Reads, Listens, Watches

Reading list of books, magazines, newspaper articles, other physical documents, or online posts
Playlist of posts listened to, or scrobbled
Playlist of watched movies, television shows, online videos, and other visual-based events
Read ALD-Midlothian Evacuation Warning (Genasys Protect)
03/11/25 11:54am: Deputies are in the field notifying residents of local mud/debris flow risk from EATON FIRE burn scar. The areas near the San Gabriel Foothills in Altadena are under EVACUATION WARNING until at least 3/13/25 6pm due to risk of losing access. PREPARE NOW. More info at alertla.org.
Great! Another evacuation warning. This time instead of for catastrophic fire, it’s for rain and potential mudslides from the burn scar.

Fortunately (?) I’m still evacuated from January 7th about 6 miles south.

Read Peter Elbow, Professor Who Transformed Freshman Comp, Dies at 89 by Michael S. RosenwaldMichael S. Rosenwald (New York Times)
His struggles with writer’s block led him to create a process that favored an expressive, personal approach over rigid academic conventions that often stifled students.
For those interested in writing methods, Peter Elbow’s work can be seen as an interesting shift in pedagogy from the 1970s. Interestingly it relies on pieces of practices pre-dating him which inform commonplace book and related zettelkasten methods. 

For my own files, from the obituary, it looks like he was using an IBM Selectric I in some of his early work.

Read ‘We’d be stuck’: alarm as UK’s last braille typewriter repairer ponders retirement by Matthew WeaverMatthew Weaver (the Guardian)
Thorpe is often amused by the objects he finds in the machines. “I’ve found pens, memory sticks, house keys, Lego bricks, little rubber toys, all sorts inside,” he says.
I often find things inside typewriters…

LEGO (multiple), a chicken leg from a Calico Critters playset, a tiny 70s photo of a child, the stub of a pencil, glitter, a pocket knife, a mini clothespin…

And naturally lots and lots of eraser bits, loose screws, loose springs, dust rhinoceroses, dried white out, dirt, cobwebs, even dead spiders, and even love. 

What’s the oddest thing you’ve found in a typewriter? 

Read 112-Year-Old Pasadena Office Equipment Firm Acquired by Las Vegas Company (Pasadena Now)
Anderson Business Technology, a fixture in Old Pasadena since 1912, joins Advanced Imaging Solutions
They’re tremendously busy with the transition at present, but I had a short conversation with the Andersons this afternoon to check on what’s happening with their typewriter-related business. Fortunately it seems there’s nothing to be worried about!

The third generation family-run business is being sold to an independent owner operated business. The new owners do have an appreciation for vintage machines and will likely continue their relationship with typewriter repair person Pedro Diaz, who although partially retired, still repairs mechanical typewriters for the company. It’s already been several years since the store has gotten rid of their old dunk tanks and flammable cleaning equipment on site.

The vintage typewriters on display at the store, including an original Sholes and Glidden, have been catalogued and will stay within the Anderson family. The family currently hasn’t decided what will happen to the collection though donation to museums or possible auction might be considered in the coming months following the transition of the company. Until a decision is made, likely after September or much later this year, the typewriters on display in their Old Town Pasadena location will remain at the shop.

If you’re in the area and curious to see their collection, try making an appointment after mid-August (following a family wedding) when the transition handoff will hopefully have settled down a bit and you better catch employee attention.

 

Watched Smith Corona 5 Series Typewriter Keyboard Adjustment for Lighter Touch Silent Super by Phoenix TypewriterPhoenix Typewriter from YouTube
This is a fascinating find. Thanks for the tip.
 
In looking at my own ’49 5 series Clipper I notice that the manual adjustment with the H 6-5-4-3-2 L lever attaches to a short spring, then a small plate, and from there to an arm attached to the universal bar. None of the settings on my machine effect any actual change because the entire assembly is loose from start to finish. Your machine in the video does much the same as I can see the spring attached to that lever hangs loose as you move from the L to the H settings.
 
Given the screwdriver settings you’re showing, I’m wondering if that Touch Selector is a vestigial appendage from the 4 Series days? I do notice another nearby unused arm on the universal bar with a hook-like end on it that the spring might have been attached to to provide actual tension. Unfortunately I only have a few 4 series machines to compare with (and their assemblies are dramatically different) and don’t have any other 5 series machines to see what the proper connection setting for the manual touch selector should be.
 
As far as I can tell, no one’s done a proper video of the manual touch selector assembly on the 5 series machines, if in fact they ever worked at all. Perhaps something to add to the list of videos to produce the next time a 5 series Smith-Corona comes through?
Listened to The Informed Life: Episode 139 Chris Aldrich on Cybernetic Communications by Jorge ArangoJorge Arango from The Informed Life

Chris Aldrich has the most multi-disciplinary resume I’ve ever seen, with a background that includes biomedics, electrical engineering, entertainment, genetics, theoretical mathematics, and more. Chris describes himself as a modern-day cybernetician, and in this conversation we discuss cybernetics and communications, differences between oral and literary cultures, and indigenous traditions and mnemonics, among many other things.

Show notes and audio transcript available at The Informed Life: Episode 139

A while back, I recorded an episode of The Informed Life with Jorge Arango, and it’s just been released. We had hoped to cover a couple of specific topics, but just as we hit record, our topic agenda took a left turn into some of my recent interests in intellectual history.

Jorge has a great little show which he’s been doing for quite a while. If you’re not already subscribed, take a moment to see what he’s offering in the broad space of tools for thought. I’ve been a long time subscriber and was happy to chat with Jorge directly.

Watched Royal Typewriter Platen Variable Repair, Roller Removal by Phoenix TypewriterPhoenix Typewriter from YouTube
I was seeing this issue on my 1949 Royal QDL. I figured it’d be an easy fix.

Turns out, it was exactly my issue and the pieces had “frozen up”. A quick clean out and we’re back in business in under 20 minutes.

Read Opinion | Multiple Choice Flunks Out (Published 1988) by Jacques Barzun (New York Times)
Many things have been urged upon the beleaguered public schools: install computers, reduce class size, pay teachers better and respect them more and give them bodyguards, reform teacher training, restore the principal's authority, purge the bureaucracy and reduce paperwork, lengthen the school year, increase homework, stick to the basics, stop ''social promotion,'' kill social studies and bring back history, and (the latest plan) pay kids not to drop out or play truant.
For historians of and , here’s a nice little essay by Jacques Barzun from 1988 which he later published in a book under the title of “Reasons to De-Test the Schools“. The follow up is telling as well.

🎧 Space, Pixels and Cognition (Yiliu and John) | T4T S01E03

Listened to Space, Pixels and Cognition (Yiliu and John) | T4T S01E03 by Jerry Michalski from Tools for Thinking | Betaworks

A conversation about spatial computing and the power of operating in a spatial environment with the founder of Softspace, Yiliu Shen-Burke, and John Underkoffler of Oblong Industries.

Some interesting ideas about generative and playful spaces here. Also some references to Aby Warburg and murder boards, which may be of interest to Shawn Gilmore and J.D. Connor (@jdconnor@mastodon.social)

🎧 From Second Brains to Collective Brains (Sari and Rufus) | T4T S01E02

Listened to From Second Brains to Collective Brains (Sari and Rufus) | T4T S01E02 from Tools for Thinking Podcast | Betaworks

Yiliu Shen-Burke, founder of Softspace
John Underkoffler, creator of G-Speak
Host: Jerry Michalski

Finally catching up on Jerry Michalski’s Tools for Thinking podcast.

🎧 The Modern Golden Age Podcast Episode #16: Bryan Kam

Listened to The Modern Golden Age Podcast Episode #16: Bryan Kam by João Mateus from The Modern Golden Age Podcast

This week, I show you my conversation with Bryan, a philosopher, writer, and researcher. He's a very thoughtful individual, with a fascinating mind. We talked about his work, writing, music, and much more.

  • 00:00 ~ Introduction
  • 01:10 ~ Thomas Khun
  • 05:55 ~ Bryan's relationship with ideas
  • 11:02 ~ Note-taking
  • 17:20 ~ Health model of Inquiry
  • 20:41 ~ Bryan's current questions
  • 26:00 ~ Meditation
  • 33:00 ~ Change and Modern Golden Age
  • 42:15 ~ Speaking, writing and thinking
  • 50:43 ~ Original Sources and influences
  • 55:20 ~ Intellectual and creative Humility
  • 1:06:03 ~ Classical composers and jazz musicians
  • 1:08:30 ~ Types of writing
  • 1:10:00 ~ Practices in MGA
  • 1:18:00 ~ The kind of person that allows for an MGA
  • 1:21:00 ~ Values in a Modern Golden Age
  • 1:23:12 ~ Where can you find Bryan?
There’s some interesting space to explore with respect to music composing, creation, and playing with respect to jazz and “conversation” that relates to orality and literacy here, but they miss that piece broadly. The classical music portion was missing some context as much classical music is like certain forms of poetry which have highly structural elements within which one must stay while being expressive, while improvisational jazz is like free verse.

The “monastery” to “metropolis” discussion of the development and nurturing of an idea is an interesting analogy for pedagogy and learning as well as scaffolding. Having a supportive environment with trust is similar to most learning environments and particularly a difficult one for second language learners to find as the paradigm changes based on age.

I wish there had been more improvisation here with respect to the conversational portions, but instead the interviewer kept going back to a script of pre-formed questions instead of exploring the ideas as they came. I was surprised to see references to David Krakauer and Stefan Zweig pop up here.

Stefan Zweig (reference? his memoir?) apparently suggested that students translate authors as a means of becoming more intimately acquainted with their work. This is similar to restating an author in one’s own words as a means of improving one’s understanding. It’s a lower level of processing that osculates on the idea of having a conversation with a text.

Drinking game using the phrase: “I do believe.” 😅

Rating: 2 of 5; this was in my wheelhouse, but provided no real insight for me. Unlikely to listen to others in this series.

🎧Episode 539: Frustrated On Your Behalf | Core Intuition

Listened to Episode 539: Frustrated On Your Behalf by Manton Reece and Daniel Jalkut from Core Intuition

Manton and Daniel talk about payments from the Small App Developer settlement against Apple. Why does Manton refuse to accept free money, and are there valid reasons to opt out of the settlement? Then they reflect on the wave of opportunity from Twitter’s drastic downfall, and whether Manton and Daniel can “catch it”. Finally, Manton remembers the IndieWeb principles about plurality and monoculture, and they discuss how that might relate to Mastodon.

Listened to Howard Rheingold on Tools for Thought | Episode 94 • August 14, 2022 by Jorge Arango from The Informed Life
“We’re extremely powerful when it comes to making sense and finding connections, doing it visually instead of with a page.” Howard Rheingold is an eminent author, maker, and educator. His work has explored and defined key aspects of digital culture, including the use of computers as tools for mind augmentation, virtual communities, and social media literacy. In this conversation, we discuss computers as extensions for our minds, Douglas Engelbart’s unfinished revolution, basic literacies for interacting in information environments, and the resurgence of Tools for Thought.

Interesting and some useful base material here on literacies, but one can’t get very deep in 30 minutes with Rheingold on this topic. I would have rather this been 6 hours long and then multiple times that.
Listened to Mark Bernstein on Tinderbox by Jorge ArangoJorge Arango from The Informed Life

Mark Bernstein is chief scientist of Eastgate Systems, Inc. He’s been writing hypertexts and developing hypertext authoring software since the late 1980s. Mark is the creator of Tinderbox and other tools for thinking that “harness the power of the link.” In this conversation, we discuss thinking through connected notes.

Some subtle insights here.

representational talkback; the design of taking notes in the present when you’re not sure how they’ll connect to ideas in the (imagined) future; The Tinderbox Way; by force, all research is bottom up.