A Crummy Commercial

Shorpy posted an interesting (to me) photo: https://www.shorpy.com/node/27916 from the Library of Congress site Be sure to click the Shorpy link and zoom in for the detailed view. I have observations: 1) the view is not that great ?  if it were I would point my desk at the window :) 2) considering the president of the agency would have the nicest office, it seems spare / cramped 3) maybe the dropped ceiling (for the sprinklers and ventilation) or possibly the indirect lighting contribute to the cramped feeling 4) it looks like if the president were to be fired, he could make way for the new guy pretty quickly, gather up the books, including American Sayings , the plant and the picture and you're gone !  Sorta like they were renting the office and the real estate agent told them "it'll rent quicker if you add some furniture" ! 5) that built-in seating looks too small to stretch out on, I imagine the button on the chair might allow reclining ?  I did a little searching ...

I noticed that there is a fairly recent archive (posted March 19, 2026) of CQ Magazine from the start in 1945 through 1963.  Apparently after 1963 the copyrights are still in force.  So not too much modern content but still quite interesting. https://archive.org/details/cq-amateur-radio I tried checking the issues from 1948 for sideband articles, a couple of rigs were presented as well as an intro article.  There were also several construction articles in 1949.  In 1950 nothing until October, a receiver was presented. One problem when looking for articles on beginnings of single sideband is that the usage of the term, SSB hadn't become standard.  The first mention spotted was in September 1951 on page 46.  So I guess it's necessary to either read each issue cover to cover or search on the various terms used such as SSSC (Single Sideband Suppressed Carrier). I still haven't found any documentation on why standard practice is to use the lower sideband on the...

Yes, I sometimes follow the way of the weasel.  But no, not the right wing racist path of Scott Adams (who knew ?):    I got a request to print 30 (or more) poetry booklets for a local museum.  They haven't asked for anything in almost 2 years so I figured they had made other arrangements. I was wrong. I wrote back that my printer seems to be on it's last legs (true although a new, expensive toner cartridge would help) and that the computer I use for printing might not power up (hadn't been used in almost 2 years).  So I said I wasn't interested. Then the request came for the booklet files so I tried booting up the computer - it did "work" although there was an error I had never seen before.  Even in the past when I did do the printing there were problems that I wasn't able to fix.  I was able to scrape the files off after finding an old USB 2.0 SD card reader and getting it to work (for some reason one of my old 2GB SD cards only works in the Kodak CX...

AI is hated by many, especially the young, don't try to feed them "AI Slop" But this IEEE Spectrum article was interesting: https://spectrum.ieee.org/artificial-neurons-on-silicon-chips In this case, the grad student was sloppy by not connecting the substrate to ground and it may lead to a new way to implement AI that uses less power.  So sometimes it's good to make mistakes - so this AI sloppiness might be good, at least for the environment  :) It still boggles my mind that power used is a figure of merit embraced by the AI industry: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2026/04/data-centers.html It's like the Supermen from the planet Bizarro have taken over the tech leadership of Earth !  Why is using more power better ?  It's not but apparently that's the yardstick they use :(  It's also interesting that this new potentially power saving AI work is being done at a university in Singapore.  Singapore has (unlike the current US administration) decided to embra...

. source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9wf43aoJhU There is a reason why they were called box cameras !: The Kodak motto was genius: The Kodak Bantam Special was a really cool looking camera: The weird thing is that the Bantam Special was an 828 camera - the film was 35 mm wide but it had a paper backing and it didn't have the sprocket holes along both edges.  828 film was basically gone even during the 1970s so that's one reason why I never even considered getting one. My only sorta art deco Kodak camera is a Kodak Signet: source:  https://archive.org/details/glassbrasschrome0000lahu/page/226/mode/2up It's a wonderful camera - Kodak did good work, although at a high price.  Sadly I stopped using it after buying the other cameras with light meters and other doo-dads :) I have a CX7430 Kodak digital camera, still use it regularly, often for this blog. I thought this was telling (the photo that killed the photo company didn't survive even as long as the company): A wik...

I saw this Schwinn ad on Pinterest: source:  https://www.pinterest.com/pin/358528820349226381 108.92 miles per hour on a Schwinn ?   Wiki for Alfred Letourner: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Letourneur It says he was "drafting" a midget racer car on a highway but still, it sounds fishy, especially the 5 significant figures, even the MLB only reports tenths of a MPH for their pitching records. :) What if he had blown a tire ?  yikes !  Maybe since old Al was French he was using Michelins ?: source:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/1643624025/vintage-michelin-man-poster-retro Google translation: Then again, the dude is smoking a cigar, riding a bike no hands, safety might not have been that important to Michelin :) I think I'd rather have the Black Phantom ! I actually still have a Schwinn Cruiser 5, one of many bikes I've ridden into the ground.  Someday maybe I'll fix it ? Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm

I've mentioned one of my grade school teachers, Mr. Peterson, before: https://wb9kzy.blogspot.com/2022/06/contracts-mr-peterson-7th-grade.html Recently I was reminded of the book: Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck: https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20220145 I don't remember the exact time or context (probably 7th grade) but Mr. Peterson wanted me to read the book.  Probably just because my name was Charles ?  And the Charley in the title is a dog, a big old French Poodle dog  :) I did read it (it's a travel book - all authors seem to write travel books, even Thoreau :) - the only thing I remember from the book is that at one point Steinbeck encounters buxom women - it was remarkable so he wrote it down :) Best Regards, Chuck, WB9KZY http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm