Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site rti-sel.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!bellcore!decvax!mcnc!rti-sel!rcb From: rcb@rti-sel.UUCP (Randy Buckland) Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers Subject: Re: Here's the plot, what's the title? Message-ID: <70@rti-sel.UUCP> Date: Thu, 17-Jan-85 11:24:27 EST Article-I.D.: rti-sel.70 Posted: Thu Jan 17 11:24:27 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 19-Jan-85 10:32:05 EST References: <280@topaz.ARPA> <4237@ucbvax.ARPA> Organization: Research Triangle Institute, NC Lines: 25 > > The main character repeatly gets drunk and suffers from blackouts. > > During his blackout periods he manages to invent machines. > > Your friend may be thinking of "The Proud Robot" by Henry Kuttner. I don't think that is it. I remember the story as being about an inventor who during his last blackout made a machine that eats dirt through a hose and produces an almost invisible clear cable. He had three contract: excavate a lot without disturbing the surrounding area and not trucking off a lot of dirt. make a manual control system wire that would not wear and break with a lot of usage and bending. make a 3-d television system. the machine does all 3. it eats the dirt and produces the cable that is much lower in volume and weight than the dirt for problem 1. the cable is monomolecular and so will not break from repeated twisting. (#2 taken care of) And the optical properties of the cable will make for a perfect 3-d system. (#3 taken care of) Unfortunately, I don't remember the author or title either. Randy Buckland Research Triangle Institute ...!mcnc!rti-sel!rcb