Skip to main content

A Tippy-Tapping 13


1.  Sweet Pea Song, my iMac, is 10 years old, more or less. Unfortunately for Sweet Pea Song and me there are few, if any, updates available for her system, as well as for the applications I use.

2.  She fooled her developers with their planned obsolescence. She continues to be a song of a sweet pea.

3.  Lately I've been tippy tapping on typewriters at garage sales and thrift shops. Will I buy one?

4.  Smith-Corona Coronet. That's the kind of portable blue electric typewriter on which I tippy-tapped during my 20s when I was into writing short stories. It gave out a comforting buzz that complimented the tip tip tip tap tap tip tip tap tap of the keys.


5.  I miss inserting paper into a typewriter, rolling up the paper, pushing the carriage back, hitting the space bar three times, and pressing the keys. Voila. Magic words on paper.

6.  Older Brother gave me the used typewriter in exchange for babysitting two-month-old Eldest Niece so her mom could go back to work. I knew nothing about babies. Nothing at all. I threw in the towel around week six. It was a good thing for everyone, especially Eldest Niece.

7.  I certainly earned that Smith-Corona. Wish I still had it.

8.  Someone online is selling a Coronet like mine for $70. How often would I really use it? Wouldn't I rather have $70 worth of art supplies?


9.  The end of the typewriter for me came in 1985 when I bought my first computer, a Kaypro II.  It had a 9-inch screen with 64 KB of RAM and 2 drives for 5.25-inch floppy. When I latched the keyboard unit to the CPU (correct term?) to put it away, the Kaypro II looked like a portable sewing machine.

10.  About two years later I bought my first Apple machine. T'was a Macintosh SE-30. Easy-peasy to learn. My kind of technology.

11.  I've gone through several Macs in the past 30 years. Except for my first iMac, they've all been workhorses, especially the PowerComputing baby, which was a Mac clone.

12.  This year I've been using a pen or pencil to jot notes and thoughts. My hand and brain are getting used to that.

13.  I'm also doodling a lot more, again. That's something I can't do on a computer. Well, I suppose I could, but it's more fun with a pencil or pen.


For more 13 items by other bloggers, check out Thursday 13.

Comments

  1. My first computer was a Commodore Vic 20, then a Commodore 64, then a Tandy. I remember looking at the Kaypros but they were hard to find here. Then I went from Tandy (Radio Shack) to a built one at the local computer shop, then to HP (still dislike HP), then to Gateway (loved Gateway until they started doing shoddy work), then to Dell. My last three have been Dells. Everyone says I should get a MAC but I've been on Windows so long I can't see myself making the transition.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I read Commodore but think Commodores. Tandy, Jessica. lol
      The day for learning another computer system is out the window for me. So I say now. I'm glad that my ancient OS Mac can still translate newer versions of Windows.

      Delete
  2. They do say that when you longhand write something, you remember it better.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have no ideal were my type writer is.
    Coffee is on

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, but you do have it. You never know, may come in handy when you're working on your novel and the power goes off.

      Delete
  4. I probably would despise typing on a typewriter. I don't see how the keys would be comfortable, especially the really old school ones.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you might like it, Adam. Typewriter keys are comfy-cozy once you're used to it.

      Delete
  5. I always think I should get an old-school non-electric typewriter for when the sh*t hits and fan and the plug gets pulled. Someone gave me a computer and it sat in my house for half a dozen years because I wanted no part of it but of course eventually succumbed.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I took typing lessons in summer at high school. It was a game to me, but what a game! Little did I know I'd be spending so much of my life typing. I remember my niece being in awe of how fast and easily I typed on the computer. I used to only write long hand, but with the new house and lack of a screened porch haven, I now do most writing on the old computer I love. I enjoyed this trip of yours! I wonder what happened to my portable typewriter... lost in some move I suppose. Dang! LeeAnna

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Typing and journalism classes in high school taught me lifetime skills. I could put that on my headstone should I go with a headstone.
      Lately I've been experimenting with writing on paper. I find that my brain goes faster than my hand so when the muse has broken through I turn on the computer.

      Delete
  7. Ohhh yes the nostalgia of a typewriter, I can imagine gaining a love of the sounds. My PC is a trojan workhorse too, I take it literally every where - I wish you could see my office this morning overlooking the Gulf of Thailand, that's a tad trickier with a type writer! Happy doodling!
    Wren x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am imagining the view as I look up from tippy tapping on my typewriter, Wren!

      Delete
  8. Ahh, floppy disks . . . those were the days! :D

    ReplyDelete
  9. Back in the dark ages, I learned to type an old Remington and used one at my first office job. But prior to the computer age, there were IBM Selectrics, , a great advance over the old kind. (They used a kind of ball). At the time, we couldn’t imagine anything better! Then came the age of computers! I remember going to all kinds of classes to learn how to use them, meanwhile having to get our work done on our old machines, until we learned. I can’t believe we made such a big deal out of something that three-year-olds pick up easily these days! .... I wonder if you can even buy typewriter ribbons any more?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I worked on IBM Selectrics, too. So ooh-la-la, that ball was. It took me awhile to get used to the light touch on the electric typewriter keyboard. Yup, typewriter ribbons are for sale at Amazon. Have you seen the documentary "California Typewriter" narrated by Tom Hanks? It had me wanting to tippy-tap on typewriters again

      Delete
  10. Su-sieeemac - I have no idea what happened to my typewriter, but I sure loved it. I was a journalism major in college, and to me there was nothing that screamed "newspaper writer" more than tippy-tapping away on a typewriter!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's for sure, Angie! I think of His Girl Friday.

      Delete
  11. I entered the world of computers quite late but after using a keyboard for the last 20 years I could never go back to a typewriter. And did you know that 'typewriter' is the only word you can spell using just the top row of keys? :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha! I'm going to remember that bit of knowledge for the next time I have a lull in a conversation. Thanks, Eunice. :-)

      Delete
  12. I didn't like erasing mistakes, especially when I was typing carbon copies. Heaven was the coming of correction fluid. Also the delete button on the computer.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for the good cheer. :-)

Popular posts from this blog

❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❣️

Little Old Lady, Me. :-)

Every So Often — Snow on Them There Mountains!

13 Delightful D's for Me

Some Things I Like