As an amateur clock repairer, I’ve been hunting for a good glossary of clock part names. Then one day I found clock conservator Matthew Read talked about one in his How to repair pendulum clocks – LIVESTREAM #005, where at about 1:26:00 he mentions a 17th or 18th Century work by William Derham. One of the live-stream attendees found the title of that work.
What follows is Chapter 1 of “The Artificial Clockmaker” by William Derham, published in 1734, courtesy of Google Books. This chapter gives the then-current names and descriptions of the parts of a mechanical clock. Many of these names have survived into the 21st Century. Where necessary I’ve added annotations in brackets.
Continue reading Names of Clock Parts, from 1734 →
If you liked my 1984 desk, you might appreciate these less-olde-timey photos, of my 2014 and 2016 desks.
It’s July 2014. In a few months, Apple will introduce the Apple Watch. I’ve been working at Intel for almost 22 years. As I sometimes do, I took a photo of my office desk.
Continue reading My 2014 Desk →
I try not to spend much time talking about ye olde timey computing that I lived through, because it quickly becomes boring to all but those who were there, and the future is so much more exciting. But in looking up evidence I had of Tektronix having Ethernet (and Internet connectivity before that), I found a photo of my olde timey Tektronix office desk, and couldn’t resist cataloging how office computing has changed.
It’s October 1984. The original Mac was announced in January. I’ve been working at Tektronix in Beaverton, Oregon for 6 years. On a whim, I took a picture of my office desk.
Continue reading My 1984 Desk →
In going through old family papers, I happened on a letter from my great-grandfather, John Foshay, to his wife, my great-grandmother, Martha (Whealdon) Foshay. It’s a letter composed mid-trip on a journey from Albany Oregon to California along what is now Interstate 5.
I love this letter for its sweet expressions of love, and for John’s vivid description of coach travel in the late 1800s in Oregon. Whenever I’m stuck on a plane waiting to depart, I think of John on the freezing floor of the coach, on page 2.
Continue reading Travel is Broadening, 1873 →
Technical Writing and Self-Pubilshing
