Bruce's Smorsasborg

 By Bruce Shawkey Great story on the 'Net about the View-Master/ Who didn't have one of these when they were a kid? -------------------------------- We are going to bet that as a kid, you had a View-Master. This toy has been around for decades and is, more or less, a handheld stereoscope. We never thought much about the device’s invention until we saw a recent video from [View Master Travels and Peter Dibble]. It turns out that the principle of the whole thing was created by the well-known [Charles Wheatstone]. However, it was piano repairman [William Gruber] who invented what we think of as the View-Master. Gruber didn’t just work on normal pianos, but complex player pianos and, in particular, the pianos used to record player piano rolls. He was also, as you might expect, a stereo photography enthusiast. Many of the ideas used in automating pianos would show up in the View-Master and the machines that made the reels, too. In the 1930s, stereoscopes were not particularly popula...

 By Bruce Shawkey The greatest damage of the 1906 earthquake occurred when many of San Francisco's water and gas mains were ruptured. Leaking gas was the catalyst for fires that quickly spread throughout the city and the lack of water made fire fighting a challenge. Approximately one hour after the earthquake, the San Francisco Fire Department sent a messenger to the Presidio to request an artillery division to assist with the containment of fires. Several hours later, artillery troops from Fort Miley arrived in San Francisco and unsuccessfully attempted to control the fires by dynamiting strategic buildings. By noon, the financial district was engulfed in flames and when evening fell the city center had also been incinerated. The earthquake struck on April 18, 1906, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale. It caused widespread destruction, with buildings collapsing and infrastructure severely damaged. The resulting fires, fueled by broken gas lines, lasted for several days and destroye...

 Tips for Improving my Writing Skills (from Gemini ... the latest feature on Google -- neat stuff!) Improving your writing is less about mastering a secret code and more about developing a consistent "eye" for clarity and flow. Since "writing" is a broad world, the best approach is to tackle it from a few different angles. Here is a breakdown of how to sharpen your skills: 1. The "Trim the Fat" Rule Most writing improves instantly when you remove unnecessary words. Strong writing is lean. Avoid Filler: Words like "just," "actually," "really," and "very" often weaken your sentences. Kill Passive Voice: Instead of saying "The ball was thrown by John," say "John threw the ball." It’s more direct and energetic. One Idea per Sentence: If a sentence has three commas and two "ands," it’s likely trying to do too much. Break it up. 2. Read Like a Writer To write well, you have to consume high-qua...