Mastodawn

As the saying goes, “These are the problems you WANT to have.”

I haven’t spent a lot on #FountainPens because I’m happy with the experience and performance of my Pilot Metropolitan and Kaweco Sport. I have a few others, but I haven’t found a reason to get a more-expensive pen because these are so good!

Don’t ask me about #SlideRules, though. Every time I think I have all of them I need, I have an “Oh! Shiny!” moment…

Hobbies give us a happy place.

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Inaction Figure Apr 2

@VintageProject @alexmdunne @stargazersmith @concretedog

I have an #AmateurRadio license, but I have little time or interest for random conversations with random strangers. If they would talk about #SlideRules, #Linux, and Italian motorcycles, it would be more fun!

N-gated Hacker News Apr 1

🚀 Ah, the good ol' days when engineers wielded slide rules like wizards with wands. Now, the only magic trick left is making a "403 Forbidden" message appear with the wave of a 🖱️. Maybe they should've used a slide rule to remember the access code! 🤦‍♂️🔒
https://unmitigatedrisk.com/?p=1227 #slideRules #nostalgia #engineering #humor #techHumor #403Forbidden #HackerNews #ngated

We Built It With Slide Rules. Then We Forgot How. | UNMITIGATED RISK

Hacker News Apr 1

We Built It with Slide Rules. Then We Forgot How

https://unmitigatedrisk.com/?p=1227

#HackerNews #WeBuiltItWithSlideRules #SlideRules #HistoryTechInnovation #LostSkills

We Built It With Slide Rules. Then We Forgot How. | UNMITIGATED RISK

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Stargeezer Smith Apr 1

@inaction_figure @VintageProject @concretedog
I'm past midlife, but that doesn't mean I'm past the midlife attractions.

I've a predilection for the #Linux and #SlideRules myself, and an even bigger interest in #Telescopes . But there is something to be said for Italian motorcycles.

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Inaction Figure Mar 31

@VintageProject @concretedog

I always told my wife I’d take my midlife dalliance in the form of an Italian motorcycle.

I think she prefers that my midlife hobbies center around #Linux and #SlideRules. 😆

Terry Boon Feb 22

(New Eclectic Stacks blog post) Hacker News discussion of #sliderules reminded me of the paper cut-out slide rules in the children's book of games and puzzles, "Nut-Crackers" (1971). I revisit some of the other unexpected #maths in that book and realise it was an early book by (with John Jaworski) subsequently prolific mathematician and writer Ian Stewart. And I also discover a modern incarnation of the slide rule: a 3D-printed aid to calculating scores in popular (loosely-)poker-themed game #Balatro

https://www.eclecticstacks.com/post/slide-rules-nut-crackers/

Slide Rules and Nut-Crackers

The discussion “Is there anyone here who still uses slide rules?” on Hacker News reminded me of the children’s maths/puzzle book Nut-Crackers (1971) I once had, with cut-out paper slide rule at the back - and set me re-visiting what other mathematical games it had contained.

Eclectic Stacks

ResearchBuzz: Firehose Feb 21

Hackaday: Sliderule Simulator Teaches You How To Do Calculations The Old Fashioned Way. “Ever wanted to know how engineers made their calculations before digital calculators were on every workbench? [Richard Carpenter] and [Robert Wolf] have just the thing—a sliderule simulator that can teach you how to do a whole bunch of complex calculations the old fashioned way!”

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/02/21/hackaday-sliderule-simulator-teaches-you-how-to-do-calculations-the-old-fashioned-way/

Hackaday: Sliderule Simulator Teaches You How To Do Calculations The Old Fashioned Way

Hackaday: Sliderule Simulator Teaches You How To Do Calculations The Old Fashioned Way. “Ever wanted to know how engineers made their calculations before digital calculators were on every wor…

ResearchBuzz: Firehose