Author Topic: 2 women and 2 typewriters (Read 5113 times)

bigpook · « **on:** Fri, 22 May 2009, 12:15:29 »

youtube

watduzhkstand4 · « **Reply #1 on:** Fri, 22 May 2009, 12:21:25 »

lol they're both called barbara! & no paper!

iMav · « **Reply #2 on:** Fri, 22 May 2009, 12:24:06 »

"Two women and two typewriters"? Sounds like a xsphat fantasy.

o2dazone · « **Reply #3 on:** Fri, 22 May 2009, 13:08:40 »

From the title of this thread, I was expecting something entirely different.

msiegel · « **Reply #4 on:** Fri, 22 May 2009, 15:16:21 »

classic

wellington1869 · « **Reply #5 on:** Fri, 22 May 2009, 15:28:39 »

Letterman was unbelievably hilarious back then. A real path breaker. Kids these days who only know him from the 11:30 slot have no idea how influential he was on a whole generation of comics.

/end old guy rant

pmyshkin · « **Reply #6 on:** Sat, 23 May 2009, 01:31:38 »

She uses dvorak right?

chimera15 · « **Reply #7 on:** Sun, 24 May 2009, 18:36:57 »

Quote from: pmyshkin;92239

She uses dvorak right?

Ah that's probably what it was.

It's interesting to see Barbara was with the show even back then. lol She's often seen on the show now.

Hamps · « **Reply #8 on:** Mon, 25 May 2009, 00:01:40 »

Oh wow thanks for posting this. I read about this in a wiki a long time ago but could never find a video of the incident. Sounds like they gave her a qwerty on accident or something.

Quote

Using the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard, she has maintained 150 words per minute (wpm) for 50 minutes, and 170 wpm for shorter periods. She has been clocked at a peak speed of 212 wpm. Blackburn, who failed her typing class in high school, first encountered the Dvorak keyboard in 1938, quickly learned to achieve very high speeds, and occasionally toured giving speed-typing demonstrations during her secretarial career. She appeared on The David Letterman Show and was deeply offended by Letterman's comedic treatment of her skill

She died last year.

/salute

xsphat · « **Reply #9 on:** Mon, 25 May 2009, 01:14:44 »

Just because a typewriter uses type bars ("the flying thin rods with letters on the ends that would often stick if you typed fast") doesn't mean it's slow. The Olympia SM9 is one of the faster typewriters ever made and it was a manual type bar typewriter. The thing about electrics is the key travel is cut by two thirds, as is the force it takes to type a letter so any electric will be faster than any manual when pushed. The Selectric is a cool typewriter, but it is not the king of typewriters. Way more typewriter geeks prefer the Hermes 3000, Olivetti Lettera 22 or the above mentioned Olympia (all manuals) over Selectrics.

I recently won a 1940s Hermes Rocket on eBay and as soon as I get it I'm sending it off to be refurbished by a real typewriter shop in Oregon. I don't think I'll post impressions or before and after Pr0n here because I don't think there is enough interest.

xsphat · « **Reply #10 on:** Mon, 25 May 2009, 01:35:34 »

Remember it from the old MTV news intro?

Do you really think people would be into seeing a spread on impressions of getting a typewriter refurbed? I'm gonna take pics either way, so I guess it wouldn't hurt to post them.

xsphat · « **Reply #11 on:** Mon, 25 May 2009, 01:47:48 »

Good point, I never even thought of that. I take my Mercury apart sometimes (4 screws) just to look at the guts because the amount of engineering that went into making it work astounds me. Maybe I'll have to post before and after nekkid pics of my newest "riter" (insider slang)

DrunkenDonut · « **Reply #12 on:** Tue, 26 May 2009, 19:27:36 »

If there's any place to post pics of typewriters and their guts, this is the place, IMHO. We all seem to love the little details that go into our keyboards. I don't see why this wouldn't spread to other related (and even unrelated) machines as well.

As an aside, this made me remember that I received an IBM Selectric II quite a few years back. It makes an awful noise when you turn it on, so it hasn't been turned on since. I don't know any local shop to send it in for repair though. I was going to look at it myself but since I don't have a need for it, it's been pretty low priority.

I would like to get it in tip top condition one day though. An electromechanical marvel. I love machines like this.

xsphat · « **Reply #13 on:** Tue, 26 May 2009, 23:51:23 »

All right. I'll post the full deal - from opening the first box from the eBay seller to sending it out and the final product. I'll even post a breakdown of the entire cost to me for the project.

I'm sending it off to Blue Moon Camera and Machine, Google them if you want to contact them. They should work on a Selectric, but it'll cost you for return shipping. They pack stuff like a mofo I'm told, so return shipping is like from Japan to the US.

lowpoly · « **Reply #14 on:** Wed, 27 May 2009, 03:15:29 »

Why did she type without paper?

chimera15 · « **Reply #15 on:** Wed, 27 May 2009, 04:23:31 »

Quote from: lowpoly;92886

Why did she type without paper?

I think it was supposed to be a joke...

I typed a few times on an electric typewriter my mom had in the 70's before we got one of the first apples..the feeling was completely different from any keyboard.. When you pushed a key it was like it responded to your touch, like it knew you were pushing it almost.. I wonder if there's ever been an electric at keyboard. lol

Oh yeah, and I distinctly remembered it hummed. lol

iMav · « **Reply #16 on:** Wed, 27 May 2009, 07:00:45 »

I used a manual typewriter for all my papers in high school. That thing sucked...I couldn't believe how effortless it was to type on an electric the first time I got hands on one.

chimera15 · « **Reply #17 on:** Wed, 27 May 2009, 11:18:30 »

Quote from: ripster;92912

I have my Dad's Selectric sitting up in the dining room after borrowing it over the weekend.

It goes WHRRRR..........snap, SNAP, snap, snap, Kachunk!

The WHRRR.. is louder than any turbo-cooled overclocked PC I've ever seen and makes the table vibrate..

So far I like the key feel and whole sensory experience I think more than even a keyboard. It's nothing like a Model M. My dad's is even one of the correcting models (white tape) so it's pretty practical.

I'll post pics but I'm not sure if this belongs in "other Geeky stuff" and also if I post sound samples it sounds like I'll need to stick that up with keyboards.

Yeah I've done some research, that was the type my mom had. Pretty cool. heh.

xsphat · « **Reply #18 on:** Thu, 28 May 2009, 00:43:37 »

Quote from: ripster;92912

The WHRRR.. is louder than any turbo-cooled overclocked PC I've ever seen and makes the table vibrate.

I've been wondering if the Selectric did that. I have a Royal Aristocrat electric from 1980 (for sale, BTW) and the motor humps just like you describe. Manuals are just so much cooler and more fulfilling to write on. At least they have the decency to be quiet between being loud as hell.

xsphat · « **Reply #19 on:** Thu, 28 May 2009, 00:54:13 »

My portable weigh around 10 pounds. They are small and have covers and handles and that goodness. The Selectric II reminds me of Mad Men (anyone watch that show?).

chimera15 · « **Reply #20 on:** Fri, 29 May 2009, 05:34:43 »

Quote from: xsphat;93065

My portable weigh around 10 pounds. They are small and have covers and handles and that goodness. The Selectric II reminds me of Mad Men (anyone watch that show?).

It reminds me of naked lunch. lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSQ1gRk-a9g&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.videosift.com%2Fvideo%2Fnaked-lunch-typewriter-scene-bizarre&feature=player_embedded

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Author Topic: 2 women and 2 typewriters (Read 5113 times)