In article >,
Robert Carnegie > wrote:
>On Oct 29, 4:43*pm, (Dorothy J Heydt) wrote:
>> In article
>,
>> Robert Carnegie > wrote:
>>
>> >In some places, practitioners of law or religion (male, duh) end up
>> >dressing weird because their trade used to dress the same as any
>> >respectable gentleman, but over a few hundred years, the other
>> >respectable gentlemen changed style, and the uber-respectable lawyers
>> >or priests didn't.
>>
>> Well, the priests at my church are Dominicans, and they wear
>> their twelfth-century habit, which is a long tunic, scapular, and
>> hood, all in white. *They seldom wear the black _cappa_ over it
>> any more, which is a darned shame, because it looks so neat.
>>
>> http://godzdogz.op.org/2010/06/quodl...dominican-habi...
>>
>> (Third photo down, under the chair with the rosary.)
>
>That may be a bit different: not what everyone else was wearing at the
>time?

More or less. Tunic, tabard, cloak. The idea of monastics
wearing distinctive habits developed slowly; St. Benedict (6th
century) gave meticulous instructions about what his brothers
should wear, but there was nothing about distinctive colors.
Just "one heavy-weight tunic for winter, another, light-weight or
worn, for winter."

Note also that nuns' habits (most of which got simplified
recently, but that's another matter) have traditionally resembled
whatever respectable married women were wearing at the time the
Order was founded ... which is why the Daughters of Charity used
to wear those high-flying cornettes.

http://www.daughters-of-charity.org/...inistries.html

(second photo down)

They were all the rage in the fourteenth century:

http://www.revivalclothing.com/artic...thcentury.aspx

(sixth and last photo down)
>
>By the way, is that guy a dwarf?

Why, no, he looks to me like an ordinary young man in size and
proportions. Did the voluminous folds of the cappa make him look
short to you? (Note that he is wearing the cappa because it's a
special occasion: either he just took his solemn vows or he's
just been ordained.)

--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com
Should you wish to email me, you'd better use the gmail edress.
Kithrup's all spammy and hotmail's been hacked.

On Oct 29, 5:50*pm, David Harmon > wrote:
> On Thu, 27 Oct 2011 19:38:33 -0400 in rec.food.cooking, Kip Williams
> > wrote,
>
> >Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
> >> In >,
> >> Sea Wasp (Ryk E. > *wrote:
>
> >>> * *Ah, now, that's a wrinkle I hadn't thought of. Hang it from the belt
> >>> but let it "float" in the pocket, so it's confined in its movement but
> >>> doesn't put weight on the bottom. Clever.
>
> >> Yes, that would probably help. *Won't prevent the action of those
> >> nasty little teeth on the keys, though.
>
> >Luckily for me, at the moment only one of my usual keys has very sharp
> >teeth. The car keys are rather smooth.
>
> For a typical pin tumbler lock, only the flat bottoms of the key
> cuts matter. *You can take a piece of fine sandpaper or a file and
> smooth off the sharp bits without affecting the key function. *Check
> with a locksmith first if you aren't sure whether that would apply
> to your key.

Or, er, have a key copy made by someone who's got the necessary tools
to do the filing properly as well.

The keys in my pocket are in a sort of imitation lipstick container
with a rounded end - it was actually for a stick of candy - with the
handle parts trimmed down to fit, and an elastic band threaded through
the hole in each, then through two holes in the cap, and knotted.
Occasionally I have to replace the elastic band. But my trouser
pockets last pretty well these days. Oh, I also have a small, rounded
plastic candy box, from a brand they don't sell any more, to keep my
un-loose change in.

Other devices are available for these uses.

On Oct 29, 6:27*pm, (Dorothy J Heydt) wrote:
> In article >,
> Robert Carnegie > wrote:
>
> >By the way, is that guy a dwarf?
>
> Why, no, he looks to me like an ordinary young man in size and
> proportions. *Did the voluminous folds of the cappa make him look
> short to you?

Maybe. Is he in this pose underneath, perhaps?

<http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-6896...eauty-redhead-
woman-in-fashion-dress-standing-and-smiling-hands-on-knees-
isolated.html>

Sorry about the inevitably broken hyperlink - but if you google "hands
on knees", there's a lot of less suitable content for the point I'm
trying to make.

In article >,
Robert Carnegie > wrote:
>On Oct 29, 6:27*pm, (Dorothy J Heydt) wrote:
>> In article
>,
>> Robert Carnegie > wrote:
>>
>> >By the way, is that guy a dwarf?
>>
>> Why, no, he looks to me like an ordinary young man in size and
>> proportions. *Did the voluminous folds of the cappa make him look
>> short to you?
>
>Maybe. Is he in this pose underneath, perhaps?
>
><http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-6896...eauty-redhead-
>woman-in-fashion-dress-standing-and-smiling-hands-on-knees-
>isolated.html>

Of course not. He's standing up straight, wearing a rather wide
cloak that hangs from his shoulders. Really.

--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com
Should you wish to email me, you'd better use the gmail edress.
Kithrup's all spammy and hotmail's been hacked.

In article >,
Paul Arthur > wrote:

> On 2011-10-29, Robert Carnegie > wrote:
>
> > On Oct 29, 6:27Â*pm, (Dorothy J Heydt) wrote:
> >
> >> In article
> >> >
> >> , Robert Carnegie > wrote:
> >>
> >> >By the way, is that guy a dwarf?
> >>
> >> Why, no, he looks to me like an ordinary young man in size and
> >> proportions. Â*Did the voluminous folds of the cappa make him look
> >> short to you?
> >
> > Maybe. Is he in this pose underneath, perhaps?
> >
> ><http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-6896...eauty-redhead-
> >woman-in-fashion-dress-standing-and-smiling-hands-on-knees-
> >isolated.html>
> >
> > Sorry about the inevitably broken hyperlink

Worked fine for my newsreader.

> Instead of apologising, why not take steps to not break it?

I usually try to add angle brackets, but I really should add a shortened
URL also, because so many newsreaders don't handle URLs that span lines,
even with angle brackets.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA

In article >,
Charles Bishop > wrote:
>In article >, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
> wrote:
>
>>On 10/28/11 1:24 PM, Wayne Throop wrote:
>>> : "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. >
>>> : But if you have the seatbelt on you probably shouldn't be TRYING to
>>> : get the phone out; seatbelt implies you're driving somewhere.
>>>
>>> It does? What if you're a passenger?
>>>
>>
>> Ah. True. Though that could be annoying to the driver.
>>
>> I virtually never ride as a passenger, always drive. If I'm riding,
>>it's either because I have to (someone else's car) or I'm too
>>sick/exhausted to drive.
>
>You should take the train.

Assuming the train's going where you want to go, and you don't
have to try to sleep.

--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com
Should you wish to email me, you'd better use the gmail edress.
Kithrup's all spammy and hotmail's been hacked.

In article >, Howard Brazee
> wrote:

>On 27 Oct 2011 03:07:09 GMT, "John F. Eldredge" >
>wrote:
>
>>Probably the most terrifying thing I ever saw was the time I was in a
>>line of cars, stopped at a grade crossing as the train approached, and a
>>gasoline tanker-truck driver decided he didn't want to wait. He had to
>>zig-zag around the already-closed gates, and got clear of the crossing
>>only ten seconds or so before the train passed through. The engineer was
>>frantically blowing the locomotive horn, and had the train's brakes
>>locked, but the train was still moving thirty miles an hour or so when it
>>passed through the crossing.
>>
>>I wish I had had the presence of mind to note the truck number, as I
>>would have done my best to make sure that driver never had a license
>>again. However, I was too busy cringing, expecting to burn to death, and/
>>or be crushed, in the next few seconds.
>
>Nowadays, that would be on YouTube the next day.

Not a tanker truck, but there is a video of a truck getting smushed at a
crossing in Oxnard, CA.

The crossing is on a busyish street and the tracks are parallel and close
to a 2nd similar street. There is a gas station/store across from this and
the owner or manager of the station/store had noticed that for some
combinations of traffic signals vehicles sometimes got stuck on the tracks
at the crossing. So sie set up a video camera to show the authorities to
get them to change the settings. Before this happened though, a tractor
trailer was trapped on the tracks as a train came through. The driver
escaped unhurt, but the trailer was demolished.

I've forgotten what the combination of signals was, but the video shows
how the truck driver could be fooled into thinking he had the right of way
to proceed onto the tracks and then was trapped by the signals, both
traffic and train.

--
charles

In article >, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
> wrote:

>On 10/28/11 1:24 PM, Wayne Throop wrote:
>> : "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. >
>> : But if you have the seatbelt on you probably shouldn't be TRYING to
>> : get the phone out; seatbelt implies you're driving somewhere.
>>
>> It does? What if you're a passenger?
>>
>
> Ah. True. Though that could be annoying to the driver.
>
> I virtually never ride as a passenger, always drive. If I'm riding,
>it's either because I have to (someone else's car) or I'm too
>sick/exhausted to drive.

You should take the train.


--
charles

On 31/10/11 6:09 AM, Charles Bishop wrote:
> In >, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
> > wrote:
>
>> On 10/28/11 1:24 PM, Wayne Throop wrote:
>>> : "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. >
>>> : But if you have the seatbelt on you probably shouldn't be TRYING to
>>> : get the phone out; seatbelt implies you're driving somewhere.
>>>
>>> It does? What if you're a passenger?
>>>
>>
>> Ah. True. Though that could be annoying to the driver.
>>
>> I virtually never ride as a passenger, always drive. If I'm riding,
>> it's either because I have to (someone else's car) or I'm too
>> sick/exhausted to drive.
>
> You should take the train.
>
>
Trains don't usually start from where you are. Buses don't go where you
want to go. This is why we love the car.

--
Robert Bannister

In article
>,
Robert Carnegie > wrote:

[snip-it's not just a good idea, it's the Law]
>
>The keys in my pocket are in a sort of imitation lipstick container
>with a rounded end - it was actually for a stick of candy - with the
>handle parts trimmed down to fit, and an elastic band threaded through
>the hole in each, then through two holes in the cap, and knotted.
>Occasionally I have to replace the elastic band. But my trouser
>pockets last pretty well these days. Oh, I also have a small, rounded
>plastic candy box, from a brand they don't sell any more, to keep my
>un-loose change in.
>
>Other devices are available for these uses.

Depending on your age, you should get a snap purse for your change. I
found one in a box of "Things Saved Because, You Never Know, They Might Be
Useful Someday". Out with my sister and my son one day, I got amusement
from paying for something and counting change out of the purse "Here's a
quarter, . . . and here's a dime,. . . I think I have a nickel. . .yes,
here it is, and a penny . . . and another penny. . .and a penny." You have
to be able to do the quavery voice as well and add a small tremble to your
hands.

--
charles

On 10/30/11 6:09 PM, Charles Bishop wrote:
> In >, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
> > wrote:
>
>> On 10/28/11 1:24 PM, Wayne Throop wrote:
>>> : "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. >
>>> : But if you have the seatbelt on you probably shouldn't be TRYING to
>>> : get the phone out; seatbelt implies you're driving somewhere.
>>>
>>> It does? What if you're a passenger?
>>>
>>
>> Ah. True. Though that could be annoying to the driver.
>>
>> I virtually never ride as a passenger, always drive. If I'm riding,
>> it's either because I have to (someone else's car) or I'm too
>> sick/exhausted to drive.
>
> You should take the train.
>

Hate 'em. And they don't go where I want to go, nor are they convenient
for me to get to assuming they did.


--
Sea Wasp
/^\
;;;
Website: http://www.grandcentralarena.com Blog:
http://seawasp.livejournal.com

On Oct 30, 10:27*pm, (Charles Bishop) wrote:
> Depending on your age, you should get a snap purse for your change. I
> found one in a box of "Things Saved Because, You Never Know, They Might Be
> Useful Someday". Out with my sister and my son one day, I got amusement
> from paying for something and counting change out of the purse "Here's a
> quarter, . . . and here's a dime,. . . I think I have a nickel. . .yes,
> here it is, and a penny . . . and another penny. . .and a penny." You have
> to be able to do the quavery voice as well and add a small tremble to your
> hands.

I suppose, but they look rather hard work. Even without the acting.

I've also used a "tray purse", a pocket-sized container with a lid
that you can t�ip coins into to pick from.

It also occurred to me that a baby's sock would do for a pocketable
coin-sack, but also would be kind of weird.

Anyway, you can buy things with a plastic card nowadays, but I gather
that the minimum charge to the retailer for a transaction is a big
slice off a small transaction - of course arguably that's their
problem, not ours. For that matter, I think a credit card company
takes about $2 of every $100 - again, the retailer's disadvantage, not
so much yours.

In article >,
Robert Carnegie > wrote:
>
>Anyway, you can buy things with a plastic card nowadays, but I gather
>that the minimum charge to the retailer for a transaction is a big
>slice off a small transaction - of course arguably that's their
>problem, not ours. For that matter, I think a credit card company
>takes about $2 of every $100 - again, the retailer's disadvantage, not
>so much yours.

Except that the retailer raises his prices to cover it.

--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com
Should you wish to email me, you'd better use the gmail edress.
Kithrup's all spammy and hotmail's been hacked.

Robert Carnegie > wrote:

>Anyway, you can buy things with a plastic card nowadays, but I gather
>that the minimum charge to the retailer for a transaction is a big
>slice off a small transaction - of course arguably that's their
>problem, not ours. For that matter, I think a credit card company
>takes about $2 of every $100 - again, the retailer's disadvantage, not
>so much yours.

According to a hardware store owner that I was talking to in 1997, the
Canadian debit charge was 15 cents per transaction of any size, plus
the monthly rental of the machine and account to handle the payments.

The Canadian debit system was set up completely differently than the
US version, so your charges may be different.

For a while, a Toronto company was trying to promote a RFID tag
payment scheme for small payments. You'd reload your keychain dexxit
dongle from your charge card online, then use the Dexit "tap it"
payment for small charges.

http://dexit.com/
http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/e...s.asp?id=40121
(Most of the web site for dexit now gives "temporarily unavailable",
and there's exactly one site to "buy" the tags. I presume that the
"buy tags" address is really where you get a refund for the remaining
stored value in your tag.)
--
"If the Gods Had Meant Us to Vote They Would Have Given Us Candidates" (Jim Hightower)

On 1/11/11 4:08 AM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
> On Oct 30, 10:27 pm, (Charles Bishop) wrote:
>> Depending on your age, you should get a snap purse for your change. I
>> found one in a box of "Things Saved Because, You Never Know, They Might Be
>> Useful Someday". Out with my sister and my son one day, I got amusement
>> from paying for something and counting change out of the purse "Here's a
>> quarter, . . . and here's a dime,. . . I think I have a nickel. . .yes,
>> here it is, and a penny . . . and another penny. . .and a penny." You have
>> to be able to do the quavery voice as well and add a small tremble to your
>> hands.
>
> I suppose, but they look rather hard work. Even without the acting.
>
> I've also used a "tray purse", a pocket-sized container with a lid
> that you can t�ip coins into to pick from.
>
> It also occurred to me that a baby's sock would do for a pocketable
> coin-sack, but also would be kind of weird.

Use a bigger sock and then you've got something to bash people over the
head with should you feel the urge.

The way prices are at the moment in my part of Australia, I find I
either have $20 worth of coins weighing my pants down or else none at
all. Every shop I go into, I seem to pay a $50 note and get virtually no
change back; some shops require more than one note. Also my jar where I
used to collect $2 coins is getting depleted - because I never seem to
have any notes smaller than $50, every time I have a plumber or whatever
round, I find I have to make up the odd ten bucks in coins, and I forget
to restock the jar.


--
Robert Bannister

On Oct 31, 8:29*pm, (Dorothy J Heydt) wrote:
> In article >,
> Robert Carnegie > wrote:
>
>
>
> >Anyway, you can buy things with a plastic card nowadays, but I gather
> >that the minimum charge to the retailer for a transaction is a big
> >slice off a small transaction - of course arguably that's their
> >problem, not ours. *For that matter, I think a credit card company
> >takes about $2 of every $100 - again, the retailer's disadvantage, not
> >so much yours.
>
> Except that the retailer raises his prices to cover it.

Well, yes and no. If you buy, say, a newspaper with non-cash, the
cost to you is probably the same as for the same newspaper bought with
any kind of money anywhere. (Except on the iPad et cetera, and there
I think Apple takes either one-third or two-thirds of what you pay.)

I've seen payment methods (cheque) refused in advance (by a notice)
for small amounts, and this could be why. But perhaps retailers with
the latest terminals are obliged to allow them for any amount. I've
al o seen surcharges - for instance the credit card fee

Robert Bannister > wrote:

>Yes. I have experienced that deathly quiet of the country after city
>life too. Almost scary at first, but humans can get used to anything.

For much of the eighties I lived a half-mile from a huge smelter.
Every summer, they shut down just about everything for a two week
maintenance and vacations period.

I would generally just be starting to learn to be able to sleep in the
silence when everything would start up again.
--
"If the Gods Had Meant Us to Vote They Would Have Given Us Candidates" (Jim Hightower)

On 1/11/11 9:43 AM, Robert Carnegie wrote:
> On Oct 31, 8:29 pm, (Dorothy J Heydt) wrote:
>> In >,
>> Robert > wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>> Anyway, you can buy things with a plastic card nowadays, but I gather
>>> that the minimum charge to the retailer for a transaction is a big
>>> slice off a small transaction - of course arguably that's their
>>> problem, not ours. For that matter, I think a credit card company
>>> takes about $2 of every $100 - again, the retailer's disadvantage, not
>>> so much yours.
>>
>> Except that the retailer raises his prices to cover it.
>
> Well, yes and no. If you buy, say, a newspaper with non-cash, the
> cost to you is probably the same as for the same newspaper bought with
> any kind of money anywhere. (Except on the iPad et cetera, and there
> I think Apple takes either one-third or two-thirds of what you pay.)
>
> I've seen payment methods (cheque) refused in advance (by a notice)
> for small amounts, and this could be why. But perhaps retailers with
> the latest terminals are obliged to allow them for any amount. I've
> al o seen surcharges - for instance the credit card fee

Most small shops round my way have signs with "No EFTPOS under $10".
Some make the limit $20.

--
Robert Bannister

In article >, (Dorothy J
Heydt) wrote:

>In article >,
>Charles Bishop > wrote:
>>In article >, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
> wrote:
>>
>>>On 10/28/11 1:24 PM, Wayne Throop wrote:
>>>> : "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. >
>>>> : But if you have the seatbelt on you probably shouldn't be TRYING to
>>>> : get the phone out; seatbelt implies you're driving somewhere.
>>>>
>>>> It does? What if you're a passenger?
>>>>
>>>
>>> Ah. True. Though that could be annoying to the driver.
>>>
>>> I virtually never ride as a passenger, always drive. If I'm riding,
>>>it's either because I have to (someone else's car) or I'm too
>>>sick/exhausted to drive.
>>
>>You should take the train.
>
>Assuming the train's going where you want to go, and you don't
>have to try to sleep.

See my reply to Mr. Wasp. I knew he didn't like the train and so suggested
that he take it. This is what passes for humor for me.

--
Charles

In article >, Robert Bannister
> wrote:

>On 31/10/11 6:09 AM, Charles Bishop wrote:
>> In >, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> On 10/28/11 1:24 PM, Wayne Throop wrote:
>>>> : "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. >
>>>> : But if you have the seatbelt on you probably shouldn't be TRYING to
>>>> : get the phone out; seatbelt implies you're driving somewhere.
>>>>
>>>> It does? What if you're a passenger?
>>>>
>>>
>>> Ah. True. Though that could be annoying to the driver.
>>>
>>> I virtually never ride as a passenger, always drive. If I'm riding,
>>> it's either because I have to (someone else's car) or I'm too
>>> sick/exhausted to drive.
>>
>> You should take the train.
>>
>>
>Trains don't usually start from where you are. Buses don't go where you
>want to go. This is why we love the car.

See my reply to Mr. Wasp (amd also Ms Heydt). I knew he didn't like the
train and so suggested that he take it. This is what passes for humor for
me.

--
charles

In article >, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
> wrote:

>On 10/30/11 6:09 PM, Charles Bishop wrote:
>> In >, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> On 10/28/11 1:24 PM, Wayne Throop wrote:
>>>> : "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. >
>>>> : But if you have the seatbelt on you probably shouldn't be TRYING to
>>>> : get the phone out; seatbelt implies you're driving somewhere.
>>>>
>>>> It does? What if you're a passenger?
>>>>
>>>
>>> Ah. True. Though that could be annoying to the driver.
>>>
>>> I virtually never ride as a passenger, always drive. If I'm riding,
>>> it's either because I have to (someone else's car) or I'm too
>>> sick/exhausted to drive.
>>
>> You should take the train.
>>
>
> Hate 'em. And they don't go where I want to go, nor are they
convenient
>for me to get to assuming they did.

I knew this and so suggested you take the train; this is what passes for
humor for me.

--
charles, see also other replies, bishop

On 11/7/11 3:16 PM, Charles Bishop wrote:
> In >, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
> > wrote:
>
>> On 10/30/11 6:09 PM, Charles Bishop wrote:
>>> In >, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 10/28/11 1:24 PM, Wayne Throop wrote:
>>>>> : "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. >
>>>>> : But if you have the seatbelt on you probably shouldn't be TRYING to
>>>>> : get the phone out; seatbelt implies you're driving somewhere.
>>>>>
>>>>> It does? What if you're a passenger?
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Ah. True. Though that could be annoying to the driver.
>>>>
>>>> I virtually never ride as a passenger, always drive. If I'm riding,
>>>> it's either because I have to (someone else's car) or I'm too
>>>> sick/exhausted to drive.
>>>
>>> You should take the train.
>>>
>>
>> Hate 'em. And they don't go where I want to go, nor are they
> convenient
>> for me to get to assuming they did.
>
> I knew this and so suggested you take the train; this is what passes for
> humor for me.
>

You are funny, Charles. That is why we kill you last.


--
Sea Wasp
/^\
;;;
Website: http://www.grandcentralarena.com Blog:
http://seawasp.livejournal.com

On 2011-10-28, Dorothy J Heydt > wrote:
> In article >,
> Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) > wrote:
>
>> But if you have the seatbelt on you probably shouldn't be TRYING to get
>>the phone out; seatbelt implies you're driving somewhere.
>
> No it doesn't. You could be a passenger. Standard car has one
> driver's and three passengers' seats.

And usually only one person inside.

On 2011-10-25, Greg Goss > wrote:
>
> Back in the early nineties, a friend of mine lived near a railway on
> filled-in land. At that point, the railway finally reaches cruising
> speed after spending most of the time near Vancouver at slower speeds.
>
> The friend had spent much effort trying to come up with a turntable
> design that could ignore the house shaking every time a high-speed
> freight went by. The attempt I saw involved four long, soft elastics
> to a stand, with stabilizing elastics from the corners downwards to
> keep it from swinging. The stylus still couldn't stay in the groove
> when the train went by.

Lucky for him, the CD had come out by then.

On 11/14/11 12:27 PM, Jesper Lauridsen wrote:
> On 2011-10-28, Dorothy J > wrote:
>> In >,
>> Sea Wasp (Ryk E. > wrote:
>>
>>> But if you have the seatbelt on you probably shouldn't be TRYING to get
>>> the phone out; seatbelt implies you're driving somewhere.
>>
>> No it doesn't. You could be a passenger. Standard car has one
>> driver's and three passengers' seats.
>
> And usually only one person inside.

Or even more usually, with zero people inside.

Jesper Lauridsen wrote:
> On 2011-10-25, Greg > wrote:
>>
>> Back in the early nineties, a friend of mine lived near a railway on
>> filled-in land. At that point, the railway finally reaches cruising
>> speed after spending most of the time near Vancouver at slower speeds.
>>
>> The friend had spent much effort trying to come up with a turntable
>> design that could ignore the house shaking every time a high-speed
>> freight went by. The attempt I saw involved four long, soft elastics
>> to a stand, with stabilizing elastics from the corners downwards to
>> keep it from swinging. The stylus still couldn't stay in the groove
>> when the train went by.
>
> Lucky for him, the CD had come out by then.

Around 1980, I set out to record a very beat-up comedy LP that was full
of skips, jumps, and scratches, and even had a tear of an inch or so on
the outside edge. At times, I was trying a dozen times to get one clear
revolution on tape so I could proceed to the next.

It was complicated a little by two outside factors. CB users would come
in from the east on highway 14. If the light on College Avenue was red,
they just had to get on the hammer and tell their good amigos all about
it. The signal managed to get into my system, and I'd have to redo
whatever I'd just gotten. Also, there was a cab dispatcher on our alley,
and apparently they whiled the idle hours away (when they weren't
actually squawking through my speakers) playing with the microphone
button, thus introducing various clicks and squeaks.

I was in a fine state when I finished, but for the first time in years,
I had a listenable copy of Spike Jones's "Omnibust." A couple of decades
later, a friend made me a dub of his stereo copy, but it was good to
have my own, since his had a skip also, and I was able to fill that in
from what I had. A while after that, I bought a pristine copy online,
and it's now possible to get it on CD or as a download.

I'm quite content with what I have, though. I've even thought idly of
ripping my old cassette copy to mp3, out of sentiment. It's the first
record I ever owned.


Kip W

On Nov 14, 12:27*pm, Jesper Lauridsen >
wrote:

> Lucky for him, the CD had come out by then.

True enough. One way to achieve a high degree of vibration isolation
would be to use several squares of foam rubber, with a thick slab of
heavy metal between each of them.

The repeated impedance mismatch for vibration at the interfaces
between the soft foam and the heavy metal will attenuate vibrations.
Ideally, also use different thicknesses and stiffnesses of foam, and
metal slabs of different weight and thickness, so as to avoid any
consistent resonances.

John Savard