolier of them.

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On 1/29/2019 at 7:38 AM, richfiles said:

My most sought after masterpiece of constrained engineering..

May I poison your dreams with Curta?

Now THAT is a lovely piece of engineering!

They are not uncommon on ebay, but squarely out of my budget.

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