I was just messaging a friend when I had a thought that has caused me to reflect on the odd collection of office machines in my cubicle at work. Specifically I am reflecting on the technological differences between each of the machines, all of which I use daily.

On my desk, I have my computer terminal with wide screen monitor, my telephone, a file stamp, an embosser and a typewriter. The file stamp is a 1950s vintage electric stamp used to file in court documents and the embosser is an electric machine of similar vintage used to emboss the court seal on documents. The telephone is a state of the art VOIP office phone with wireless headset equipment. Then there is the typewriter...

Originally when I got promoted, I brought in my 1970s vintage IBM Selectric II to do the necessary typing on the two part carbonless forms, postal return receipts and other documents that the computer printer is not capable of using. As time went on, I began to find that its size was bothersome, as well as the noise of the electric motor. So I replaced it with a manual typewriter-my Royal No. 10 office typewriter manufactured in 1915. The phone sits between it and the computer, which makes for an interesting sight. It's a rather strange combination to be sure, but each machine has a specific use that none of the others are suited to handle. Funny thing is that that Royal gets more use than any of the electric typewriters in the office. I perform daily maintenance on the machine-cleaning and oiling the various parts as necessary with typewriter oil and it has a canvas cover that stays on when not in use. It also has all of the flair of a 1915 typewriter-pinstripes painted on the frame, name and model number in large crisp letters and glossy black paint-a bit worn in spots to be sure. Still, it has character that the modern typewriters simply don't have. Folks new to the office often mistake it for a decoration-until they hear me banging away on it. I am a fairly decent typist, so when I take off it's like a machine gun firing-banging with the occasional clunk as the carriage drops down after being raised to type in capital letters or use a figure-a signature of the older typewriters. The entire carriage with the platen roller rises to allow the typist to use the capital letters and figures. More modern manual typewriters have a basket shift that lowers the height of the type bars.

As the centennial of the sinking of the RMS Titanic approaches, have we really made any meaningful changes that answer the problems that cost 1500 lives on that cold April night? That said, there were true changes-24 hour radio watch, shifting of the shipping lanes to the south and mandatory lifeboat capacity for all passengers and crew.

Lifeboats have continued to be a factor in shipwrecks due to the continued use of very poor designs that place them along the rail of the ship on the boat deck. In many recent wrecks, up to half the lifeboats provided could not be used due to the listing of the ship to one side. Would you believe that a lifeboat launching system that addressed that problem was used on RMS Titanic's sister ship, HMHS Britannic? To speed loading and eliminate the risk of a list making it impossible to launch boats from one side of the boat deck, the engineers at Harland and Wolffe came up with a radical design change. Instead of having davits for every boat lining the boat deck, the ship only had six massive gantry davits. They were located on the Port and Starboard sides of Funnels No. 1 & 4 with two more aft of No. 4. In addition, a limited number of boats were placed on the deck. The majority of the boats were stored on the roof of the deckhouse in stacks of six-one stack for each gantry davit. A seventh boat was always kept in each davit. The sound design of these davits was tested when the HMHS Britannic hit a mine in the Agean Sea and sank in under an hour with 2000 hospital staff and crew aboard. The only fatalities were the result of two lifeboats being sucked into the propellers of the ship as they were launched.

Comment to this post, and I will list seven things I want you to talk about. They might make sense or they might be totally random. Then post that list, with your commentary, to your journal. Other people can get lists from you, and the meme merrily perpetuates itself.

redvixen gave me: fame, happiness, history, Tonto, Hot Wheels toys, maple syrup and brevity.

1. Fame-Can't say that I've ever had that. I am well known and respected in certain aspects, but that does not equate to fame.

2. Happiness-I am pretty content as I am right now. Enlightenment does not make one happier in and of itself, but it is a tool that one can use to make themselves happier.

3. History-I have a good general understanding of US history and industrial history but not nearly as much of other world regions.

4. Tonto-The faithful kemosabe of the Lone Ranger. I remember reading those stories and recall that he and the Lone Ranger were blood brothers.

5. Hot Wheels toys-I had Hot Wheels toys as a child, but do not have any now.

6. Maple syrup-Pancakes and waffles wouldn't be complete without the maple syrup.

7. Brevity-I can be very brief in my communications, sometimes to the point that others may take some offense on occasion.

Comment to this post, and I will list seven things I want you to talk about. They might make sense or they might be totally random. Then post that list, with your commentary, to your journal. Other people can get lists from you, and the meme merrily perpetuates itself.

wolf_slaven gave me: phones, chevy truck, stapler, dogs, street trains, travel, soda.

1. Phones: My only personal phone is my cell phone, which I don't often use. At work, I am the backup phone clerk in the afternoon. I answer general questions and transfer calls that are for other departments. I also make a number of calls related to my administrative duties regarding private process servers.

2. Chevy truck: I've never owned a truck, much less one made by Chevy. I've had friends who had Chevy trucks. All of the company trucks I drove while working on the railroad were Fords as far as I can remember.

3. Stapler: The universal tool of an office worker. I get to staple all sorts of stuff-old license cards into file folders, photographs, checks, birth certificates-you name it, I've probably stapled it to something.

4. Dogs: Never had one of my own. My brother tried dogs a couple of times, but both ended up epic fail for various reasons. I have cats, but wouldn't rule out dogs in the future.

5. Street trains: Streetcars and light rail trains are favorites of mine. I am involved with Old Pueblo Trolley, Inc. which has operated electric trolley cars serving the Fourth Avenue shopping district and the University of Arizona from 1992 to 2011 when operations were suspended to permit the construction of the Modern Streetcar system. I am a certified Motorman and have operated streetcars in the Washington, D.C., Pittsburg and San Francisco areas at regional railway museums.

6. Travel: I am a traveling man and will go anywhere, anytime and on very short notice. As a teen, I went with my Dad on many business trips with literally just enough warning to have time to quickly pack bag. I've been to the Republic of Korea, Canada, Mexico and Great Britain. I would love to visit other European, African and Asian countries when I have the resources to do so.

7. Soda: I love specialty sodas-particularly root beers. Birch Beer is tasty, but lacks the punch of Spruce Beer. I prefer sodas that are made with sugar and will drink them whenever possible. Fortunately, there is a store on University Boulevard that carries a wide selection of sodas-some imported from Mexico and Italy. They're more expensive than the mass produced stuff that Coke and Pepsi peddle, but well worth the little extra for better merchandise.

I don't have an opinion-to me it's pretty much any other day, except that there's a rush to get marriage licenses. In Arizona, the Clerk of the Superior Court in each county is the official charged with issuing marriage licenses. Every year, our office decorates one of the counter windows for St. Valentine's Day and that clerk is assigned the job of issuing all of the marriage licenses. I usually got that assignment when I worked the filing counter. Only real plus of that assignment was that if St. Valentine's Day fell on the weekend, I'd get overtime pay as the office would be opened to issue marriage licenses.

On this day in 1912, President William Howard Taft signed the papers that admitted Arizona as the 48th state in the Union. Huzzah!

Meme reposted from Quetico's journal-

Okay. Because of LJ falling out of favor as a social media. I guess songdogmi's meme makes sense. Respond. For all it's faults, I like LJ. Here it is;

I'm running a test to see who's reading my posts. So, if you read this, leave me a one-word comment about your day that starts with the third letter of your LJ USERNAME. Only one word please. Then repost so I can leave a word for you. Don't just post a word and not copy - that's not as much fun!
Tags: meme

I do read the daily paper most every day. Sometimes I read the print version but I mostly read the on line version. Most of the letters to the editor are fairly intelligent, but this one is so idiotic that I just couldn't let it pass.


Can no one keep coyotes out of city?
A coyote killed my dog Wednesday morning in what I thought was my "safe" yard, in five minutes. It is an extremely gruesome and traumatic experience.
Coyotes have been seen in this Pima/Swan residential area many times. This has not been desert for 60 years!
Neither Pima County Animal Control nor Game and Fish can do one thing about it because coyotes are wild animals - and if they cannot do something about it, who can?
They refer you to a trapping company at your own expense. Why do I have to pay for this service? Something is not right here. There should be some agency in charge of removing them at no expense.
This is only going to get worse as they breed. What can we do about this? If you have any suggestions, I would like to know.
Coyotes belong in the desert, not in the city.
Amyda Heitkamp
Retired, Tucson

Ummmm...Please tell me that you didn't have any kids, lady. First of all, Tucson is located in an environment called the Sonoran Desert. Said desert is natural habitat for certain animals such as mountain lions, bobcats, Mexican gray wolves and coyotes. They were here long before you were and will be here long after you have gone. Now, most animal groups such as the Humane Society of Southern Arizona make it pretty clear that the Sonoran Desert is not a safe place for people to let animals smaller than a horse roam outside unsupervised. Responsible pet owners have no problem with predators, as we do not ever allow our pets outside unsupervised. It's not the coyote's fault that you were too damned stupid to leave a tasty snack handy in the yard.

As for your yard not being desert? Get this. Tucson and Southern Arizona are deserts and have been so since time immemorial. You don't want to deal with coyotes? Feel free to go back to where you came from! I certainly hope that any animal breeders/shelters who read this letter black list you from owning another animal-you obviously do not know how to care for an animal in this environment.

Undoubtedly, that had to the the Bodhran I got from Mom and Dad. I have all sorts of drums (including Native American ones), but did not yet have a Bodhran. The Bodhran is an Irish drum that has one head and is played with one hand holding a small stick. A friend of ours has a Bodhran and I had always enjoyed playing it.

No and I hope that it stays that way. Rarely ever gets cold enough for snow to make it down to the desert floor and the ground is rarely cold enough for snow to accumulate. We do get snow on the surrounding mountains, though. Mostly we get rain and wind.