It's time for a rant!

Early in the morning a few months ago, I typed up this page while I was on a caffeine high from a rather large cup of coffee. I posted it quickly, taking a picture of the sheet rather than take the time to scan it. A few hours later, I removed it because it was very rant-ish for so trivial a subject. Some of you may recognize it, if you were one of the original 14 or so people who saw it. I have posted it up here again because I rediscovered it among some old papers in my desk and I am approximately 60 views from reaching the 4,000 mark, and if it turns out I don't return to this blog I'd like to have at least reached 4,000 views.

Now, before you read, keep in mind that I had consumed a little too much coffee that morning and that I wasn't exactly thinking through everything I wrote.

Enjoy! And remember to take everything I have written here with a grain of salt ;)

(click to enlarge, if you need to.)

My Stairway to Heaven

The heavenly steps of the Royal 5

The Royal 5 is such an odd machine. Not quite a standard sized machine, it is still far from portable.

Here my 5 is, next to one of my Royal 10s.

The type action is equally weird... it feels as if the keys are tilting forward. It's really a fun machine, but this particular one isn't working so well.

 It's missing some important piece in the carriage that keeps the whole carriage from sliding off the rails. For the life of me I can't figure out what that is, but it is still safe to use as long as I don't wobble it forward and back at the extreme end of the margin.

This particular one is from 1912, making it my oldest machine by a good decade. 

I got it on eBay a week or so ago, the seller had made the mistake of making a single-day auction with a low starting bid. As is so often with eBay sellers, it was mentioned in the description that the seller would chop the keys to save on shipping. Looks like another rescue!

Strangely, the platen is has a blue-ish tone to it. I think this would have been from a resurfacing job on it a long while ago, but I have no idea. 

I would have loved to write this post on it but the carriage rails really gummed up, so it doesn't 

advance well... yet

Here's tomorrow's teaser

Thanks for reading!

Picking up speed

So far I have been posting only about once a week, and sometimes even then I don't post.

Well, I've made the decision to post every or every other day until 2015 starts. I really want my blog to pick up speed.

I guess I'll start tomorrow... but for now I leave you with a teaser image.

All will be revealed soon!

A keychop rescue

I just love that logo..