OT Language (was Re: lost Desktop)

[gene heskett]

On Tuesday, July 19, 2011 07:23:53 AM Anne Wilson did opine:

> On Monday 18 Jul 2011 07:42:09 Duncan wrote:
> > Anne Wilson posted on Sat, 16 Jul 2011 07:06:04 +0100 as excerpted:
> > > An amazing number of solutions to a single problem :-)
> > 
> > Indeed. Altho they're variants on a theme that each have particular
> > strengths and weaknesses.  A pipe wrench, for instance, grips
> > amazingly well on a rounded pipe, but can damage the corners on a hex
> > head and is extremely heavy and cumbersome for the task of turning
> > one, so is seldom used for that, except where the corners are already
> > so rounded that a normal wrench or crescent can't get a proper grip
> > (in which case it's working at its strength again, gripping a mostly
> > rounded object).
> > 
> > > Your Crescent Wrench is the one that I have - a slightly smaller and
> > > lighter version of David's.
> > > 
> > > None of the other pictures look like the other one he uses.
> > > Imagine a single piece of iron, like a flattened umbrella handle.
> > > Underneath the curve is serrated to be one half of the jaw, and down
> > > the straight are a number of holes.  A second, entirely separate
> > > piece of iron fits around the handle, with the curved upper surface
> > > being serrated.  There is a single hole, where a pin locates it
> > > into the adjustable part.  It's a very primitive tool, to my eye.
> > > Maybe I can get a photo of it.
> > 
> > This remains quite interesting to me.  I have the general idea, now, I
> > think (thanks for the second attempt at a description), but such
> > things as the curve and attack angle are critical to getting a proper
> > conception of how well the tool works in practice and what its
> > strengths might be, and while you might be very good at describing
> > embroidery patterns (I remembered that from when I followed
> > kde-planet), those sorts of details are difficult to convey or even
> > notice without a draftsman's eye and likely a reasonable
> > understanding of the physical forces and interactions involved.
> > 
> > From what I've read of Gene's posts, if he saw one he might be able to
> > describe it well in words, but I'm definitely /not/ making a similar
> > claim for myself, tho I could probably grok the functionality
> > reasonably well, to intuit the type of strengths and weaknesses it
> > might have (as I described for the pipe wrench above, for instance),
> > at least to myself, for the purposes of evaluating the right tool for
> > the job at hand.
> > 
> > In short, it's the picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words problem. =:^D
> > 
> > I did stay a year with my grandparents as I entered my teens, and
> > while by that time they had sold the farm and bought a house in town,
> > so grandpa had no doubt left a lot of tools behind (and part of the
> > reason I was there was because he was gradually losing it by that
> > time, and grandma felt better with someone else around, to run to the
> > neighbor next door and call the police, if it came to it, so it
> > wasn't as if I could really ask grandpa), I do remember playing
> > around with a number of tools I hadn't seen before and may well never
> > see again.  I'm just wondering if I saw a picture, if I might
> > immediately recognize something I didn't know the function of back
> > then, perhaps because I only saw the separate halves.  The the word
> > description alone doesn't trigger the association or memory, but a
> > picture would very likely do so if it was something I had come across
> > either then or at some estate sale or the like.
> > 
> > So if you happen to have a cell phone with a camera or some such, or
> > happen to come across a picture on the net, I'd be much obliged.  But
> > if not, don't sweat it, I don't either (the closest I have is the
> > webcam on the netbook, but it's facing the user so is hard to use to
> > take photos of anything but myself, with... and BTW, I don't know of
> > any kde software that works with it either, except perhaps kopete for
> > visual chat, but I don't use it as I'm too deliberative a
> > thinker/typer to be effective at IM/IRC, something simple to do
> > stills and movies with would be nice). It's not as if anything
> > important depends on my seeing a picture.
> > 
> > But I can't shake the feeling that something like a year from now,
> > I'll chance across a photo or something, and it'll be "Oh, so THAT
> > was what Anne was talking about!  DUH!  I should have thought of
> > that!"
> > 
> > Meanwhile, that's enough of a description that I'm at least somewhat
> > likely to recognize one if I see it, perhaps at a yard sale, or come
> > across a photo of it myself, so that year-from-now or whatever
> > scenario isn't unlikely.
> 
> Here you are:  http://imagebin.org/163773
> 
> As you might guess, it's very old - a family "heirloom" :-D
> 
> Anne

I am 76yo, and an old Iowa farm boy, but that is the first one of those I 
have seen.  And I thought my grandfather had one of everything!

Neat, and will draw a good bid at the estate sale. ;-)

Cheers, gene
-- 
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
Those who can, do; those who can't, simulate.
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