In search of cool useless things
I have always wanted but have no practical use for the following:
1.Vintage Stock Ticker Machine: I could watch one of those things for hours. I find it relaxing to hear it tick and spit out the numbers. But where do you get the ticker tape and what to do with it aside from using it in an art project. At least it would force me to create. Oh the pressure. Still, Cool thing to have lying around.
2.In keeping with the glass dome theme, however not nearly as "useless" is a small, glass dome weather station. It looks like a ticker machine but isn't as dynamic.
3. A really complex antique music box. In the age of Ipods and things being smaller,taking up less space but holding the max a big music box is pretty useless. Even one that plays several tunes is "useless" but I dig them. I like the sound, I admire the mechanics of it all. As if you haven't noticed, I'm wowed by somewhat primitive (comparatively) mechanics.
4. A HAM radio. With the internet it's now "useless" to a point and it's a hassles with the whole radio operators lisence and it does take up a significant amount of space but it's so uber cool.
BTW I saw a truck driver using a cell and he looked silly, even stupid. I'm used to truckdrivers = CB radios. I don't care, truckdrivers should use CB radios or a cell that looks like a CB radio.
5. My own radio station and frequency on AM. Yeah, I would totally dig my very own lil radio station, again, I know this is possible with a computer and a service but it's not the same. To have records (78's 45's, 33's) from floor to ceiling, tapes, cds and the entire set up to transmit on XTER (should it be in Mexico) or KWNT from the US and be able to play whatever and broadcast all over all entirely on the level with the FCC, not pirate (ugh! the worry and the fines and the loss of equipment). Have friends do their own shows, spend weekends working the station. Wowsers, the power of broadcasting in this manner still appeals to me. Ever since I was a kid working with walkie talkies, a Fisher Price turntable and a small but powerful transistor radio. Working for Voice of America still appeals to me too. UGH the voices on the radio these days-something revolutionary can still happen there.
6. More useless would be a telegraph unless you want to practice Morse code for no good reason. I used to own a straight key but that was lost,stolen,taken, what have you. I learned Morse Code as a kid from a library book. I still know some,um, well acquainted that is, it ties in with the whole HAM radio thing.
..-. ..- -. -.- / ... --- ..- .-.. / -... .-. --- - .... . .-.
It also ties in with a facination with code in general. When I was a kid I was always wanting to return from Summer vacation with some cool skill (cool in my book, not yours or theirs)and learning Morse Code was one of them but there was a Summer I tried to learn Navajo. All pretty useless when you consider I could of learned Latin or Greek?
1.Vintage Stock Ticker Machine: I could watch one of those things for hours. I find it relaxing to hear it tick and spit out the numbers. But where do you get the ticker tape and what to do with it aside from using it in an art project. At least it would force me to create. Oh the pressure. Still, Cool thing to have lying around.
2.In keeping with the glass dome theme, however not nearly as "useless" is a small, glass dome weather station. It looks like a ticker machine but isn't as dynamic.
3. A really complex antique music box. In the age of Ipods and things being smaller,taking up less space but holding the max a big music box is pretty useless. Even one that plays several tunes is "useless" but I dig them. I like the sound, I admire the mechanics of it all. As if you haven't noticed, I'm wowed by somewhat primitive (comparatively) mechanics.
4. A HAM radio. With the internet it's now "useless" to a point and it's a hassles with the whole radio operators lisence and it does take up a significant amount of space but it's so uber cool.
BTW I saw a truck driver using a cell and he looked silly, even stupid. I'm used to truckdrivers = CB radios. I don't care, truckdrivers should use CB radios or a cell that looks like a CB radio.
5. My own radio station and frequency on AM. Yeah, I would totally dig my very own lil radio station, again, I know this is possible with a computer and a service but it's not the same. To have records (78's 45's, 33's) from floor to ceiling, tapes, cds and the entire set up to transmit on XTER (should it be in Mexico) or KWNT from the US and be able to play whatever and broadcast all over all entirely on the level with the FCC, not pirate (ugh! the worry and the fines and the loss of equipment). Have friends do their own shows, spend weekends working the station. Wowsers, the power of broadcasting in this manner still appeals to me. Ever since I was a kid working with walkie talkies, a Fisher Price turntable and a small but powerful transistor radio. Working for Voice of America still appeals to me too. UGH the voices on the radio these days-something revolutionary can still happen there.
6. More useless would be a telegraph unless you want to practice Morse code for no good reason. I used to own a straight key but that was lost,stolen,taken, what have you. I learned Morse Code as a kid from a library book. I still know some,um, well acquainted that is, it ties in with the whole HAM radio thing.
..-. ..- -. -.- / ... --- ..- .-.. / -... .-. --- - .... . .-.
It also ties in with a facination with code in general. When I was a kid I was always wanting to return from Summer vacation with some cool skill (cool in my book, not yours or theirs)and learning Morse Code was one of them but there was a Summer I tried to learn Navajo. All pretty useless when you consider I could of learned Latin or Greek?
Labels: vintage
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