The best one was at an early 80's computer show in San Francisco where a 
woman was proudly wearing a T-shirt that boasted, "I've got dual floppies"!
   I still have a box of eight inch floppy disks here to impress the 
kiddies but the Shugart 801 drives are  long gone with the "Digital 
Group" computer with Votrax SC-01 speech card.
Fun times for sure.
Rob


On 11/4/2015 11:15 AM, Matthew Chao wrote:
> Floppy disk, eh?  Need Viagra?--Matt, N1IBB.
>
> At 01:54 PM 11/4/2015, you wrote:
>> Asking someone about a floppy disk is cause for sexual harassment these day=
>> s.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]] =
>> On Behalf Of Eric Oyen
>> Sent: Tuesday, November 3, 2015 10:37 PM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: Useless Knowledge (was Laser Light)
>>
>> thats almost as bad as knowing job control language for an IBM AS/360 =3D M=
>> ainframe. :) Also, working on reel to reel tape machines. Its really =3D to=
>> o bad that most people these days don't remember the technology that =3D wa=
>> s the predecessor to the current media. You ask a kid today what a =3D flop=
>> py disk is and they might look at you like a deer caught in the =3D headlig=
>> hts. Or how about coders these days that couldn't conceive of a =3D program=
>>   written in basic and having to work tightly in only 8k of ram. =3D Pretty =
>> soon, I imagine, keyboards are going to be quaint reminders of an =3D old c=
>> omputing past.
>>
>> DE n7zzt Eric
>>
>> On Nov 3, 2015, at 8:11 PM, Tom Fowle wrote:
>>
>>> Knowing how things work, or used to work is never useless.
>>> At the least it's interesting.
>>> =3D20
>>> Used to run 16 MM projectors in highschool in the 60s, but don't =3D
>> remember
>>> the filter. Maybe those school units didn't have the freeze frame.
>>> thanks for the fun
>>> tom Fowle WA6IVG
>>> =3D20
>>> On Tue, Nov 03, 2015 at 02:22:44PM -0600, Martin McCormick wrote:
>>>>       A lot of what is left of my brain is useless knowledge by  today's=20
>>>> standards. When I worked as a technician with the OSU  Audio Visual=20
>>>> Center in the eighties, I repaired 16-millimeter  film projectors=20
>>>> among many other things and I have a whole  treasure trove of trivia=20
>>>> in my head that doesn't get you very far  today.
>>>> =3D20
>>>>       Did you know, for instance, that if the film stops
>> moving  for even=20
>>>> a fraction of a second that the heat from the projection  lamp is=20
>>>> sufficient to melt it? Most projectors had a freeze-frame  function=20
>>>> but it only worked because a special piece that greatly  reduced the=20
>>>> amount of heat/light was supposed to drop down  between the film gate=20
>>>> and the film, itself.
>>>> =3D20
>>>>       We had a few machines that came in because a mechanical  part that=20
>>>> held the filter piece up and out of the way failed and  the piece=20
>>>> would slowly swing down and cause the light output to  appear to go=20
>>>> very dim.
>>>> =3D20
>>>>       How does a person who is blind work on a film projector?
>>>> Most of the mechanical failures that befall 16-millimeter  projectors=20
>>>> cause audible issues also.
>>>> =3D20
>>>>       Sound film projectors must yank the film through the gate  in a=20
>>>> series of 24 very fast jerks per second so that each frame  of the=20
>>>> picture is still for 1/24 of a second. When the film  reaches the=20
>>>> sound pickup, it must not have any trace of the jerky  motion and=20
>>>> moves as smoothly as audio tape. There are failure  modes that cause=20
>>>> the film to move more smoothly than it should  through the film gate=20
>>>> and other failures that make it move in a  jerky manner through the=20
>>>> sound pickup. Those usually make the  machine clatter with an extra=20
>>>> loud sound or the sound has a  terrible flutter in the speed which is=20
>>>> unacceptable. It is  necessary to examine the film transport to=20
>>>> diagnose the problem  and fix the broken parts.
>>>> =3D20
>>>>       There is a Walt Disney movie which I think might be  "Bambee" in=20
>>>> which there is a scene where animals are talking to  each other while=20
>>>> under water. Their voices all sound fluttery  like someone with water=20
>>>> in their throat. One time, my wife and I  watched this film because=20
>>>> she wanted to see it again after many  years and I had never watched=20
>>>> it at all. I almost fell out of my  chair when that scene came on.=20
>>>> Some technician simply blocked the  rotation of the sound drum and fed=20
>>>> that audio in to the movie as  a special effect. I thought it was=20
>>>> brilliant and never imagined  that someone would actually want that=20
>>>> sound to appear, but it was  perfect for the scene.
>>>> =3D20
>>>>       I remember running across many weird problems that
>> were  usually the=20
>>>> fault of wear and tear on belts, gears and clutches.
>>>> That's where I accumulated all this useless knowledge.
>>>> =3D20
>>>>       So, what makes the film stop and melt? Ripped out sprocket  holes=20
>>>> along the edge. That will turn torn-up film in to torn-up  melted=20
>>>> film. If this had been back in the really old days, the  film which=20
>>>> used to be made of celluloid would have burst in to  flame and started=20
>>>> a real fire.
>>>> =3D20
>>>> Martin
>>>> =3D20
>>>> Colin McDonald <[log in to unmask]> writes:
>>>>> ah, I love teachable moments!!!
>>>>> They call me a walking encyclopedia of mostly interesting, but =3D
>> useless
>>>>> facts...