found a repair shop! part 1

Here's the link to the website:

 http://www.typespec.com/

He *knew* he didn't have those springs in here!

lull week

link to the Parva

mail

Thanks Richard! 

picking up the pace

Yes, *that* Lorne Greene.  This game is supposed to teach you how to recognize persuasion techniques.

 It was put together on a shoestring back in the mid-sixties.  It's still being sold by the same company for $30 (and still looks the same) and is still used in "Academic Games" competitions.

short, but with pics

 We went up to Seattle, and made a stop at their big Goodwill.  As you can see they had a lot of
sewing machines. Only one manual typewriter, but with a difference:

 I think it's a 40' or 50's Underwood.  It looks like a portable but with, what, an 18 inch carriage?

 I couldn't shift it to get a peek at the back, so this is all I have to go on.  Thoughts?

 These items are toward the front in the pricey "collectibles" area.

On Sunday we went to a tea room, and this typewriter below was atop a high shelf as decoration.

And this is one of the cats playing:

and in a calmer moment - Ginger is the small one, with her brother, Hobbes.

found object

I copied the paper onto the top of another and ran that through the typewriter.  It looked good in the streamline Sterling.

news items

 Here's what the local cinema director said about Populaire:

" It does have a US distributor already so it probably has a good chance of playing here at the Grand. There is no release date yet so I couldn't get when that might be." ~Philip, Grand Executive Director

In Seattle we walked past a clothing store with an interesting take on window dressing:
These two pics aren't even half of it.

starting to catch up

Typed on the Royal Portable

Here's a photo from the newspaper (the News Tribune, which inexplicably removed "Tacoma" from its name some years ago) of local journalist-turned-historian Murray Morgan, with his typewiter. and sporting a particularly dashing hairstyle.  Given recent developments in the typosphere, I'd like a closer look at that watch too.

winnah!

Now I can start catching up on the typosphere again!

voice to text

needs work.  I hadn't "trained" the system so this attempt in the car is not much like what I dictated.   but it did make me laugh.  and i'm putting it in the novel followed by the line "Are you having a stroke?"

I went to a path that the fifth NHL eight to eight am and how to cut a path that ended up at guard interact badly hurt our backpacks of our area for a firefight that if if the police who have high tech office at Rei is that we call her up by at Santa brought in one not have asked how are telling an a variety of last oath-and her have her health or sites and tell her all are at own past hurt by a hair the right or eight year out on a hot of my ticket at S that's it's a Mac down the ramp as Seattle on hand that there are at an accident at buying an exact height of the all Iraq that route eighth got hurt by tactic of that are in up out of the rope are its enactment of a map that have never never land if they if things they weren't going to a pair of it really believe that if the project that

Looks like a trip

I got word today I have to travel to PHX  november 27-29.  Not good timing for finishing nano.  If anyone wants to do a write-in at the Radisson at the airport drop me a comment or post to me on g plus.  I won't have a car this time.

checking in

As you can see by the progress bar, I'm behind on word count but I've gone off on a tangent in the story and should be able to make up some words this week  then I have a week off for the holiday.  I may have to travel to PHX the week after.  I will announce here when the date is firm. I'm hoping for December instead so I can write.  If not, maybe a hotel write-in?
Anyway, performance of the team:
best - SM8½ (SM8 - tab sets next to the spacebar? with an SM9 instruction book in the case?)
2nd -Adler Special
3rd - tie - SM7 &  Everest K2 (Mr. Jingles)
4th - tie - M44 marked down for scan/ocr errors and ribbon needs grommets, and Royal FP  -a bit heavy for long use, but performing well.
honorable mention - Hermes Media (marked down for pica and carriage shift)


unsatisfactory for continuous use:
Royal Aristocrat elite (I have a pica that performs better)
Lettera 22 square keys  too tight, misses letters 
Woodstock - distracting function issues
Swissa - great feel, that qwertz was driving me nuts though.  I use more y's than I thought i did.
SM9 Techno needs more attention, sticky keys and dry ribbon
Royal Brougham Leather I still need to adjust the leather, it snags at times.

Olivetti in the office

I've been sitting on this for awhile.  The bins get a lot of old desk calculators - mostly forgettable and with one paper roll arm missing.  Recently there was a Facit that printed but had no display.  I left it behind.  This one really struck me awhile back.  I had the feeling it would turn out to be by a design icon, and took a chance on it, leaving it at work until I could find a cord for it and make sure it works.

Last night I finally found a cord that fits this and now I have on my work desk a calculator designed by Mario Bellini.  The Olivetti LOGOS 41PD is from the mid-70's and looks it.  It's very striking as compared with the employer-provided TI-5130 now in my drawer.
I either need to find a new ribbon or renew the one it has.

 

warming up the bullpen

under the hood

what's up with my scanner?  above is the same piece of paper as in the platen below

This leads from the tab keys to the mechanism up the back.  It unhooks, presumably to swing out of the way to remove the carriage.

44 Magnum

The M44 model name, along with the struggle of hefting it, brings to mind the .44 Magnum of Dirty Harry.  So much so that the elite typeface seems out of scale to the giant carriage (which appears to be removable, but which I won't attempt until after NaNo.  As Harry might say, "But being as this is a 44 Magnum, the most powerful typewriter in the world, and would write your character's head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?"

OCR is pretty good, on a par with the others, so I will definitely give this some work in November.

Check it out - 45 character keys.

The reveal

Uriel is closest, getting about 80% there.  It is indeed an Olivetti made in Great Britain.  While I was posting this, Richard guessed it in the previous post - well done!

 

try now

a better pic, on the workbench.

Pop Quiz

Not really - you've known all week it was coming.

Name this typewriter!

I hate waiting, don't you?

It looks a much darker charcoal color without the flash reflecting off it.