So this came today
In case it isn’t clear, “final edition” means the last ever final printed Yellow Pages, like, ever. I’ve bought magazines that were thicker.
The Yellow Pages as such have only existed here for around fifty years, so they aren’t quite the venerable institution they are in the States. I don’t think we used it even when we were in London and the internet was younger. I can’t imagine what anyone might use them for in CURRENT YEAR and out here in the country. There are so many other local directories that do a fine job with less drama.
Is the phone book still a thing in the States?
Thanks to everyone who helped identify my eBay instrument haul (especially Muldoon, whose pronouncements had the ring of authority). It looks like I got me a set of surgical bone mauling tools.
Brrrrr.
May 17, 2018 — 9:35 pm
Comments: 11
Spatula, Prince of Darkness
Okay, last one. I have six round ones and five square ones. They are all flat, bent where they flair and have a little hook at the end (see the one in my hand). They’re all made of really nice stainless, so I hope I can grind them into something useful.
So. A) What are they, really? And B) What can I turn them into, with a little effort?
Thanks everyone for your help identifying these things. Good explanations, ridiculous ones — all are welcome.
May 16, 2018 — 9:48 pm
Comments: 15
Need anything…reamed?
The chucks at the top and the bits in the middle fit and lock into the handles at left. The little bits at the top fit into the chucks at the top. My hand for scale. Larger photo on request.
The obvious purpose is for drilling and reaming, but it’s all very awkward and uncomfortable. Like WHAT? Look at the length of the bottom-most one. WHY?
Makes me nuts I couldn’t get the bits to line up properly. Four hundred year old house, wonky floors. I’m lucky the whole business didn’t end up in my lap.
May 15, 2018 — 8:05 pm
Comments: 13
What hath I bought?
It doesn’t happen often, but occasionally you’ll be cruising eBay for something else entirely and you’ll see something pretty tasty that’s about to close and nobody’s bid on it at all.
And that, Yer Honor, is how I ended up with fifty-something surgical tools I have no idea what they are. I got two really good pairs of precision pliers and some dental picks that make the whole lot worth the £7 paid, but I’m kind of mystified by the rest.
Let’s start with something easy. I shall call these things “bone clamps”. There are six of the kind on the left and two of the kind on the right.
Sound about right to you?
May 14, 2018 — 8:58 pm
Comments: 15
I don’t own this one…
The collectible statue business is no joke. This bad boy, for example, will put you back upwards of $700.
It’s big, it’s some kind of resin, it’s beautifully handpainted and it’s in an edition of less than a thousand.
Is this the tippy top of the collectible statue market? No idea. Too rich for my blood. I wonder how much of the price is licensing rights from the intellectual property owners…?
Have a good weekend, y’awl.
May 11, 2018 — 7:39 pm
Comments: 11
My Geralt of Rivia, let me show you him
Well, fine. As long as I’m showing off my doll collection. Erm, I mean action figures. Umm, I mean fine pieces of sculpture, this is the Geralt of Rivia I bought myself for my birthday.
Sure, you want to see him in glorious color, to scale, on my desk. A fine example of injection molding, is it not?
These things are regarded as adult collectibles — or ‘adult’ ‘collectibles’ — and can be very, very expensive. Especially when they first come out…or, if you’re lucky, some months later when it turn out they didn’t make enough to satisfy demand. I struck while the iron was lukewarm and didn’t get skinned alive.
Dark Horse is the seller. They make a lot of these things (of varying quality).
May 10, 2018 — 9:38 pm
Comments: 10
Apparently, I bought one of these
Huh. This arrived today. I’d forgotten I ordered it. It’s probably the most Japanese thing I’ve ever bought.
It’s a teeny, tiny artist’s mannequin. It comes with seventeen different hands, two tiny cellphones, a tiny laptop computer and a tiny sumurai sword. By tiny, the whole dude is like 4″ high.
Sadly, the instructions are in Japanese, so I’m struggling. Yes, yes…I know it all should be terribly obvious, but this is Japanese technology we’re talking.
Manufacturer here. No, I didn’t pay anything like that for it (if you want one, check eBay).
Fair warning: if you communicate with them even once, they will try to sell you something every day of your life, forever. Even after you’ve bought one. They’re like the LinkedIn of tiny plastic Japanese artists’ models.
May 9, 2018 — 9:54 pm
Comments: 5
Is this a thing now…?
So I got a new phone for my b’day (woot!). Thankee, Uncle B. The old one just hasn’t been the same since I dropped it in the terlet.
It’s very nifty (it’s a Motorola, like the old one, but newer and bigger and everythinger). One of the apps it comes with is a radio player, so I’ve been busy trying to find my favorites from back home.
Wikipedia has a handy radio stations of Rhode Island page (though the picture is from radio stations of Connecticut, and I finally found the old favorite I was looking for under radio stations of Massachusetts).
I wasn’t particularly surprised to see the number of Spanish-language stations has exploded since I left, but I was very surprised to see the number of religious programming stations. Is that a thing? Since when? What exactly plays on religious programming, Catholic mass? Christian rock?
Yeah, I know I could just listen, but I thought you guys might be able to give me context.
For the record, the station I was looking for is WCTK in New Bedford, Mass. Yes, it’s a country station. If you haven’t listed to country in a while, it’s a long way from honky-tonk or Porter Wagoner these days. It’s weirdly accessible now, like Top 40 pop radio used to be — perfect for a sunny Saturday doing chores.
Also, I really like hearing traffic and weather reports that don’t affect me any more. For some reason.
May 8, 2018 — 9:41 pm
Comments: 21
Hotter than Riyadh
You guys! Seriously! I have never known a run of weather like this here. Granted, my sample size is less than ten years, but still…
Every day, it’s been about 80°, not a breath of wind, not a cloud in the sky. The 80° is astonishing for May, but the cloudless and windless is unheard of at any time. It’s windy here. And cloudy. Usually.
Of course, EVERY SINGLE THING I had lined up for my holiday was an indoor thing (more or less evenly divided between arting and computing), but that all went out the window. I have spent a week in the garden draped over a deck chair reading trash.
It’s been glorious. Not what I planned, but glorious.
And now I’m back.
May 7, 2018 — 8:50 pm
Comments: 8
There. All done.
Have a great weekend and I’ll see you back here Monday. Which is a holiday Monday here, but I won’t be greedy.
May 4, 2018 — 3:00 pm
Comments: 9