Kyle Rankin @kyle@librem.one

@giglioli For the super-near-term I'm going to finish writing a new book I started after my Best of Hack and / book, about how to write a tech book (it's so meta, I know).

Beyond that, I don't know. Open to suggestions and opportunities.

@avanc Yes, I document my whole project here: https://kylerank.in/tempus_nectit/

Today is my last day at Purism after being there for over five years. I'm marking the event on my Tempus Nectit knitting machine clock with a white stripe.

#knitting

@hehemrin @katherined Thank you!

@martijnbraam I appreciate your posting a follow-up and analysis of this post. I skimmed (and even boosted) that article this morning because I was curious about the claims and what would come of it after more eyeballs were on it.

@shawnp0wers So exciting!

(Apologies to Rick Astley)
We're no strangers to hacks
You know the column, and so do I
A full published book's what I'm thinking of
You wouldn't get this from any other guy

I just wanna tell you what I've written
Gotta make you understand

It's the Best of Hack and /
It's a Linux admin class
You can order and real fast send to you
Hardback's awesome I won't lie
Paperback is a close tie
With the ebook you can buy on Lulu

https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/kyle_rankin

#SelfPublishing #writing

@cavaughan I have a Comptometer manual that goes into how to do more advanced things like roots, but it seemed complicated enough that I'd never know if I got the right answer.

@cavaughan Once you know addition and subtraction, then multiplication is just repeated addition, with shifts to the left for each digit in the multiplier. Division is similar, but starts at the left of the dividend, and you subtract repeatedly until it underflows (the machine will ring a bell!) and then you add one back and shift right. Repeat until you have enough digits of precision to suit you.

@cavaughan I have a pinwheel calculator just like that! But not a Russian model, it is a Brunswiga.

@Konqi For Comptometers in particular, professionals received training very similar to professional typists. They touch typed without looking at the keys (eyes and other hand was on the document with the figures).

For speed, they not only chorded the keys (an advantage to full-keyboard calculators versus ones that only had a single set of 0-9), they also only pressed 1-5 to keep their hand on "home row" and to make, say, 7, would type 3 then 4. Pros were *very* fast at this.

Back in 1918 machines were designed to tell humans when they made a mistake. Over a hundred years later the roles have reversed. How times have changed.

#AI #VintageAds #calculator

This Monroe Model G mechanical calculator was made some time between 1918 and 1920, and is the one I used on the cover of my new book. I also featured non-blurry pictures of it as the background image on each chapter, and in those cases left a little easter egg for keen-eyed readers.

#calculators #writing

@cavaughan Hmmm, if it's been awhile since you checked, check in with support again. We recently went through a lot of old stock of parts that couldn't be used for refurbs and it's possible we might have something.

@ljs @jebba Tell me about it. I'm chatting here instead of working on my new book right now!