Bruce's Smorsasborg

 From the archives; Much more, of course, has been written about him, some good, some not so good. This 182-page biography is universally positive, and doesn't get into his wars with George Westinghouse over AC/DC, his subrogating inventions from others in his workshops, etc. He is fairly revered in Fort Myers, Fla., where he spent many winters in his later years due to rheumatism and various other ailments.  He was born February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio, and died: October 18, 1931 (age 84 years), in West Orange, NJ, site of his Menlo Park laboratory. He is immortalized in a postage stamp issued as part of the "Famous Americans" series in 1947.  He is further immortalized as the hero of Doctor Emmett Brown (played by Christopher Lloyd) in the movie "Back to the Future."

By Bruce Shawkey The Anarchist Cookbook, first published in January 1971, is a book containing instructions for the manufacture of explosives, rudimentary telecommunications phreaking devices, and related weapons, as well as instructions for the home manufacture of illicit drugs, including LSD. It was written by William Powell at the apex of the counterculture era to protest against United States' involvement in the Vietnam War. Powell converted to Anglicanism in 1976 and later attempted to have the book removed from circulation. However, the copyright belonged to the publisher, who continued circulation until the company was acquired in 1991. Its legality has been questioned in several jurisdictions. The Anarchist Cookbook was written by William Powell as a teenager and first published in January 1971 at the apex of the counterculture era to protest against United States involvement in the Vietnam War. Powell gained inspiration for his text from his experiences with Vietnam vetera

 From the Google news feed, 15 outdated habits from the past Leisure suits, bell bottom slacks. 1. Sears and Wards catalogs (and stores) to order or find anything, and looking forward to the Christmas Wish List catalogs." 2. "My dad loved paper maps, and the Rand McNally Road Atlas of the US was one his favorite publications. He’d get an updated one every couple of years. Planning a road trip was a joy for him, and if one of us kids as young adults were going on a road trip, he’d get it out, and we’d pour over it with him to take the most advantageous route. He was in his happy place planning trips." 3. "Sitting in the far back of the station wagon, facing the people behind you." 4. "Manual roll up/down car windows. You would pull up next to someone and do the circular motion with your hands to get them to roll down their window to talk." 5. "Looking in the TV Guide to find out what was on TV instead of a TV guide being on the screen." 6. &q

 By Bruce Shawkey How to Win Friends and Influence People is a self-help book, first published in 1936 and written by Dale Carnegie. Over 30 million copies have been sold worldwide, making it one of the best-selling books of all time. How to Win Friends and Influence People became one of the most successful books in American history. It went through 17 print editions in its first year of publishing and sold 250,000 copies in the first three months. The book has sold over 30 million copies worldwide since and annually sells in excess of 250,000 copies. A 2013 Library of Congress survey ranked Carnegie's volume as the seventh most influential book in American history. Dale Carnegie was an American writer and lecturer, and the developer of courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal skills. He was born November 24, 1888, Maryville, Missouri, and died November 1, 1955 at age 66. I've never read the book myself, but have heard it

 Ran across this funny (but oh so true) article in the Google newsfeed: Some of the most common habits we used to do back in the day wouldn't make sense if we tried to do them in 2024. So when asked: "What's one thing normal at your time but is now bizarre to even think about?" many people shared their stories. Here are some of them. "Sears and Wards catalogs (and stores) to order or find anything, and looking forward to the Christmas Wish List catalogs." "My dad loved paper maps, and the Rand McNally Road Atlas of the US was one his favorite publications. He’d get an updated one every couple of years. Planning a road trip was a joy for him, and if one of us kids as young adults were going on a road trip, he’d get it out, and we’d pour over it with him to take the most advantageous route. He was in his happy place planning trips." "Manual roll up/down car windows. You would pull up next to someone and do the circular motion with your hands to

  By Bruce Shawkey Here is a ChatGPT article on how to keep a journal\ Keeping a journal can be a rewarding habit that helps you reflect, organize your thoughts, and track your progress over time. Here’s how to get started and maintain a journal effectively: 1. Choose Your Format Digital or Physical: Decide whether you want to write in a physical notebook or use a digital tool like a journaling app, word processor, or even a simple document. Type of Journal: Consider the kind of journal you want to keep—daily reflections, gratitude journal, dream journal, bullet journal, etc. 2. Set a Regular Schedule Daily Entries: Aim to write daily, even if it’s just a few sentences. Consistency is key to making journaling a habit. Time of Day: Pick a time that works best for you—morning to set intentions, or evening to reflect on your day. 3. Start with Prompts Simple Prompts: Use prompts to get started, like “What am I grateful for today?” or “What did I learn today?” Reflection: Reflect on your t

 By Bruce Shawkey One item on my bucket list is to take a train ride through the Rocky Mountains and on to California. Found this great book on the Internet about train travel. One excerpt: Sophie Tucker, America's great vaudeville and nightclub star, once said, "I've been rich and I've been poor. Believe me, rich is better." Well, in my many travels I've been comfortable and I've been uncomfortable. Believe me, comfortable is better. A lot better. And that's just one reason why I take the train. There are a lot of societal and environmental reasons for being pro-rail, and I'll talk about those in another chapter. But for long-distance travel, the train is the only civilized option left for us. You think not? Just consider the other choices.  See America through a windshield? In Charles Kuralt's delightful book, On the Road with Charles Kuralt, he says, "Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the count

 By Bruce Shawkey  Found this fascinating 1954-1955 catalog of Columbia recordings on the Internet database of archived documents. It's a 340-page catalog of everything you could order from Columbia -- from records to phonograph needles to cleaning pads. Record care instructions are also given: I. Do not handle the actual playing surface of the record. Slight grease can attract dust.  2. Before playing an LP record always wipe the surface with a smooth, soft, damp cloth. A piece of linen, soaked in plain water and then thoroughly wrung out, serves admirably. Do not use a dry cloth, brush or cleaning pad. (Editor's note: Strange that Columbia sold cleaning pads, but then urged people not to use them.) 3. When extracting the record from its container, bow the container open as much as possible to prevent the record surfaces being rubbed.  4. Keep records in an even, moderate temperature.  5. Records should be kept in an upright position, but ensure that they are kept pressed ligh

 By Bruce Shawkey What's more American than hamburgers and fries, or a "burgerfry" as I call it when I'm hungry for a fix. I'm pretty sure this "mashup" is my own invention, because a Google search of the term turns up nothing.      Anyway, I found this interesting book stored on the Internet Archive. Turns out hamburgers have a long and storied history, much of it occurring beyond the shores of America. Thirteenth-century warlord Genghis Khan and his fierce cavalry may have invented the hamburger.      According to a number of sources, the Mongol leader and his members of the Golden Horde rarely left their mounts. Since the army required food that could be eaten while galloping, warriors stored raw mutton scraps in the gap between the horse's flank and the saddle.       After a morning of traversing rough terrain, tough meat became tenderized and more or less chopped up. All a hungry warrior need do was reach beneath his saddle, scoop out a hunk of

 By Bruce Shawkey Interesting article on the Google news feed about solitude, as originally reported in Psychology Today. Article is subtitled "Why do some people fear solitude while others embrace it?" Articles distinguishes between solitude and loneliness. I read it, and thought of my friend, Brian Larson. He could not stand loneliness. He had to have the radio on all the time because he couldn't stand the silence.  Here is an excerpt from the article: Some people are reluctant to spend time alone. Solitude makes them anxious and restless, and so they try to ensure that they’re always in the company of others. But other people have a completely different attitude toward solitude. Even if they enjoy the time they spend with others, they savor their moments of solitude. They find solitude therapeutic and essential to their well-being, a time to rest and reconnect themselves. Amen. As much as I enjoy connecting with others (for example, my weekly time with the Roosters) I

 By Bruce Shawkey When I was a youngster, my dad worked as a bartender at the Hoffman House in Madison. Often, tips would come in the form of merchandise from the various salesmen that would arrive in Madison via the railroad station, which was just down the street from the Hoffman House. One time, Dad scored a deluxe Erector set, complete with electric motor. I recall my brother and Dad put together a parachute drop, which was about five feet high. The toy would alternately raise and lower about six parachutes with the aid of the electric motor. The image at left is about as close as I can come to remembering it. Here's an Erector Set manual from 1938. It's quite a long manual, so I'm supplying a link if you want to check out the whole thing: Erector How To Make Em Book 1938 (1).pdf Here are just a few pages: In 1911, Gilbert invented the Erector construction toy concept, inspired by railroad girders used by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. Gilbert and his wi

 By Bruce Shawkey One of my favorite books to read as I was contemplating early retirement was this book, shown at left. To live cheaply, Paul stated, could be accomplished most easily by moving outside the U.S. and becoming an ex-pat. Paul and his wife had lived in several countries, including Mexico, Guatemala, Thailand, and  Malaysia, among others. But Robert Zimmerman and his wife tried to make a go of it in Guatemala and found it didn't work. They tried it for two years, and moved back to the United States, currently in Rockford, Ill. Here are some excerpts of their experience, as reported by Business Insider. ________________________________ While Zimmerman and his wife disliked some aspects of living in Guatemala, he said it was good to experience a new culture and take a break from the corporate world. "While my friends and acquaintances enjoy high salaries and a cushier life, our experience in Guatemala was exposure to a culture that most Americans will never get to e

 By Bruce Shawkey The Field Museum of Natural History has been an entertaining visit for me on several occasions. One of the displays that has fascinated me is the man-eating lions of Tsavo. The exhibit of the lions are one of the Field Museum’s most famous residents—and also the most infamous. Here is their story, as told by the museum. In March 1898, the British started building a railway bridge over the Tsavo (SAH-vo) River in Kenya. But the project took a deadly turn when, over the next nine months, two male lions mysteriously developed a taste for humans and went on a killing spree. Crews tried and failed to scare the lions away, forcing people to flee the area and halting construction on the bridge. Lt. Col. John Henry Patterson, the civil engineer at the helm of the railway project, took matters into his own hands so that work could continue on the railway. The lions’ reign of terror ended when Colonel Patterson shot and killed them in late 1898, and the railroad was completed a

 By Bruce Shawkey When I was losing weight as a teenager, I decided to buy a copy of the Charles Atlas bodybuilding course. I think I ordered it out of a comic book, and it cost $10 or something thereabouts. It costs around $42 now, and it's in book form. When I ordered it, it arrived in loose pages. I see people are bitching online about the book because it's not true to the original course. You can get the complete course online for free from the Internet Archive. I'll delve more into that in a moment. Atlas designed the course because he was a poor Italian immigrant (born Angelo Siciliano in 1892) who could not afford expensive barbells and other weight training equipment. His Dynamic-Tension System was based on other bodybuilding pioneers who used Isometric training methods in place of, or in addition to, expensive equipment. I started using the course, the pages in hand. I confess I did see results, even enlisting my sister to take photos of me. Here are a few photos o

This is the longest blog entry I have attempted on the gross foods that baby boomer, including myself, love. I've cut it down to size to make it more manageable. Gaps in the original story re noted. I've added brief comments in italics. Gross Foods that Baby Boomers Wont Let Die The baby boomers, a generation that emerged in the aftermath of World War II, have undeniably left their impact. From economic prosperity to cultural shifts, their influence is palpable. But when it comes to their impact on food, let’s just say that legacy is a bit perplexing, if not horrifying. Baby boomers embraced the convenience of processed foods like no generation before them. How they loved their chain restaurants and accelerated the fast-food revolution! The baby boomer period saw exceptional economic progress. Sadly, that abundance never translated into people’s kitchens, an era infamous for the nastiest food trends the world has ever seen! Read through the list below, and prepare to be shocked