Lmst

Typewriter ribbon unboxing! I bought a full reel of 660 yards of blue/green bichrome 1/2″ nylon typewriter ribbon from Fine Line Ribbon in Ennis, TX. It arrived yesterday, just in time for some use over the weekend. I’ve now got enough for more than 41 universal 2″ diameter (16 yard) spools, so I should be able to ribbon up my entire collection and have some left over.

Latex gloves and a good rag are necessary when spooling up from a 660 yard reel of nylon ribbon.

A dark wooden table with a thin cardboard and taped package on it. Sitting on top of it is a pair of blue handled scissors. Nearby in the background is a lazy susan with a plate and several small decorative pumpkins on it.

An opened corrugated cardboard package with a large almost 12 inch diameter reel of typewriter ribbon wrapped in a plastic bag. The reel sits next to two tiny 2 inch diameter plastic spools and a pair of scissors for scale. Behind the reel of ribbon is a green crinkle painted 1958 Olympia SM3 with green keys. The reel appears that it is even larger in base surface area than the typewriter is.

White index card in a green Olympia SM3 typewriter spooled up with a blue and green ribbon. Typed on the card in alternating colors of blue and green are the words: Blue & Green typewriter ribbon #FTW

“I’m always trying to get back to the 20s a little bit.”
—John Dickerson, in Field Notes interview (2016)

Perhaps lamenting too much technology, Dickerson says he’s got two screens on the computer in his office as well as an iPad and a phone. But he’s also got “a notebook [that] does only one thing”. He’s also got an old black lacquer Underwood standard typewriter (No. 4, 5, or 6?) on his office desk. Typewriters only do one thing too.

Wonder if he still uses it?

Reporter a boyish looking John Dickerson wearing a crisp white shirt (sleeves rolled up and a tie) sitting at his office desk surrounded by papers. In the foreground sits a black lacquered Underwood standard typewriter.

Acquisition: Early 1900s 3 x 5 Inch No. 15 Card Index Filing Cabinet with No. 1535 C. I. Inserts from The Macey Company

The Macey Company Card Index Filing Cabinet

On July 15, 2024 I acquired an oak filing cabinet with 16 drawers for 3 x 5 inch index card storage. It's a warm and lovely piece of antique furniture as well as an excellent example of an early 20th century card index cabinet designed for business use and a paper-based pre-cursor of our more modern computer databases.

From the exterior, there were none of the typical metal badging or decals printed on the filing cabinet to give an idea of the [...]

https://boffosocko.com/2024/09/05/acquisition-early-1900s-3-x-5-inch-no-15-card-index-filing-cabinet-with-no-1535-c-i-inserts-from-the-macey-company/

One drawer of a large oak card index opened up several inches displaying a variety of index card dividers.

A light brown Macey Co. oak card index with 16 drawers sits between a black and gray Steelcase card index and an oak barrister bookcase.

Several wooden slats glued together with a faint black ink stamp on them that reads: "MACEY / INTER-INTER / [unintelligible] / NO. 1535 C.I."

I’m now a full two years into using my variation of the Memindex/Bullet Journal on index cards and starting a third. I still find 4 x 6 inch index cards more freeing and flexible than using the more common notebook format. One big difference since a year ago: I’ve moved into using a significantly bigger box for increased storage which also includes lots of space for project notes, my zettelkasten / commonplace book practice, and an index for all of it.

I sometimes use one of the four typewriters behind my desk for logging. (Another benefit of using cards.) I put in a new card in the morning and add/cross out as I go throughout the day. I often use one of the other typewriters to write out slightly longer mini-diary entries about particular things as I go. This helps me get away from computer screens, even if it’s only for short breaks throughout the day.

Happy to answer any questions people have about the practice. (Prior AMA here.)

White 4x6" index card with two columns of Bullet Journal-esque rapid logging items including events, to do items, and general information

Today’s office. We’ve got a newly finished Shaw-Walker filing cabinet and a 1955 Royal HH standard typewriter.

#analogOffice #RoyalHH #ShawWalkerFurnitureCompany #todaySOffice #typewriters

https://boffosocko.com/2024/07/26/55824413/

Office setting with a green metal table in the foreground with a brown Royal HH typewriter on it. In the background are a card catalog filing cabinet and a four drawer filing cabinet whose paint matches the table. There's also a barrister bookcase full of books.

#analogOfficeEquipment #AnalogOffice #computerViruses #CrowdStrike #FTW #RoyalHH #typecasts #typewriters

https://boffosocko.com/2024/07/19/benefits-of-typewriters-as-analog-office-equipment/

Typewritten index card that reads 2024-07-19 While CrowdStrike is dominating the news today, it bears mentioning that one of the benefits of typing on a Royal HH typewriter is that it won't ever ge down as the result of a software update. It will also never get or transmit a computer virus of any sort. #AnalogOffice #FTW

Acquisition: Remington Streamliner 196X Portable Typewriter in Metallic Mint Blue

On March 11, 2023, I'd gotten a nice deal on a Remington Streamline portable typewriter in a generally uncontested online auction. I was certainly taking a small chance on a typewriter only by a few photos and the label "untested", but I couldn't resist the mint blue color...
#AnalogOffice #typewriter

https://boffosocko.com/2024/03/22/acquisition-remington-streamliner-196x-portable-typewriter-in-metallic-mint-blue/

View of a working desk area featuring a silver/glass topped mint blue desk on which sits a matching colored portable typewriter, a fountain pen and a stack of Post-it notes. In the background is a card index filing cabinet and a barrister bookcase full of books.

https://boffosocko.com/2024/02/21/steelcase-8-drawer-steel-card-index-filing-cabinet-for-4-x-6-inch-cards/

Close up of the Steelcase nameplate and first drawer at the top of the filing cabinet.

The empty frame of the black Steelcase filing cabinet sitting in a corner next to a wooden barrister's bookcase.

Eight empty drawers lined up on the floor in a 4x2 matrix makes it easy to see the storage capacity of the Steelcase card index.

Replied to Micro.blog Analog Tools Meetup by cygnoir (cygnoir.net)

Nearly two years later, I’m reviving the idea of a Micro.blog meetup for analog tools like paper and notebooks, pens and ink, pencils, stationery, planners and journals, typewriters, index cards, etc.Thirteen intrepid fans of analog tools filled out the survey last time, and the majority thought a one-hour Zoom meeting each month would be the best way to start.Timing is everything, in so many realms, and this one is no different. I’m available to host this meetup every third Saturday of the month from 9-10 a.m. PST. That would make our first meetup on Saturday, January 20th.

#analogOffice #events #fountainPens #Meetup #microBlog

https://boffosocko.com/2024/01/08/55820738/

#AnalogOffice

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