PENNY-FARTHING, NEXT STEP

     The next step up from a 28" mini-penny?  For me, a 36" hiwheel designed -- and then redesigned* -- by unicycle maker QU-AX (shown here with an eye-glowing window spectator, in an image that does nothing for my vanity):

     Riding in the dark, with a multi-led flashlight clipped to my inner sweatshirt -- it's chilly, I'm wearing an insulated hoodie over a plain hoodie over a knit top.

     Whee!  (I'm hoping to ride this bike in daylight sometime-- I just missed a Tweed Ride.  And me without my jodhpurs!)

     The larger wheel means better speed -- and less effort.  For the well-to-do ($$$$!) and technically-inclined, here's a possible upgrade: a hub with a 1.5:1 transmission!  I'm pretty sure a 36" wheel that acts like a 54" wheel is not in my immediate future.  Come to think of it, neither (I hope) is a respoking job.  But maybe someday.
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* Seriously redesigned: much shorter stem, tricky front brake removed, seat hugely improved (and retroized) and matching grips added.  At least everything but the grips is a safety improvement and they all materially aid rideability.  QU-AX really did right by this product -- and the people who buy it.

DIME KEY

     In the far-off past when radio was nearly all Morse code (what's that Fessenden fellow on about?), everybody keyed fairly high currents in the primary side of big transmitters, especially spark rigs.  Commercial stations used big, purpose-built keys or keying relays.  Hams....improvised.

One key, two silver dimes and a nice big soldering copper (or electric soldering iron).  Add amateur ingenuity.

 Real dimes!  (Filed flat.  Honest, Mr. T-man, I didn't do it!)

     This example was found on Etsy.  "Dime keys" are often fakes; this one, the key's an older type, the solder looks like the old-time stuff, the dimes are sure-enough silver and the knob bears an "Aug 3, 1920" patent date; a little late but not too late.  So it's probably the real deal.

BLACKWING 602 PENCIL: WILL IT MAKE YOU A WRITER?

     Only if you have two of them, a lot of yarn, a lot of time and you're extraordinarily skilled at knitting.

     The original Blackwing 602 was the preferred writing implement of many famous writers (including John Steinbeck, though after the debunking of Travels With Charley, that might be a mixed blessing).  The last one rolled  -- well, slid, the special eraser ferrule prevents rolling -- off the line in 1998. Cal Cedar bought the machinery and brought them back as the "Blackwing" in 2010, took some heat over the differences, and added the closer-to-original "Blacking 602" last year.

     They're not cheap, $20 a dozen.  On the other hand, most pencils sold these days are lousy, splintery things with reconstituted or synthetic "wood" and the lead's nothing to write home with, either.  So I splurged.

     Gee.  They're nice.  And the old motto actually means something -- "Half the pressure, twice the speed."  You do go skimming right along.  Here are my notes (Copyright 2012, all rights reserved) for the vignette "Mo," over at I Work On A Starship, written in real-time while observing one of the people on whom the character is based:

     I'm not any better a writer with it, but the hardware doesn't get in the way of the work, which is a pretty big deal.  Are they worth $20 a box?  Probably not if all you're doing is making grocery lists and leaving notes for the plumber.  On the other hand, if you enjoy good writing tools, they certainly are a nice treat!

THE ELEMENT OF (OFFICE) SUPPLIES

   Four pens?

   Not so fast!

 

    Stapler, scissors, compass and a small (approx. 1/8" diameter) eraser in a nice holder.

    These are by three different manufacturers. After I'd found the compass and scissors, the nifty little stapler clinched the deal.  (All from Jet Pens, btw). They all work just fine.  The stapler is the only one I have ever seen that had a "safety" control.

      I also picked up a box of Blackwing 602 pencils, a relaunch of a legendary pencil. Report will follow once I've been using them awhile.

FLIP, FLOP AND...FLOWCHART?

In honor of Tam's link from a post showing examples of logic elements from early computers, here's a link to a site showing a nice dual-triode flip-flop as used in the Burroughs 205. (Plus actual pictures of actual hardware.)  Enough of those and you'd have yourself some memory; also an air-conditioning challenge.  But wouldn't it be fun? 

MY OWN MINI-PENNYFARTHING

It was inevitable; about as soon as I learned Rideable Bicycle Replicas offered an affordable mini-highweel bicycle, I was determined to own one. It arrived last Thursday.

At this writing I have put a couple of miles on it -- also larger grips and a slightly taller and longer seat -- and I can assure you that it's about as much fun as I've had with a bicycle in some years. There is a definite learning curve; it handles very differently to a modern safety bicycle. But given the 28" front wheel, it doesn't offer the same risks to a new rider as a full-sized "ordinary" bicycle, with a wheel diameter of 38" or more. $189 well spent! (N.B., roll up those dungarees! I only had to catch a bearing-clamp bolt once to figure that out. )

...Rode up to the bicycle store in downtown Broad Ripple, where they were holding a charity event, and learned from another shopper that there was a vintage bicycle show in a nearby town today. Too late to attend today, but I'm realizing this can only lead to membership in The Wheelmen...and eventually a larger pennyfarthing. (Tamara K rode along and observed, "You can't be a wallflower on a bike like that." It does gather attention -- and a lot of questions.)

DREAM MOTORBIKE

I saw a photo of what I'm guessing is a Quax 36" modern pennyfarthing with an add-on motor in front of the front fork. (Here, second row down, far left. And do look around the site; Rideable Bicycle Replicas appear to be America's most prolific manufacturer of old-fashioned bicycles and offer plenty else besides.)

Neat idea -- but only for an expert, as "header over the front" is the standard failure mode* for a high-wheel "Ordinary" bicycle and adding even more weight up top is a recipe for instability.

Fear not; no less a personage than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle helped back the company with the answer to that problem: The Wall Autowheel a/k/a Smith Motor Wheel in the States, by either name a self-powered wheel that attaches beside the bicycle's rear wheel! I have only ever seen them on modern style "safety" bicycles, but darned if I can find a reason to not try it on an Ordinary. The added weight is all at the very back, where it'd do the most good. In fact, it's been done as recently as 1922 -- scroll almost to the very bottom of the linked "Wall Autowheel" article and there it is!

...Not that it's safe. Or especially street-legal, unless there's an exception for a 118 cc 19-teens gasoline engine. But by golly, you'd be the only one like it on the road.
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* So much so that it's where the term "header" for a forward fall entered the language. Oh, and "breakneck speed," too.