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I just did something else, more psychological perhaps, but I believe very worthwhile. I moved my computers, fax, credit card terminal, and all but three electric lamps into one room. The three I left out date from 1940 or earlier.
You know, this is a great idea, and I have done something similar. It's a way of 'compartmentalizing' this new tech stuff to one place, and leaving the rest of your space, time, and interests for "real" pursuits.
I keep telling my grandchildren that life is not meant to be spent staring into a screen, they should use their own eyes to look at the real world, not some 'virtual' world on a screen. The older ones are getting it; the younger ones are still under the spell of what their friends and teachers have indoctrinated them with.
The "whining minorities" expression was a turnoff. Really. They whine now because they were literally tortured for decades and more. I don't think it is unfair to recall the sins of the past when discussing the past.
If you wanted merely to discuss the technology of the era, and not be forced to consider any downsides, the OP could be clearer.
But I do value awareness of what we've lost even as we gain, and crave a simpler life.
You know, this is a great idea, and I have done something similar. It's a way of 'compartmentalizing' this new tech stuff to one place, and leaving the rest of your space, time, and interests for "real" pursuits.
I keep telling my grandchildren that life is not meant to be spent staring into a screen, they should use their own eyes to look at the real world, not some 'virtual' world on a screen. The older ones are getting it; the younger ones are still under the spell of what their friends and teachers have indoctrinated them with.
The government schoolteachers are the worst. They hate traditional American customs and values. They want children plugged into the entertainment grid where only approved thought is visible. They've become very adept at brainwashing. Look at the post following yours.
Teaching youngsters about the old technology from contemporary sources may be the answer. For example, I have a cookbook written just after 1900 but detailing an antebellum southern plantation kitchen and its offerings. There's nothing remotely political in the book, but I'm sure that occasional comments about slaves would have aa salutary effect on today's youth.
Teaching children unapproved technology is great, especially when only ingredients available before 1900 are used. Here's a neat little video from the father of survivalism. His introductory remarks are priceless.
Book matches were patented in 1887, but not manufactured commercially until 1899. The first customer was a New York opera company that used them for advertising.
Kurt Saxon has reprinted a number of books and selections from the old days. The op physical books are very expensive, but inexpensive DVDs are available on ebay. You can often find other older books as well at reasonable prices.
Here's an example of an original published in 1884.
There's nothing remotely political in the book, but I'm sure that occasional comments about slaves would have aa salutary effect on today's youth.
It is not the mention of slaves - it is people like you who believe that it is OK to enslave others.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Happy in Wyoming
Teaching children unapproved technology is great, especially when only ingredients available before 1900 are used. Here's a neat little video from the father of survivalism. His introductory remarks are priceless.
"Unapproved technologies"? What's that? Is there a list I missed?
Old stuff is being taught all the time. Arithmetics, geometry, calculus, physics, biology etc. - nobody teaches you the intricacies of stem cell research in 2nd grade, you start with basics and the basics are old. What changes is our understanding of some of the basics and the appropriate changes are introduced into the curriculum.
[quote=LordyLordy;35354110]"Unapproved technologies"? What's that? Is there a list I missed? [quote]A good example of an unapproved technology is making fuse as shown in the video in my previous post it may very well now be illegal, at least in some jurisdictions. A few years ago in Evanston, Wyoming a mother found her 12 year old son in the midst of dissecting a shotgun shell. There was no father in the home so she immediately phoned the police, grabbed her son, and evacuated the home because she feared an explosion. The police removed the boy and placed him with a social worker. This happened in Wyoming of all places. I thought every twelve year old in possession of a knife and shotshell would do the same, often with the help and an explanation from his father or older brother. But today it has apparently become a forbidden experiment or forbidden technology..
In 1880 mail order houses regularly carried very cheap revolvers aimed at boys. However, I saw an ad from the nineteen-twenties featuring a pocket knife with an integral single shot .22 rimfire pistol. These have been proscribed since the passage of the National Firearms Act in 1934. A knife pistol from 1880 might have been chambered in rimfire or could have been percussion. Many had a hook-shaped blade in addition to the main blade. People used the hook-shaped blades to remove stones from horses' hooves. I've seen a photograph of a knife pistol from roughly that period with an automatic main blade.
In 1880 it was common for a boy to have a pocket knife or gun in his possession anywhere. H.P. Lovecraft mentioned packing when he was ten or twelve which would have been 1900-02. In the late nineteen-fifties several boys at my high school including this one brought guns to school for a Speech assignment on describing a ''gadget''. Imagine what would happen today to both the boy and his parents.
In 1880 there were many excellent firearms on the market. They were designed for black powder pressures since commercial smokeless was a few years away. Some firearms of the period still see use today. I recently fired a Sharps catridge conversion from 1861. Chambered in .45-70, it originally had a Maynard tape primer. Rolling Blocks are still used regularly. In Sweden it was common to rebarrel miltary rifles to 8x58R, a modern high pressure cartridge. Receivers on these conversions are dated in the eighteen-seventies.
In 1880 photographers still used glass plates. These old plates can often still be used to make decent prints of obvious historical interest.
Although stoves existed in large numbers in 1880 many people still cooked with hearths. I've read numerous comments from the old days as well as a few current comments that nothing beats the hearth for roasting. In fact, a stove cannot roast; it bakes. I'd like to add a hearth to my establishment, but it's a major undertaking. I'd need to learn blacksmithing very well or find a blacksmith who could make some of the needed items. It's still sometimes possible to locate a spit turner with a clockwork mechanism. Food historian Ivan Day has several in his collection as well as a hearth in his home; he gives classes on cooking with a hearth.
If I can stimulate discussions as we once had on this forum I promise nothing more about lizard people in the S-S & P forum. Besides, as a discussion stimulator, that one sure laid an egg.
Last edited by Happy in Wyoming; 09-06-2014 at 12:40 PM..
[quote=Happy in Wyoming;36389791][quote=LordyLordy;35354110]"Unapproved technologies"? What's that? Is there a list I missed?
Quote:
A good example of an unapproved technology is making fuse as shown in the video in my previous post it may very well now be illegal, at least in some jurisdictions. A few years ago in Evanston, Wyoming a mother found her 12 year old son in the midst of dissecting a shotgun shell. There was no father in the home so she immediately phoned the police, grabbed her son, and evacuated the home because she feared an explosion. The police removed the boy and placed him with a social worker. This happened in Wyoming of all places.
A lot of stuff happens these days that would shock you
Do-gooders were doing this in the late nineteenth century. I know that it's unfashionable to study history, but common sense should the present weeping set that it won't work.
I've been using a wood cookstove to the exclusion of gas or electric for two weeks now. Building a fire has become second nature; the cooking itself is giving me results just as good as electricity or gas. I like my food to be the best tasting ; I have in no way compromised my gustatory pleasure.
I shall make one confession, however. I've been using thermometers including one electronic to measure the heat on various parts of my stove, both the oven and the surface. The nonelectronic thermometers could have been duplicated for function in 1880 style. The electronic surface thermometer has simply saved time and prevented destruction of food. In another month I should know my stovetop well enough without it. Even in the modern electric or gas stove the wise cook uses meat thermometers as well as at least three different oven thermometers while becoming familiar with an oven.
I use a pizza stone in ovens of any sort to retain heat while the oven is opened for basting and other tasks. I'm digging around to find out what cooks might have been using in 1880 that would be an equivalent to a pizza stone.
Those of us living in 1880 don't need any stinking grid.
I've been using a wood cookstove to the exclusion of gas or electric for two weeks now. Building a fire has become second nature; the cooking itself is giving me results just as good as electricity or gas. I like my food to be the best tasting ; I have in no way compromised my gustatory pleasure.
Now that the woodshed is finished I have been busy again outdoors. Am in the process of building an outdoor wood-burning brick oven at the end of a deck that we intend to enclose. The oven will be 30" x 30" x 24", and I am using the door from an old wood stove as the oven door (about 28" x 24"). This will be used for cooking turkey and goose at the holidays, in addition to other uses, and should keep a lot of grease out of the kitchen, while allowing my wife to have more stove and oven space to make pies and vegetables. Besides, I have always felt that the roasting of meat was properly a man's job, and have always had a hand in it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Happy in Wyoming
I use a pizza stone in ovens of any sort to retain heat while the oven is opened for basting and other tasks. I'm digging around to find out what cooks might have been using in 1880 that would be an equivalent to a pizza stone.
Now that is an excellent idea. I should get one for use in this new oven, and in the kitchen oven.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Happy in Wyoming
Those of us living in 1880 don't need any stinking grid.
This is true. I'm currently living without one altogether. Anyone visiting our new ranch home likely wouldn't be aware of it, though, even after dark. Not quite cold enough to start up a fire in the woodstove, but those days will be here pretty quick. Our eyes have gotten used to a lower light level at night, as we don't use electric lights. Lanterns give the whole house a nice ambiance. There are no city water or sewer pipes going by this property; we provide that for ourselves. Let the city folk worry about an 18-month grid-down situation. Perhaps if they get one, they'll have a better appreciation of the older ways, and why it's a big mistake to depend on the gubmint to keep anything running for you.
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I thought every twelve year old in possession of a knife and shotshell would do the same, often with the help and an explanation from his father or older brother. But today it has apparently become a forbidden experiment or forbidden technology..
