So, no typecast today due to scanner difficulties (now do you see why I like mechanical things? They actually work, and if they don't they usually do with a little oil). I actually have two typed up so you can see old ribbon vs. new.

Well, I went out to Office Depot today (considering only OD and Staples sell ribbon in the stores and I still don't know where Staples is) and bought a red/black calculator ribbon for Remmy (I named my Remington 333 "Remmy" after all my puzzling about it. Names can still be suggested for any of my gadgets I mention.) Well, I thought it might be in the ink area, but in spite of them having a ton of fax ribbons (which look like rolls of paper), the calculator ribbons weren't there. So I finally found them in the back of the store near the labelers and electric typewriters. The spools are tiny, I'll take a picture for Photo Day, but they do fit and I wanted to use Remmy now not after I respooled them (which I still might do). I discovered how to set line spacing and I used the red for corrections as I went along.
Well, when I was looking at the spools I was offered help, but in the sort of "I'll try my best, but please don't ask me anything too complicated" tone of voice. The cashier almost offered to recycle my old cartridge I think and then realized it was ribbons not a cartridge, resulting in a "Would you like to.... umm will that be credit or debit?" sort of pause. The cashier also gave me a strange look when I mentioned respooling it. More about the ribbon in the typecast.

Well, when I was looking for something the other day I found an old General Electric transistor radio (also did TV before the DTV conversion). Mom didn't think it worked at all, even the FM radio (we get horrible AM reception here, no matter the station). I bought batteries today and it works great, except the TV sound part (which picks up a radio station when it picks up anything). It needs a little cleaning, and I need to figure out where best to listen to AM, but I get clear AM now too. Funny thing is I saw a smaller one like it in a store a couple weeks ago complete with tuning dial that was on sale for like $30. So for a 50¢ battery I have at least a $30 radio! The best part is my kitten thinks the antenna is a toy, and gets startled when she causes static by pawing at it. Apparently in this age of iPods and such, regular AM/FM radios, shortwave radios, and weather radios are quite popular from what I have heard. Even a lot of mp3 players have FM capabilities, but if you want AM you still need a regular radio. I guess they use them for camping and travel. I could get a tiny AM/FM radio for under $5 at some stores, but this one looks more technical than the pink ones that autoscan and it gets better reception. It also is good and solid, not thin plastic like the cheap ones. Well, solid except where I forced the battery compartment open and it won't close tightly now. Oh well, tape will fix that. I can't call it old, I think it's younger than I am, but with the way technology changes nowadays, that's like a century in music player years!

First off, welcome to my blog. Expect posts frequently right now as my schedule is pretty open, but then I should go to about 2-3 times a week, and I'll try to come up with set days. Or just use the RSS feed and not worry about it!


Now for the interesting stuff...

I found mom's old typewriter (portable manual) last week and decided to fix it up and start using it more. It's a Sperry Rand Remington 333 from 1970 or 1971. It is in good condition except it was a rather dusty and the ribbon is all dry. I dusted it all out carefully and attempted to revive the ribbon. Tomorrow when I can scan in Typecast #1 you can see for yourself how well that worked. I think part of my problem is it's a cheap nylon ribbon and the oil doesn't soak in very well. 
I'm happy to report that while I thought it needed oiling, dusting seemed to do the trick. Sadly I did not get sewing machine oil or typewriter ribbons for Christmas. oh well. 


Some more info about the typewriter: 
The font is picoelite (not sure how to spell that) which is sort of like an 11 pt. font on a computer in usage - most people use 10 pt or 12 pt but sometimes you need something in-between (pico is 10 char. per inch, and elite is 12...picoelite is 11 char per inch). Note that points and characters per inch are not the same, especially as points can vary from font to font and by computer resolution. 
Aside from keycaps (which are a very heavy plastic, I actually thought it was coated metal at first) and the knobs and other such things (oh and the bits that have to be rubber and such), the typewriter is basically all metal, and though it's a portable it's incredibly heavy. I think I may use carrying it around as part of my exercise regimen. It has its original case which seems to be tweed on the outside and vinyl on the inside. 
Strangely enough it doesn't ding when I use the carriage return. I don't think it's supposed to but I kind of wish it would. Maybe I'll find a handbell and ring it whenever I use the carriage return. 


Other typewriters you may see in my posts are "the twins," two electric typewriters, one of which needs a little TLC to get up and running. 


Names for the Remington 333 are welcome, as I think a manual typewriter's revitalization necessarily leads to a naming. Besides, anything with that much presence and attitude needs a name. Pictures are coming later this week on Photo Day.