tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post4449987991614125407..comments2024-03-29T06:11:25.339-05:00Comments on Bayou Renaissance Man: Youngsters today . . .Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10595089829300831372noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-52370086720471195882018-09-26T12:26:41.864-05:002018-09-26T12:26:41.864-05:00I used to have both my fifty year old slide rule, ...I used to have both my fifty year old slide rule, and my father's from three decades before that (I don't know what happened to my mother's slide rule; I think it got lost in one of her office moves). I got rid of mine recently -- by the time was made, K&E had gone to plastic slides, and the plastic sticks, so it was hard to get things lined up properly. But my father's is wood, with veneer, so it still slides perfectly without binding.<br /><br />Slide rules were great because they forced you to think about the numbers (with no orders of magnitude, you needed to know about what the answer was), instead of just punching them in. And they forced you to think about significant digits, since "slide rule accuracy" was a real consideration.<br /><br />Calculators are wonderful instruments, but I'm really glad I learned on a slide rule before pocket calculators were invented.Ben Yalowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12559411931000354498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-17824724319107004422018-09-26T10:14:34.630-05:002018-09-26T10:14:34.630-05:00I recently used the phrase "drop a dime"...I recently used the phrase "drop a dime" in a casual conversation.<br />I got the blankest looks.<br />Of course I grew up at a time when "Brother, can you spare a dime?" was still fresh in the minds of the adults around me.<br />Uncle Larhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04008207593205949098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-15026316992692506732018-09-26T09:50:31.586-05:002018-09-26T09:50:31.586-05:00I remember the dark times...
When 12:00 would bli...I remember the dark times...<br /><br />When 12:00 would blink at you over and over from the darkness...Nate Winchesterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00630873800235819300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-5097154888908643172018-09-26T07:43:15.724-05:002018-09-26T07:43:15.724-05:00I think it would be fun to hand a millennial a sli...I think it would be fun to hand a millennial a slide rule and watch him try to measure things. Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04780834197167716549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-76364084856825191152018-09-26T07:43:12.133-05:002018-09-26T07:43:12.133-05:00"While we're at it: what's a 'dim..."While we're at it: what's a 'dime?'"<br /><br />It's what you used to know as a "penny."davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13579043129470256468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-66377776767978669752018-09-26T07:38:43.978-05:002018-09-26T07:38:43.978-05:00I have a daughter born in the mid 80's who wou...I have a daughter born in the mid 80's who would not watch black and white TV or movies, just wouldn't do it... Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05450082315014407506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-71073470341003973062018-09-26T07:35:55.563-05:002018-09-26T07:35:55.563-05:00While we're at it: what's a "dime&quo...While we're at it: what's a "dime"?Dad29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08554276286736923821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6244999628674918029.post-33718695512897521772018-09-26T07:35:38.118-05:002018-09-26T07:35:38.118-05:00Phone booths, gum stuck to everything and the phon...Phone booths, gum stuck to everything and the phone books had about 50% of their pages ripped outDad29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08554276286736923821noreply@blogger.com