| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369767 is a reply to message #369661] |
Sat, 30 June 2018 08:55   |
|
|
Originally posted by: Bud Frede
Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> writes:
> On 2018-06-27, AndyW <Andy@nojunqmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>> Nostalgia is a lovely country until you go there and visit.
>
> Nostalgia ain't what it used to be.
I'm glad that I have a modern, powerful and inexpensive computer with
which to discuss all the computing equipment and software I used in the
past. :-)
I've used some pretty amazing hardware and software in the past (amazing
for the time), but what we have now is also really amazing and is
inexpensive.
You can buy a cheap laptop or desktop computer and run Linux or FreeBSD
on it and have computing resources I wouldn't even have thought to dream
of back when I got started.
Of course, as more capable hardware and software has been made available
to us, it has also become available to those who would exploit us.
Perhaps we should really be nostalgic for the days when we had more privacy?
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369768 is a reply to message #369733] |
Sat, 30 June 2018 09:06 |
|
|
Originally posted by: Bud Frede
Peter Flass <peter_flass@yahoo.com> writes:
>
> Getting ready to sell my Olympus in a garage sale, and there's a good
> possibility no one will want it. I want to cry. That camera took wonderful
> pictures, even with my limited knowledge of appropriate settings, but
> dead-tree pictures are in the past now.
>
> I think you can get good digital SLR cameras, but the cost is about the
> same as a good film camera, you're paying for the optics.
I'm still using some of the lenses I bought in the '70s for a Nikon
SLR. I use them with a Nikon digital SLR.
The lenses also work on the Nikon F I inherited from my father and that he
bought in the '60s.
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369769 is a reply to message #369759] |
Sat, 30 June 2018 09:11 |
|
|
Originally posted by: J. Clarke
On 30 Jun 2018 07:23:38 GMT, mausg@mail.com wrote:
> On 2018-06-30, Mike Spencer <mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:
>>
>> Michael Black <mblack@pubnix.net> writes:
>>
>>> On Wed, 28 Jun 2018, Mike Spencer wrote:
>>>
>>> [big snip]
>>>
>>> the property) until he dies and it's a goldmine of old stuff. So in the
>>> antique radio hobby, people find places like that and come home loaded
>>> when the stuff is finally cleared out. Or someoen finds a stock of old
>>> toys because they were left in the back of some old store now being
>>> cleared out.
>>
>> I happened on such a 2- or 3-generations family hardware store of that
>> sort having a close-out sale nearly 50 years ago. Bought stuff I
>> reckoned I'd never see again, even if I would never need it. Some
>> things I'm using about now for the first time. Broom maker's needle.
>> Or have always been the only person I know that has some. Special
>> files for sharpening brace bits.
>>
>> Sic transit gloria mundi.
>>
>
> What is happening here (.ie) is that a lot of the small stores just closed
> and could nt be viably reopened during the Crash. People are renting them
> now shortterm, run them for a while, see if it could pay. _There_ is nothing
> as depressing as sitting in a car in a town center, with everything boarded
> up. All gone to the Malls, which will will decompose as Amazon taakes over.
Took a walk through the local mall the other night. Sears gone, Macys
(2 big stores) gone, Hallmark's gone, Hot Topic is gone, American
Eagle's gone, all the restaurants are gone, what's left is local
businesses, cell phone kiosks, one of the jewelers, Target, and the
theater.
It's not all Amazon's doing though. Fact is that I shopped those
stores while they were there as much as I shopped Amazon, and until
someone comes up with really standardized sizing, buying clothes on
Amazon is a crapshoot. And now I compare Best Buy and Micro Center
with Amazon before I buy--often Best Buy beats Amazon, and sometimes
Micro Center beats both by enough to pay for gas and Mass Pike tolls
to run up to Boston.
> For myself, I love Amazon, being partly disabled. I can still get all
> sorts of books, wirelessly.
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369770 is a reply to message #369768] |
Sat, 30 June 2018 09:17 |
|
|
Originally posted by: J. Clarke
On Sat, 30 Jun 2018 09:06:34 -0400, Bud Frede <frede@mouse-potato.com>
wrote:
> Peter Flass <peter_flass@yahoo.com> writes:
>
>>
>> Getting ready to sell my Olympus in a garage sale, and there's a good
>> possibility no one will want it. I want to cry. That camera took wonderful
>> pictures, even with my limited knowledge of appropriate settings, but
>> dead-tree pictures are in the past now.
>>
>> I think you can get good digital SLR cameras, but the cost is about the
>> same as a good film camera, you're paying for the optics.
>
> I'm still using some of the lenses I bought in the '70s for a Nikon
> SLR. I use them with a Nikon digital SLR.
>
> The lenses also work on the Nikon F I inherited from my father and that he
> bought in the '60s.
The big change in lens mounts for most manufacturers wasn't related to
going digital, it was related to incorporating autofocus, which
requires some way to adjust the lens focus under electronic control.
Most of the current mounts predate digital by several years.
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369771 is a reply to message #369701] |
Sat, 30 June 2018 09:18 |
|
|
Originally posted by: Bud Frede
Michael Black <mblack@pubnix.net> writes:
>
> All the local electronic parts stores that I went to as a kid starting
> in 1971 are gone. They had old stuff because they'd been around that
> long. But the area where a bunch of them were has long been
> redeveloped, sort of the same situation as "Radio Row" in New York
> City. But also changing needs made those old stores less viable,
> fewer people wanting tube era parts, while the stores never fully
> adapted to solid state parts.
In my area, there was one section of town where there were a number of
electronics parts stores, several of which carried a lot of surplus
parts.
Then the local baseball team blackmailed the city into building a new
field and they condemned the whole neighborhood where the parts stores
were.
So now we have a baseball field I never go to, and the parts I had so
much fun with are gone.
(I stopped going to baseball games after the bastards went on strike. In
fact, I no longer pay any attention to the various Sports, Inc. events.
If I go to a game it's Little League or Peewee Football, or games at
the local high school. Everything else is just too commercial.)
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369774 is a reply to message #369767] |
Sat, 30 June 2018 09:55 |
Ahem A Rivet's Shot
Messages: 4843
Registered: January 2012
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
On Sat, 30 Jun 2018 08:55:01 -0400
Bud Frede <frede@mouse-potato.com> wrote:
> Perhaps we should really be nostalgic for the days when we had more
> privacy?
Privacy isn't that hard just don't use the internet :) Works just
as well with today's multi-gigahertz machines as it did with a 4MHz Z80.
--
Steve O'Hara-Smith | Directable Mirror Arrays
C:\>WIN | A better way to focus the sun
The computer obeys and wins. | licences available see
You lose and Bill collects. | http://www.sohara.org/
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369775 is a reply to message #369761] |
Sat, 30 June 2018 10:31 |
mausg
Messages: 2483
Registered: May 2013
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
On 2018-06-30, Ahem A Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> wrote:
> On 30 Jun 2018 07:23:38 GMT
> mausg@mail.com wrote:
>
>> What is happening here (.ie) is that a lot of the small stores just closed
>> and could nt be viably reopened during the Crash. People are renting them
>> now shortterm, run them for a while, see if it could pay. _There_ is
>> nothing as depressing as sitting in a car in a town center, with
>> everything boarded up. All gone to the Malls, which will will decompose
>> as Amazon taakes over.
>
> Thankfully there's far less of that in the rural areas. The small
> shops are still here and Malls are rare outside of the larger cities.
>
> My village has two busy food shops, an excellent hardware shop that
> in the last decade has only failed me two or three times, a pharmacy, a
> post office, a couple of hairdressers, a decent mechanic, a really good tyre
> place (it might pay to drive from Dublin to buy four tyres from him), a few
> pubs, a bookie and of course a big creamery (erm agricultural supplier).
>
> The nearest town (not counting a seaside town which is also in
> good shape for what it is) sports *two* thriving builder's merchants a
> decent supermarket and a plethora of useful small shops most of which have
> been there for decades. There are a couple of spots which permanently hold
> the latest computer or phone repair service.
>
> The nearest big city (Limerick) OTOH is a mess, but hey it's
> Limerick - Tralee and Killarney are both in good shape with busy centres.
Puck fair coming up?
--
greymaus.ireland.ie
Just_Another_Grumpy_Old_Man
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369782 is a reply to message #369759] |
Sat, 30 June 2018 12:42 |
Charlie Gibbs
Messages: 5313
Registered: January 2012
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
On 2018-06-30, mausg@mail.com <mausg@mail.com> wrote:
> What is happening here (.ie) is that a lot of the small stores just closed
> and could nt be viably reopened during the Crash. People are renting them
> now shortterm, run them for a while, see if it could pay. _There_ is nothing
> as depressing as sitting in a car in a town center, with everything boarded
> up. All gone to the Malls, which will will decompose as Amazon taakes over.
Around here, even the smaller malls have increasing numbers of boarded-up
shops. With the exception of Sears, it's mostly the small independent
businesses. Travel is becoming quite boring - no matter where you go,
it's the same set of big-box stores. No variety.
Now Main Street's whitewashed buildings and vacant stores.
Seems like there ain't nobody wants to come down here no more.
They're closing down the textile mill 'cross the railroad track.
Foreman says these jobs are going, boys, and they ain't coming back
To your home town.
-- Bruce Springsteen
--
/~\ cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid (Charlie Gibbs)
\ / I'm really at ac.dekanfrus if you read it the right way.
X Top-posted messages will probably be ignored. See RFC1855.
/ \ Fight low-contrast text in web pages! http://contrastrebellion.com
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369783 is a reply to message #369766] |
Sat, 30 June 2018 12:49 |
|
|
Originally posted by: Brian Reay
On 30/06/2018 13:36, Bob Eager wrote:
> On Sat, 30 Jun 2018 09:07:41 +0100, Brian Reay wrote:
>
>> I still have the kit to do BW processing (it was something I taught our
>> children) and some 35 mm cameras, including a couple of CRFs. I get the
>> urge every now and them to load up a film etc but the whole process is
>> just to tedious. Not so much the actual processing - that is quite
>> quick-
>> but getting the improvised darkroom ready etc.
>
> When I was at school, I got into making black and white transparencies,
> using normal black and white film. Great fun, and used a lot of that in a
> school project. Had the kit for years.
>
Prior to going to Uni, I had a gap year working as a Lab Tech in a
school. One of the interview questions was "Could you set up a
darkroom." I'd never done any developing etc before but, working on the
principle I could read up on it (this was before the internet) I said
yes. I got the job. A few trips to the local library etc and all was well.
--
Suspect someone is claiming a benefit under false pretences? Incapacity
Benefit or Personal Independence Payment when they don't need it? They
are depriving those in real need!
https://www.gov.uk/report-benefit-fraud
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369787 is a reply to message #369750] |
Sat, 30 June 2018 13:50 |
hancock4
Messages: 6746
Registered: December 2011
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
On Friday, June 29, 2018 at 2:16:04 PM UTC-4, Scott Lurndal wrote:
> I've got about 8 unexposed rolls of Kodak ASA100 sitting in the fridge that I
> don't know what to do with.
Unless they are Kodachrome, there are still places that develop
film, especially color print (C-41) film. You might as well take
some pictures.
Hint: Many places offer an optional CD along with the prints.
I suggest that, as it makes emailing or retouching your pictures easier.
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369788 is a reply to message #369760] |
Sat, 30 June 2018 13:54 |
hancock4
Messages: 6746
Registered: December 2011
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
On Saturday, June 30, 2018 at 4:08:09 AM UTC-4, Brian Reay wrote:
> I still have the kit to do BW processing (it was something I taught our
> children) and some 35 mm cameras, including a couple of CRFs. I get the
> urge every now and them to load up a film etc but the whole process is
> just to tedious. Not so much the actual processing - that is quite
> quick- but getting the improvised darkroom ready etc.
While Kodak no longer makes chemicals, other companies do, such as Ilford.
For instance:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/browse/Darkroom-Equipment/ci/ 4942/N/4288586562
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369789 is a reply to message #369769] |
Sat, 30 June 2018 13:56 |
hancock4
Messages: 6746
Registered: December 2011
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
On Saturday, June 30, 2018 at 9:12:03 AM UTC-4, J. Clarke wrote:
> It's not all Amazon's doing though. Fact is that I shopped those
> stores while they were there as much as I shopped Amazon, and until
> someone comes up with really standardized sizing, buying clothes on
> Amazon is a crapshoot. And now I compare Best Buy and Micro Center
> with Amazon before I buy--often Best Buy beats Amazon, and sometimes
> Micro Center beats both by enough to pay for gas and Mass Pike tolls
> to run up to Boston.
buying clothing is frustrating. Old Navy seems to run very large,
their stuff swims on me. But other makers are too small.
I'm still pissed at Staples/IBM for their too-small S/360 t-shirt
which they wouldn't exchange, even though they admitted it was
sized wrong.
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369790 is a reply to message #369770] |
Sat, 30 June 2018 14:13 |
hancock4
Messages: 6746
Registered: December 2011
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
On Saturday, June 30, 2018 at 9:17:53 AM UTC-4, J. Clarke wrote:
>> I'm still using some of the lenses I bought in the '70s for a Nikon
>> SLR. I use them with a Nikon digital SLR.
>>
>> The lenses also work on the Nikon F I inherited from my father and that he
>> bought in the '60s.
>
> The big change in lens mounts for most manufacturers wasn't related to
> going digital, it was related to incorporating autofocus, which
> requires some way to adjust the lens focus under electronic control.
> Most of the current mounts predate digital by several years.
Nikon went to a lot of trouble to maintain compatibility with older
lens on new cameras. Nikon had one major change some years ago
(to AI) for exposure metering and very old lens needed a mod.
But moderately old lens (1980) will work on their digital cameras,
some even will work automatically.
One nice thing about staying with Nikon was that I was able to
reuse my protection-filters and some other accessories, so there
was some savings there.
As an aside, I took a few slides of our S/360 and 90/30. Now I
wish I had a lot more detailed stuff. But the K64 slide film was
slow for indoor work and my early camera was limited which made
it difficult (a rangefinder can't get in as close as an SLR).
In hindsight, I wish I got into photography and had a good camera
back in high school. We had a shopping district and it'd be great
today if I had done a photo study of the stores--the merchandise,
décor, shoppers, owners, etc. I also wish I had shots of our
Teletype and cord switchboard (although there are many generic
shots of them.)
One challenge back then was that films were slow and to do anything
decent without flash one had to lug around a tripod and set up a
shot with time exposures; this was all quite cumbersome. Further,
in taking a shot of an active business, the owner might not object
to quick snap, but would to a tripod blocking the aisle. I remember
our operator allowing me to get in to take a _quick_ shot of the S/360
console, and explicitly telling me to get in and out quickly so as
not to disrupt her work.
To do color, one would need an FLD filter for the fluorescent lighting.
To do good b&w, one would need a full darkroom to make their own
prints. That all could get costly. Photography was fun, but it
wasn't a cheap hobby.
One nice thing about my DSLR is that it shoots good quality 800-speed
pictures, adjust for any light source, and can do good quality b&w
as well as color. I think the cost of that, adjusted for inflation,
was cheaper than my film SLR.
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369793 is a reply to message #369769] |
Sat, 30 June 2018 14:58 |
Mike Spencer
Messages: 997
Registered: January 2012
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
J. Clarke <jclarke.873638@gmail.com> writes:
> Took a walk through the local mall the other night. Sears gone, Macys
> (2 big stores) gone, Hallmark's gone, Hot Topic is gone, American
> Eagle's gone, all the restaurants are gone, what's left is local
> businesses, cell phone kiosks, one of the jewelers, Target, and the
> theater.
>
> It's not all Amazon's doing though.
Private equity fund does a leveraged takeover of a retail chain. Dumps
the debt onto the biz, flogs discernable assets, finds away to unload,
leaving the chain with the debt, stripped of assets and with its
internal structure and supply chain mangled.
--
Mike Spencer Nova Scotia, Canada
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369794 is a reply to message #369782] |
Sat, 30 June 2018 15:06 |
|
|
Originally posted by: JimP
On 30 Jun 2018 16:42:22 GMT, Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid>
wrote:
> On 2018-06-30, mausg@mail.com <mausg@mail.com> wrote:
>
>> What is happening here (.ie) is that a lot of the small stores just closed
>> and could nt be viably reopened during the Crash. People are renting them
>> now shortterm, run them for a while, see if it could pay. _There_ is nothing
>> as depressing as sitting in a car in a town center, with everything boarded
>> up. All gone to the Malls, which will will decompose as Amazon taakes over.
>
> Around here, even the smaller malls have increasing numbers of boarded-up
> shops. With the exception of Sears, it's mostly the small independent
> businesses. Travel is becoming quite boring - no matter where you go,
> it's the same set of big-box stores. No variety.
>
> Now Main Street's whitewashed buildings and vacant stores.
> Seems like there ain't nobody wants to come down here no more.
> They're closing down the textile mill 'cross the railroad track.
> Foreman says these jobs are going, boys, and they ain't coming back
> To your home town.
> -- Bruce Springsteen
Sears nearest me looks like a ghost town... and that is with the
employees in there.
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369797 is a reply to message #369788] |
Sat, 30 June 2018 15:57 |
|
|
Originally posted by: J. Clarke
On Sat, 30 Jun 2018 10:54:22 -0700 (PDT), hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
> On Saturday, June 30, 2018 at 4:08:09 AM UTC-4, Brian Reay wrote:
>
>> I still have the kit to do BW processing (it was something I taught our
>> children) and some 35 mm cameras, including a couple of CRFs. I get the
>> urge every now and them to load up a film etc but the whole process is
>> just to tedious. Not so much the actual processing - that is quite
>> quick- but getting the improvised darkroom ready etc.
>
> While Kodak no longer makes chemicals, other companies do, such as Ilford.
> For instance:
>
> https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/browse/Darkroom-Equipment/ci/ 4942/N/4288586562
So? He didn't say he couldn't get chemicals, he said setting up the
darkroom was a pain in the butt. Maybe you are (a) not a photographer
or (b) some rich flake who can afford a permanent darkroom in his
house, but for the rest of us we have to block off all light leaks in
the room and then set up the enlarger and the trays and whatnot. The
room has to have running water which means either the bathroom or the
kitchen, and the bathroom usually doesn't have enough counter space so
by default it's the kitchen. And once you're done you have to take it
all down again.
>
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369799 is a reply to message #369758] |
Sat, 30 June 2018 16:46 |
|
|
Originally posted by: nobody
On 30 Jun 2018 00:12:45 -0300, Mike Spencer
<mds@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:
>
> nobody@example.org (Scott) writes:
>
>> Voodoo administration. I actually get paid for something like that,
>> but it involves expensive industry specific software with all kinds of
>> DRM that's deliberately dense and not made to be understood. It's
>> scary that I can keep things working without really understanding how,
>> and scarier still that this meager knowledge is somehow valuable
>> enough to earn me a living wage. I can't tell if my job's at risk
>> because I can't explain what I do, or if I'm safe because nobody else
>> can figure it out either.
>
> Yow. Sounds like a science fiction story. My febrile imagination
> says neither you nor any cow orkers you know have any idea what the
> business does. You go to work on a private windowless subway car so
> you don't even know where it is. Once a week there's a long rant over
> the PA system in a language you can't identify, full of alien clicks
> and sibilants. And just once, you found what looked like a surgical
> instrument for getting at the midbrain dropped behind the trash can in
> the men's room.
Well, my job takes place at a public institute of higher learning. If
there's a PA system there, it doesn't work, but aside from that I
can't say much else with any real confidence. The sunshine outside
seems real enough most days.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369801 is a reply to message #369794] |
Sat, 30 June 2018 17:51 |
Michael Black
Messages: 2799
Registered: February 2012
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
On Sat, 30 Jun 2018, JimP wrote:
> Sears nearest me looks like a ghost town... and that is with the
> employees in there.
>
Sears in Canada died last year. I can't remember if it was a bankruptcy
or they just decided to shut down. On the other hand, apparently Toys 'R
Us is doing okay here, so it will remain after the US operation shuts down
(if that hasn't happened already).
Then there was Target. A big announcement they were moving to Canada,
some years in advance. They bought the rights to the stores of an
existing chain, which slowly closed down over a few years. Then a wait
while Target renovated the stores. About a year later they announced they
were closing in Canada, it would take too long to be profitable.
They should have thought of that before they started. I was still looking
for where things were, the nearest store was just a bit over a year old.
It takes time to adjust. They claim people had too much expectation, from
going to the US along the border and buying there, but I'd never been in
the place before they opened in Canada. I'd go looking for soemthing in
the flyer, and couldn't find it, either because it wasn't in stock, or I
was still trying to find where things were.
Michael
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369802 is a reply to message #369604] |
Sat, 30 June 2018 17:55 |
Alfred Falk
Messages: 195
Registered: June 2012
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> wrote in
news:fpmflvFgpucU3@mid.individual.net:
> On 2018-06-29, Peter Flass <peter_flass@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> [38 lines snipped]
>
>> Getting ready to sell my Olympus in a garage sale, and there's a good
>> possibility no one will want it.
>
> I'm afraid so. I traded in all my OM stuff a few years ago and went
> Nikon, vowing never to spend another penny with Olympus, because they
> stiffed their loyal OM customers when they went digital by changing the
> lens mounting system, unlike Nikon, where decades old lenses can still
> be used (with limitations) on digital bodies. I got a few pounds for 2
> OM2 bodies and a number of lenses that probably cost me many hundreds
> of pounds.
>
>> I want to cry. That camera took wonderful
>> pictures, even with my limited knowledge of appropriate settings, but
>> dead-tree pictures are in the past now.
>
> Yep. Get used to it!
>
>> I think you can get good digital SLR cameras, but the cost is about
>> the same as a good film camera, you're paying for the optics.
>
> Precisely.
>
> I saw someone using a portable CD player yesterday. Haven't seen one
> of those for years, either.
Saw some in a store just last week. I was a little surprized. My almost
30-year-old son prefers one over his iPod because it's a lot easier to
replace the CD than to delete stuff to make room on his iPod.
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369803 is a reply to message #369800] |
Sat, 30 June 2018 18:39 |
|
|
Originally posted by: JimP
On Sat, 30 Jun 2018 21:42:30 -0000 (UTC), Alfred Falk
<aefalk@telus.net> wrote:
> Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> wrote in news:fppqg7F4m0fU7
> @mid.individual.net:
>
>> On 2018-06-30, Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> Travel is becoming quite boring - no matter where you go, it's the
>>> same set of big-box stores.
>>
>> Try going abroad, instead!
>>
>> https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/indian-street-scene-13234319 .jpg
>
> For a while longer. They have Walmart and 7-11 in China.
In looking at Japanese vending machines for sodas, bottled water, and
various cafeine drinks, I found out there are 7-11s in Japan to. With
better food and much greater variety.
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369804 is a reply to message #369801] |
Sat, 30 June 2018 18:40 |
|
|
Originally posted by: JimP
On Sat, 30 Jun 2018 17:51:46 -0400, Michael Black <mblack@pubnix.net>
wrote:
> On Sat, 30 Jun 2018, JimP wrote:
>
>
>> Sears nearest me looks like a ghost town... and that is with the
>> employees in there.
>>
> Sears in Canada died last year. I can't remember if it was a bankruptcy
> or they just decided to shut down. On the other hand, apparently Toys 'R
> Us is doing okay here, so it will remain after the US operation shuts down
> (if that hasn't happened already).
The last US Toys 'R Us closed about 2 days ago.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369809 is a reply to message #369803] |
Sat, 30 June 2018 22:36 |
Gene Wirchenko
Messages: 1166
Registered: January 2012
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
On Sat, 30 Jun 2018 17:39:00 -0500, JimP <solosam90@gmail.com> wrote:
[snip]
> In looking at Japanese vending machines for sodas, bottled water, and
> various cafeine drinks, I found out there are 7-11s in Japan to. With
> better food and much greater variety.
I follow soranews24.com which has articles about life in Japan.
Among the things that they cover are food products. Some of them are
quite interesting, and konbini (convenience stores) are active in
this.
Sincerely,
Gene Wirchenko
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369811 is a reply to message #369801] |
Sat, 30 June 2018 22:41 |
Gene Wirchenko
Messages: 1166
Registered: January 2012
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
On Sat, 30 Jun 2018 17:51:46 -0400, Michael Black <mblack@pubnix.net>
wrote:
> On Sat, 30 Jun 2018, JimP wrote:
>> Sears nearest me looks like a ghost town... and that is with the
>> employees in there.
>>
> Sears in Canada died last year. I can't remember if it was a bankruptcy
> or they just decided to shut down. On the other hand, apparently Toys 'R
> Us is doing okay here, so it will remain after the US operation shuts down
> (if that hasn't happened already).
I remember the local coverage about the local (Kamloops, British
Columbia) store closing. I had not been in one for decades.
> Then there was Target. A big announcement they were moving to Canada,
> some years in advance. They bought the rights to the stores of an
> existing chain, which slowly closed down over a few years. Then a wait
> while Target renovated the stores. About a year later they announced they
> were closing in Canada, it would take too long to be profitable.
It was supposedly a big deal when they opened locally. I could
rarely find anything I wanted. It replaced a Zellers which I got a
lot of clothes at.
> They should have thought of that before they started. I was still looking
> for where things were, the nearest store was just a bit over a year old.
> It takes time to adjust. They claim people had too much expectation, from
> going to the US along the border and buying there, but I'd never been in
> the place before they opened in Canada. I'd go looking for soemthing in
> the flyer, and couldn't find it, either because it wasn't in stock, or I
> was still trying to find where things were.
I tried to buy plain black MacGregor's Happyfoot socks. It seems
they carried any MacGregor's but the basic stuff. Their clothes
seemed to be mainly for teens. It did not take long for me to give up
on them.
They could not even handle job applications. Their Website
complained that I had not filled in a required field. I looked again,
even checked the code: the field in question was not there!
Sincerely,
Gene Wirchenko
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369816 is a reply to message #369811] |
Sun, 01 July 2018 04:17 |
Charles Richmond
Messages: 2754
Registered: December 2011
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
On 6/30/2018 9:41 PM, Gene Wirchenko wrote:
>
> [snip...] [snip...] [snip...]
>
> They could not even handle job applications. Their Website
> complained that I had not filled in a required field. I looked again,
> even checked the code: the field in question was not there!
>
Damn you, Gene Wirchenko, for *not* filling out the omitted fields!!! ;-)
--
numerist at aquaporin4 dot com
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369821 is a reply to message #369801] |
Sun, 01 July 2018 06:59 |
Peter Flass
Messages: 8375
Registered: December 2011
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
Michael Black <mblack@pubnix.net> wrote:
> On Sat, 30 Jun 2018, JimP wrote:
>
>
>> Sears nearest me looks like a ghost town... and that is with the
>> employees in there.
>>
> Sears in Canada died last year. I can't remember if it was a bankruptcy
> or they just decided to shut down. On the other hand, apparently Toys 'R
> Us is doing okay here, so it will remain after the US operation shuts down
> (if that hasn't happened already).
>
> Then there was Target. A big announcement they were moving to Canada,
> some years in advance. They bought the rights to the stores of an
> existing chain, which slowly closed down over a few years. Then a wait
> while Target renovated the stores. About a year later they announced they
> were closing in Canada, it would take too long to be profitable.
>
> They should have thought of that before they started. I was still looking
> for where things were, the nearest store was just a bit over a year old.
> It takes time to adjust. They claim people had too much expectation, from
> going to the US along the border and buying there, but I'd never been in
> the place before they opened in Canada. I'd go looking for soemthing in
> the flyer, and couldn't find it, either because it wasn't in stock, or I
> was still trying to find where things were.
>
It always takes time to figure out the layout of a new store. It's nice
that everywhere in the country the Target layouts are similar. With a few
differences I can walk into any Target and go right to what I want. ( some
stores seem flipped left-right, and some locate the grocery section
differently).
--
Pete
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369822 is a reply to message #369788] |
Sun, 01 July 2018 07:27 |
|
|
Originally posted by: Brian Reay
On 30/06/18 18:54, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
> On Saturday, June 30, 2018 at 4:08:09 AM UTC-4, Brian Reay wrote:
>
>> I still have the kit to do BW processing (it was something I taught our
>> children) and some 35 mm cameras, including a couple of CRFs. I get the
>> urge every now and them to load up a film etc but the whole process is
>> just to tedious. Not so much the actual processing - that is quite
>> quick- but getting the improvised darkroom ready etc.
>
> While Kodak no longer makes chemicals, other companies do, such as Ilford.
> For instance:
>
> https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/browse/Darkroom-Equipment/ci/ 4942/N/4288586562
>
>
For no special reason other than the place I first bought my chemicals
from sold them, I used to used a brand I'm sure was called Johnson. (Not
sure re spelling, I've not bought any for years.) They made a range of
chemicals, as I recall compatible with the common films and papers
around at the time. I've no idea if they are still in business. The
chemicals were, marginally, cheaper than the more famous brands.
Kentmere springs to mind for papers. (This was in the mid 70s).
When I showed my children, I used own brand chemicals from one of the
large high st stores, which I think has since gone under.
I should dispose of the enlarger etc, it is just taking up space. I
doubt I will use it again.
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369823 is a reply to message #369604] |
Sun, 01 July 2018 07:36 |
|
|
Originally posted by: Brian Reay
On 01/07/18 12:13, Huge wrote:
> On 2018-06-30, Michael Black <mblack@pubnix.net> wrote:
>> On Sat, 30 Jun 2018, JimP wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Sears nearest me looks like a ghost town... and that is with the
>>> employees in there.
>>>
>> Sears in Canada died last year. I can't remember if it was a bankruptcy
>> or they just decided to shut down. On the other hand, apparently Toys 'R
>> Us is doing okay here, so it will remain after the US operation shuts down
>> (if that hasn't happened already).
>
> Sears never operated in the UK,
A pity really, they were an amazing company- although I understand they
are not quite what they were.
When I used to spend a lot of time in the US on business, I often
visited the local Sears. Their DIY section was a marvel compared to UK
stores at the time.
When we bought this house, the garage door opener was a Sears one. How
it worked on 240V was a mystery, I assume they made a 240V version. It
must have lasted 20+ years. It was still working when we replaced the
door with a roller one. Only servicing was a bit of grease now and then.
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369824 is a reply to message #369604] |
Sun, 01 July 2018 07:46 |
|
|
Originally posted by: Bob Eager
On Sun, 01 Jul 2018 11:00:52 +0000, Huge wrote:
> We bought the usual fizzy drinks from them,
> but also ice cream and hot coffee in a can (surprisingly good).
For a while, you could buy 'hot' coffee in a can in the UK, back around
the late 1990s. It wasn't really hot, but warm enough. Cold can, you
depressed a thing on the bottom and it heated up.
It never really caught on, but I always kept a couple in the car.
--
Using UNIX since v6 (1975)...
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369825 is a reply to message #369822] |
Sun, 01 July 2018 07:47 |
|
|
Originally posted by: Bob Eager
On Sun, 01 Jul 2018 12:27:03 +0100, Brian Reay wrote:
> For no special reason other than the place I first bought my chemicals
> from sold them, I used to used a brand I'm sure was called Johnson. (Not
> sure re spelling, I've not bought any for years.)
Yes, we had that. I think I still have some Johnson equipmwent
(developing tank etc.) somewhere.
--
Using UNIX since v6 (1975)...
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369826 is a reply to message #369821] |
Sun, 01 July 2018 10:03 |
Ahem A Rivet's Shot
Messages: 4843
Registered: January 2012
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
On Sun, 1 Jul 2018 06:59:09 -0400
Peter Flass <peter_flass@yahoo.com> wrote:
> It always takes time to figure out the layout of a new store.
Some stores, particularly supermarkets rearrange the layout from
time to time so that you can't just go straight to the stuff you want but
have to look and wind up buying things that you would otherwise not notice.
--
Steve O'Hara-Smith | Directable Mirror Arrays
C:\>WIN | A better way to focus the sun
The computer obeys and wins. | licences available see
You lose and Bill collects. | http://www.sohara.org/
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369827 is a reply to message #369826] |
Sun, 01 July 2018 10:31 |
|
|
Originally posted by: Gareth's Downstairs Computer
On 01/07/2018 15:03, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
> On Sun, 1 Jul 2018 06:59:09 -0400
> Peter Flass <peter_flass@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> It always takes time to figure out the layout of a new store.
>
> Some stores, particularly supermarkets rearrange the layout from
> time to time so that you can't just go straight to the stuff you want but
> have to look and wind up buying things that you would otherwise not notice.
>
A bit like LIDL, then, where the centre aisle is full of bargains that
you didn't know you needed when you went in, and which you'll never
use anyway :-)
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369828 is a reply to message #369816] |
Sun, 01 July 2018 10:51 |
|
|
Originally posted by: J. Clarke
On Sun, 1 Jul 2018 03:17:19 -0500, Charles Richmond
<numerist@aquaporin4.com> wrote:
> On 6/30/2018 9:41 PM, Gene Wirchenko wrote:
>>
>> [snip...] [snip...] [snip...]
>>
>> They could not even handle job applications. Their Website
>> complained that I had not filled in a required field. I looked again,
>> even checked the code: the field in question was not there!
>>
>
> Damn you, Gene Wirchenko, for *not* filling out the omitted fields!!! ;-)
Online job applications, I am convinced, are a test of determination.
They want people whose desire to work for them is sufficient to induce
them to figure out how to work around all the deficiencies in the
application.
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369831 is a reply to message #369826] |
Sun, 01 July 2018 11:24 |
Peter Flass
Messages: 8375
Registered: December 2011
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
Ahem A Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> wrote:
> On Sun, 1 Jul 2018 06:59:09 -0400
> Peter Flass <peter_flass@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> It always takes time to figure out the layout of a new store.
>
> Some stores, particularly supermarkets rearrange the layout from
> time to time so that you can't just go straight to the stuff you want but
> have to look and wind up buying things that you would otherwise not notice.
>
Or wind up getting mad that you can't find the whatzits that you walk out
without buying anything.
--
Pete
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369833 is a reply to message #369604] |
Sun, 01 July 2018 12:25 |
|
|
Originally posted by: JimP
On 1 Jul 2018 10:57:13 GMT, Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> wrote:
> On 2018-06-30, Alfred Falk <aefalk@telus.net> wrote:
>> Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> wrote in news:fppqg7F4m0fU7
>> @mid.individual.net:
>>
>>> On 2018-06-30, Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Travel is becoming quite boring - no matter where you go, it's the
>>>> same set of big-box stores.
>>>
>>> Try going abroad, instead!
>>>
>>> https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/indian-street-scene-13234319 .jpg
>>
>> For a while longer. They have Walmart and 7-11 in China.
>
> We went to Japan for a holiday last November. They have 7-11 there. Like
> so many things in Japan (*), it's the same as at 'home', and yet
> weirdly different. I'd wager that American 7-11's don't sell gyoza
> or onigiri. And although the Japanese ones sell fried chicken, it's
> both completely different from and much, much better than American
> fried chicken. And talking of fried chicken, I'd wager they don't
> do this in the USA, either;
>
> https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--XLxUGOS2NQ/WGsgO986bpI/AAAAAAAAM kI/h1Gn_k5DmbEcWhcyVUCuSpgmB-AM2sALgCLcB/s1600/christmas.jpg
>
> (* It was brilliant, BTW. We loved it. One of the two countries in the
> world of the many I've visited that I'd like to go back to.)
Yes, you have to make a reservation for Christmas KFC.
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369834 is a reply to message #369824] |
Sun, 01 July 2018 12:29 |
|
|
Originally posted by: JimP
On 1 Jul 2018 11:46:26 GMT, Bob Eager <news0007@eager.cx> wrote:
> On Sun, 01 Jul 2018 11:00:52 +0000, Huge wrote:
>
>> We bought the usual fizzy drinks from them,
>> but also ice cream and hot coffee in a can (surprisingly good).
>
> For a while, you could buy 'hot' coffee in a can in the UK, back around
> the late 1990s. It wasn't really hot, but warm enough. Cold can, you
> depressed a thing on the bottom and it heated up.
>
> It never really caught on, but I always kept a couple in the car.
The Japanese vending machines have blue lights under the cold cans,
and red lights under the hot cans. When the air temperatire/seasons
change, they increase/decrease the appropriate items available.
|
|
|
|
| Re: Computers, anyone? [message #369835 is a reply to message #369828] |
Sun, 01 July 2018 13:36 |
Andrew Swallow
Messages: 1705
Registered: January 2012
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
On 01/07/2018 15:51, J. Clarke wrote:
> On Sun, 1 Jul 2018 03:17:19 -0500, Charles Richmond
> <numerist@aquaporin4.com> wrote:
>
>> On 6/30/2018 9:41 PM, Gene Wirchenko wrote:
>>>
>>> [snip...] [snip...] [snip...]
>>>
>>> They could not even handle job applications. Their Website
>>> complained that I had not filled in a required field. I looked again,
>>> even checked the code: the field in question was not there!
>>>
>>
>> Damn you, Gene Wirchenko, for *not* filling out the omitted fields!!! ;-)
>
> Online job applications, I am convinced, are a test of determination.
> They want people whose desire to work for them is sufficient to induce
> them to figure out how to work around all the deficiencies in the
> application.
>
Possible. An alternative explanation is that computer programmers are
machine people where as the personal departments are full of people
people who act like salesmen. The combination does not mix.
|
|
|
|
Members
Search
Help
Register
Login
Home
