Another Typewriter Shop Biting the Dust

 I just read an article in The Milford Daily News that states Tom Furrier will be closing Cambridge Typewriter on March 31.  Sad to see the end of such a great shop.

Here's a link to the story.

 

Here's an interview with Tom on NPR 

First New to Me Typewriter Since? 2020, I Think.

 I remember I purchased an Olivetti Underwood Lettera 32 from a lady locally shortly before the Pandemic hit.  We were hearing about this strange virus in the news since the end of 2019, but things didn't hit the fan until early 2021.

I think I got the Lettera 32 January.  

I took the typewriter plunge again this year.

An Olivetti Underwood Studio 44 arrived this morning while I worked on the side door to my house.

I sat it aside until the door was finished, then I gave it my usual once-over.

This typewriter needed nothing.  It arrived properly packed, and when I sat it on the workbench and inspected it, I found a very clean typewriter.

I inserted a sheet of paper, and everything works properly.

I have wanted a blue Studio 44 for several years to complete my blue Olivetti Underwood series:  Lettera 22, Lettera 32, and Studio 44.  I also decided to get another Spanish made one since all the others I have are made in Spain except for one of my Lettera 32 typewriters (I have 3, why?).

I have a taupe Lettera 22, and a taupe Studio 44, both made in Italy.

I was hard-nosed stubborn on not purchasing a Barcelona Olivetti until I got a Lettera 22 made in Spain.  Then I got the Letter 32 that was made in Spain.  Both of these are nicer typers than my Italian made Olivetti typewriters.

I never found a blue Studio 44 that I wanted to buy made in Italy.  Finally I bought this one.  It too, types much nicer than the one made in Italy.

The other thing is the Italian key tops are slippery.  I have not experienced that with the Spanish ones.  None are worn.  All look like new.

It even came with a cover.  The cover is not imprinted with Olivetti, but looks and feels exactly like the cover that came with my Barcelona Lettera 32, and the one I have for my Lettera 22.

The typing test passed with flying colors.  Even the ribbon was fine.  Now I need to find 2 Olivetti spools.  I thought I had some, but I found I have none.  Last week I wanted to respool a new ribbon onto Olivetti spools for my taupe Studio 44.  No such luck.  I had to unspool the ones on the typewriter first.  Knowing me I gave any spares I had away to another Typosphereian.  I do that with radio things, audio things, and typewriters or whatever I have.  If I have something I don't use, I'll pass it on.  What is really fun, giving someone a typewriter at a Type-In (which we have not had one since I went back to work.  More on that in another post.)

It came with instructions so I know how to use it.

And a month before I graduated (you have to guess: High School or College) it was serviced.

The original (not Luxo) ring light.  These things used to sell for $35.00 from Parts Express, now they can't be found.  The L.E.D. ones are too harsh.

And ... finally one of my favored pencils, a Zebra 0.5mm DelGuard LX.  Same as the ER with a pocket clip and different eraser.  These are marketed as making the lead unbreakable.  No worry, it breaks, especially the 0.3mm.

I never did complete the notebook posts, but guess; which is my favorite?

I've not been on Blogger, well, I have on my radio blog with no issues, for a while, hopefully everything will work.  

Comments: if you are wondering why I do not leave comments on your blogs, well, I generally do.  Some publish.  Others do not publish, even on Word Press.  They go off into never never land where all the fairies, unicorns, and gremlins live.  The Grinch steals my comments.

No SuperMuseum would be complete without Typewriters........

Found this earlier today:

(as usual Blogger will not allow proper editing of my post and crediting of the photo)

 

 https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/podcast-the-super-museum-metropolis-illinois?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us

Montgomery Ward Signature 513 with Contemporary Pica

The typewriter also has a touch and ribbon selector.

Majohn or Moonman A1 Pilot Vanishing Point clone.

The E.F. nib is a bit broad.  I've read the Pilot is also.

The inner workings of the pen.

Original Tomoe River A5 paper

Typewriters in the news

There is an annual art event that takes place in Grand Rapid, MI.  There are all kinds of artists and art.  Last night while we watched the evening news on WOOD-TV they featured a typist: William Davis, an artist who types poems while you wait on a Sears Ciitation.

 

Here's a link to the video:

(in case Blogger will not allow embedding)

The Mail Bag -- Cold Hard Type -- Margin Releases

 I hope the next post will announce the move to Word Press.  

When I posted this last night I hurriedly forgot to promote the latest in the book series.

Things Really Are Getting to Normal, Up, Up, and Away in my beautiful balloon...

 Blogger is at it again. I hope this works this time.

I should have said Scribed from by IBM Selectric-II Scribe element.

Getting ready for some typing in the park.

Post Script.  I should not have one typo with a correcting Selectric-II, if I read what I type as I type!  

Well as usual my digital imaging device left me down, but there is an advantage. If I'd have grabbed my 35mm or any of my film cameras I would not have been able to record the video. My OMD however does not use film so there is no, zip, none, nothing, footage.  There is about a one minute video file uploaded so hopefully my one video YouTube channel link works.

One of the things I hate is lithium batteries improperly designed into anything especially my portable radios and digital imaging equipment. I'll take NiCad batteries and keep them maintained over Lithium any day.  And for those who think there is no pollution with Lithium, search the huge hazardous waste lakes that are created in the mining and manufacturing of Lithium batteries.

After that rant, you've probably guessed; the battery died mid-video.  The batteries I use are new this year.  I don't leave without a fully charged battery in the body and one in my pocket.  However, I did not get the battery changed and the imaging device rebooted until the balloons were too far away.

After the balloons were gone I returned to the pavilion where we will be having our Type-Out and typed my OTP for today.  I generally get them in late and Daniel posts them the next day.  

For all those in the U.S.A., I bid you all a most wonderful Independence Day.

Cold Hard Type IV Has Arrived

 

Purchase Dead Keys Here

It's Typing Season: This year it's a Type-Out, The Insurgency Lives On

 

Looks like the folks at Google corrected the issues.

 Seems things were corrected overnight. I noticed WP blogs were not affected. I did not know if or how to notify the bloggers I follow except to try and comment and post on mine, which would probably not be seen on some of the browsers.

In any case Blogger users would have found them locked out of their own blog unless they used an encrypted browser like Tor.

There is one advantage to social media; I could have sent a message to those bloggers which would be on my social media account.

Google & Mozilla have things royally messed up with Blogger

 I've tried to comment on blogs I follow that Mozilla and Google are blocking every blog as a deceptive site. I notified Mozilla via their banners. You may want to do do the same.  That is if my blog post works.  It may be Google's way to kill blogger.

Hermes 3000 Replacement Feets by Ted Munk

Exchanging the feets took all of about 10 minutes.

Making this post I've got about 2 hours of trying to figure out the crappy Blogger changes.  So far Blogger improvements, like most software 'improvements' are nothing but crap. I'll be nice and not describe things as I usually do off line or like when I was in radio...when the microphone is off.

 More blogger bs.  I thought one quick post since I'm still not over on WP yet. I've been too busy with other things over this past year to post even though I thought I'd have plenty of time to post during the pandemic.

First thing I find is the resize tool no longer is accurate. I have my blog set to match the original 750 pixels and my images sized so I can fit the typecast as its original size to fill the post width, nope. Original size goes past the width.

Also as normal Blogger adds a shadow of a grey line on the left of my typecast no matter how I edit it in GIMP.

 There is no captioning tool. There is a non-working add text tool. Oh, I do try several browsers and OSs, and within Linux 5 different distros just for the fun of proving Blogger is a piece of.

I understand the typosphere is not as active as it once was. Blogger is part of the problem for people like me who do not like frustrations of faulty software.

In any case, I've been producing content and not posting it so I have something to post on WP if and when I ever get set up.  WP is not without issue either.  I already have WP via our typewriter group, but since I want to start my own blog I will need to create a new email and profile which I do not want to do unless I can get set up for self-hosting which will not happen as long as I live in my tiny house.

So I may decide to set up another email account, but I don't want to do. I have too many already and spend too much time gleaning useful email from the spam and other worthless email I receive.

I'll no longer frustrate myself or upset any readers of this blog who do not visit my blog to read my frustrations about Blogger. 

This post will not be searchable from within the blog either since the labels setting no longer works.

Start the year off with The Twilight Zone and a Typewriter

We've been watching the total series of one of my favorite shows from my childhood, The Twilight Zone.

I checked on line news, and found a photo of Rod Sterling at his typewriter.

Story 

 

As far as blogging... I'm getting a round toit.  Too many electronics and radio projects during the last quarter of 2020.  Maybe in 2021 I'll get things moved to WordPress.

 

Happy New Year to everybody!

Clairefontaine Notebook and a New Fountain Pen and GOOD RIDDANCE BLOGGER! I'M MOVING TO WORDPRESS!

Four hours trying and retrying the new blogshit.  No more. I hate software I cannot get to work properly and this is not software I care to mess with.

sorry there is no review here.  When I get set up on WP I may continue this.
I apologize for the tiraide since I really wanted to review this last notebook and then do a final summary.  Things will need to wait until I get time to move to WordPress. I'll be letting this blog up IT will not be supported.