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Ever set up a token ring? They used a "MAU" (media access unit) which looks similar to a 10baseT hub except that because token ring requires a ring, the MAU needs to detect when a cable is plugged in and flip a bunch of relays to either include the loop of wire in that cable in the ring or not. If you had iffy cabling the relays would start flapping back and forth and make an awful racket.
I've never installed it, but I have ripped it out.
I never fully understood the mechanics of how token-ring worked. Specifically, why those hand-held, battery-operated tools were needed to set the initial state of the relays in the MAUs. Seems IBM could have included that functionality internally.
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I imagine that the younger musicians enjoy doing this from time to time but wonder about some of the older guys who may be more traditionalists.
I enjoy these performances and would much rather see them than traditional orchestra pieces.
Years ago I saw a documentary on Aerosmith and Steve Tyler was reminiscing about arguing with his father, an orchestra pianist who did not approve of Steve's music or wasting his talent. In one of their arguments Steve finished with "What have you ever written?".
In other news, this is an actual thing that happened with a friend of a friend, who is a mechanic at a Ford dealership in Florida:
I will admit that I have no idea how a chicken managed to knock a belt loose without being killed (there was apparently a wing-amputation involved), but I know the people involved personally and, while they are not the sharpest knives in the drawer, are also not liars. (Again: Florida. **** like this happens there. On the whole, rednecks outnumber parrotheads by at least 10:1.)
Watching TV at 2am is extraordinarily dull. I am firmly of the opinion that anyone who does this voluntarily needs to seriously examine the life-choices which have led them to this situation.
I don't really have a choice. I'm up babysitting the transmitters as Sears Tower is doing a total shutdown of all RF on the roof tonight (worker safety), and so we're on the aux at Hancock. Normally, Master Control manages the transmitters, but the main at Sears is 19 years old, and it tends to get a tad grumpy when it's powered down completely. I expect I'll have to nurse it back to life in a couple hours after the all-clear. Fortunately, I can do this while in my pajamas from the comfort of home, with a glass of good bourbon. (I heart technology.)
Anyway, I was scanning around the dial to see if any of the local stations were totally off (two are), and I stumbled across something completely unexpected. I'm getting an extremely weak NTSC analog signal at channel 6:
It's hard to see from this photo, but that's a weather forecast, and the bug says "MeTV FM 87.7"
87.7 FM on my TV?!
I did a little research, and sure as hell, WRME-LP is still licensed to broadcast, in analog, on channel 6. While they are technically a TV station, they're taking advantage of the fact that you can tune in the aural carrier of channel 6 at the extreme bottom-end of most FM tuners.I am fascinated by this.
I honestly did not realize that any analog TV stations were still operating.
There's a couple of analog stations in my area as well. Coincidentally, I only noticed them yesterday when playing with tvfool. There's a way to sort analog versus digital.
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