tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749815302986742013.post2703031454564378658..comments2024-02-11T02:16:01.932-06:00Comments on Advanced Writing Theories: Sublime Americans?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00718057439826700446noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749815302986742013.post-58812771983886866052007-02-12T18:23:00.000-06:002007-02-12T18:23:00.000-06:00Hey! I just saw your family is mentioned (and quo...Hey! I just saw your family is mentioned (and quoted) in today's Wisconsin State Journal article about the show - it is in the Local section in case you didn't see it. <BR/><BR/>As for Morse code - I don't know if it is all about Cold War fears. Most don't use it anymore, but for a long time people had to pass tests on it before they could 'talk'. The 'advantages' in 'disasters' is that even when phone lines and cell towers are down, people can communicate over radio. I imagine that in the early days of telephones, this could be an effective way to communicate across distances.k8https://www.blogger.com/profile/07547334819703279971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749815302986742013.post-3858741388607683132007-02-12T15:30:00.000-06:002007-02-12T15:30:00.000-06:00Cool stuff! The variety and breadth of collectors/...Cool stuff! The variety and breadth of collectors/ enthusiasts/ hobbyists/ etc. is really fascinating. SO much energy is spent by human beings to set up and run these things as your examples attest. Why? Is the morse code thing tied to cold war fears? How much emphasis can we put on these activities as a way to "survive" both ideologically and physically (through genes, of course, not literally living forever)?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00718057439826700446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1749815302986742013.post-13148947822157920892007-02-11T23:52:00.000-06:002007-02-11T23:52:00.000-06:00I'm going to come back to this later and chat more...I'm going to come back to this later and chat more - this type of thing is part of a part of my life. I helped my dad build the mountains for his model train layout that took up a quarter of a very large basement (some trains were ones he received as presents as a kid, the rest from the same time period). These are very communal activities. Of course, the social aspect of this has meant that on more than one occassion, a part of the 'group' has reminded me that I have the name of two different train lines. <BR/><BR/>Of course, some of this connecting isn't just with other people today - some of it is to connect with those times past. [ok - disclaimer of sorts - my parents are seriously into antiques, as are some of their friends. I've casually read a ridiculous amount of items about collecting and the things people collect] People frequently collect things they remember fondly - the clock like grandma x's, memorabilia from Roy Rogers' TV show, railroad memorabilia, etc. Or, they collect things they wanted but didn't have - this is especially true of the collector car market [disclaimer #2 - my home town manufactured luxury cars during the 1920s and 1930s, and is now home to some major collector car auctions]. The communities around collectors are fascinating. <BR/><BR/>Going back to dear old dad, he's also very into amateur radio (can you see the electronics theme here?). This group particularly interests me. Yes, they talk about their towers and bandwidth and models of different types of equipment, but they also have these 'on air' communities that are both local and international. The local group even sets up an hour of each day - they refer to it as 'the net' - where they plan to be on air and chat. And the locals meet for breakfast one Saturday of each month. But even beyond that, when I was younger, I remember that my dad was particularly active with the civilian defense/disaster groups, and his radio skills played an important part in this. This was/is part of civic duty. Maybe that's more generational. Or, the after effects of military school and then the military. <BR/><BR/>OK, I've rambled on for more than I intended. Maybe I'll come back to this when I feel more coherent. One last thought: my dad always wanted us to learn morse code. Sadly, I was only interested in learning how to 'code' the naughty words, which I would then teach to my friends so that we could tap them out on our desks during school. Yeah, I was popular with the delinquents.k8https://www.blogger.com/profile/07547334819703279971noreply@blogger.com