Did any of you read the Tom Swift stories as a kid? c.f: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Swift

Innovative, into going to space. . .

Remind you of anyone who was born years after(in 1971)?

The original Tom Swift stories were published in the 30 years before WW2. Other, like series, were published over he next 60 years.

I'm not sure which series I was into, but my mom bought the entire set of them for me -- little orange hardback books, looked much like the Hardy Boys style, but orange instead of blue, but I devoured the full set, as well as the full set of Hardy Boys novels!

I just realized this morning that Tom Swift was a sort of literary prototype for Elon Musk, while trying to think of hoe to get my son reading these stories I loved so much as a kid!

Did you read this series of books, with their silly adverbial punistry? ("'Hot damn, I've discovered oil!' said Tom, crudely." and "'Oh no, I've cremated the piper god; he's in this skillet,' said Tom with panache" are two I've written.)

Or what series grabbed your attention when you were a child?

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GP wrote --

Did you read this series of books, with their silly adverbial punistry?

We had someone here years ago who posted Tom Swifties* as he called them.
They were hilarious.
(*Similar to Daryl's Burma Shave postings, but not as regularly, maybe
two or three times a week. Daryl may remember who it was).

Or what series grabbed your attention when you were a child?

I don't recall reading any series of books. I was more into non-fiction, history, etc. I seem to remember the only time I read fiction books
(novels, etc) was for a school assignment.
Joe
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GP wrote --

Did you read this series of books, with their silly adverbial punistry?

We had someone here years ago who posted Tom Swifties* as he called them. They were hilarious.

Yup, Tom Swifties were popular tagline fodder for a while there.. . I collected the better ones I saw, & created some along the way. . .

Or what series grabbed your attention when you were a child?

I don't recall reading any series of books. I was more into non-fiction, history, etc. I seem to remember the only time I read fiction books
(novels, etc) was for a school assignment.

You were Like my son is now -- I read anything & everything as a child. I especially loved a long series I could immerse in for a while (5,000 pages or more, when I could find such)

He's more into science fact books, reading these mini encyclopedia type compendiums of animal or other Nature facts.

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CP wrote --

He's more into science fact books, reading these mini encyclopedia type compendiums of animal or other Nature facts.

We had an Encyclopedia Britannica, c. 1948, and I think over time I read most of the the like 26 volumes. Not every single story, not every single word, but I would open a book and flip through to find something that caught
my attention.
Over the years and a series of moves those were lost along the way.
Joe
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Joe,

(*Similar to Daryl's Burma Shave postings, but not as regularly,
maybe two or three times a week. Daryl may remember who it was).

I remember the Tom Swifties, but I think the guy who posted them
passed away several years ago (tragically, we've lost so many good
folks).

Daryl

... A little a'disk & a little a'data
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Joe,

We had an Encyclopedia Britannica, c. 1948, and I think over time I read most of the the like 26 volumes. Not every single story, not
every single word, but I would open a book and flip through to find something that caught my attention.

I still have a copy of the World Book Encyclopedia from 50 years ago.

I saw a deal today where old, unwrapped VHS tapes, of blockbuster movies,
are now worth a fortune.

Daryl

... Newspaper Headline: "Male infertility can be passed on to children."
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Daryl wrote --

I remember the Tom Swifties, but I think the guy who posted them
passed away several years ago (tragically, we've lost so many good
folks).

I think of the originals from when I first found Memories c. 1994, are
all gone but us.
Gone in that that they have passed on or simply disappeared.
I think a couple might be in a witness protection program. :)
Joe


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I think of the originals from when I first found Memories c. 1994, are
all gone but us.
Gone in that that they have passed on or simply disappeared.
I think a couple might be in a witness protection program. :)
Joe

Speaking of long time posters here, have you heard anything out of Ed Vance lately? He was my most prolific user when it came to the echoes, but I
have not seen him around since before Christmas. I have tried reaching out
via email a couple of times but received no responses.

Mike


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Joe,

I think of the originals from when I first found Memories c. 1994,
are all gone but us.
Gone in that that they have passed on or simply disappeared.

As you note in the echo rules posting.

I think a couple might be in a witness protection program. :)

Sounds like a T-shirt that says "You Don't Know Me". <G>

Daryl

... They stopped too soon with 6 Up and Preparation G.
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Daryl wrote --

Sounds like a T-shirt that says "You Don't Know Me". <G>

Especially in public. :)
Joe
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Mike,

Speaking of long time posters here, have you heard anything out of Ed Vance lately? He was my most prolific user when it came to the echoes, but I have not seen him around since before Christmas. I have tried reaching out via email a couple of times but received no responses.

I haven't seen Ed in quite awhile.

* SLMR 2.1a * Life's essentials: H O C N Ca P Cl K S Na Mg

I have to dig into my gray matter on this, without looking at the periodic table.

Hydrogen, Oxygen, Carbon, Nitrogen, Calcium, Phosphorus, Chlorine, Potassium, Sulphur, Sodium, and Magnesium.

I'd be surprised if I got all of that right.

When I was in college over 40 years ago, there were 103 elements. Now, I
want to say there are nearly 145.

Daryl

... Is there ever a day when mattresses are NOT on sale?
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I haven't seen Ed in quite awhile.

I am worred the virus might have got him. :(

* SLMR 2.1a * Life's essentials: H O C N Ca P Cl K S Na Mg

I have to dig into my gray matter on this, without looking at the periodic table.

Hydrogen, Oxygen, Carbon, Nitrogen, Calcium, Phosphorus, Chlorine, Potassium, Sulphur, Sodium, and Magnesium.

I'd be surprised if I got all of that right.

If you did not you are awful close. You got all the ones I am certain of.

Mike

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CP wrote --

He's more into science fact books, reading these mini encyclopedia type
compendiums of animal or other Nature facts.

We had an Encyclopedia Britannica, c. 1948, and I think over time I read
most of the the like 26 volumes. Not every single story, not every single word, but I would open a book and flip through to find something that caught my attention.
Over the years and a series of moves those were lost along the way.

Dag! My Mom had bought the 1967 Silver Title Edition on the occasion of my birth. (they were leather-bound & embossed with sterling silver lettering)

I did as you, & would use them as my go-to boredom relief, just grab one, open it, read something, follow the "sees also" into multiple volumes.

When I gahad to find a fact for school, instead of, as my peers, just finding that sentence, I'd read the context, chase down other related articles & know 100+ things instead of just one. I still have a lot of that info in my brain, but my mom sold the set cheaply, after all the kids had moved out (I wished I had it, I'd start at page 1, vol. 1, & read through the entire thing, & time it then challenge the world to beat me! (& be sure to get some sort of token from Britannica for promotional efforts--maybe the latest set & yearbooks(my mom had 20 years of the yearbooks, too.)

We had the World Book, too, but I didn't bother with that -- once I was in the EB, I was not going to read from lesser. . .

I like reading the OED, too, but no way can I afford the full 11-volume set of tomes. I see Z-Lib is lacking in reference works. I uploaded an older Physician's Desk Reference, as they had none!

Maybe I'll put in a search for the full OED, & hopefully get it for my phone for light reading while riding buses. . .

They do a grand job on etymology for each word.

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CP wrote --

Maybe I'll put in a search for the full OED, & hopefully get it for my phone for light reading while riding buses. . .

As large as the OED is it'll probably make your phone pretty heavy to
carry around if the d/l the whole thing onto it. :)
Joe
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CP wrote --

Maybe I'll put in a search for the full OED, & hopefully get it for my phone

for light reading while riding buses. . .
As large as the OED is it'll probably make your phone pretty heavy to
carry around if the d/l the whole thing onto it.

I'm sure I can find it & then break it into smaller files (PDFs) & load just one at a time, saving me needing to pay for extra RAM to be added. . .

I've got 256Gb -- mostly enough for my needs. . . My kindle has 512Gbk, & is getting dangerously full. I need to find out how to delete them once I'm done!


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George,

I've got 256Gb -- mostly enough for my needs. . . My kindle has 512Gbk,
& is getting dangerously full. I need to find out how to delete them
once I'm done!

Just don't do like the woman who deleted the pickled files (the DLL's)
on her Windows computer. :P

Daryl

... I tried snorting Coke; but the bubbles went up my nose.
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George,

I've got 256Gb -- mostly enough for my needs. . . My kindle has 512Gbk,
& is getting dangerously full. I need to find out how to delete them
once I'm done!

Just don't do like the woman who deleted the pickled files (the DLL's)
on her Windows computer.

Or the would-be hacker who was advised to drop to the Sysop directory (ALT+S)

change to C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM

& delete all the communist files:

ECHO Y > DEL *.COM

Later updated to delete all the Osama bin Laden virus files (*.BIN)


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