Cory DoctorowApr 21, 2023

Growing up in #Toronto, I naturally held #NYC in awe. As the joke goes, it takes two Torontonians to change a lightbulb: one to change it, and one to go to New York and make sure lightbulbs are still cool. When I went to New York, I had a *great* place to stay: my cousin Maxine's rent-controlled apartment in a midtown doorman building off 23d and Lex.

1/

Show threadMael DuinApr 21, 2023

@pluralistic

Q:How many electricians does it take to change a light bulb?

A: one

Show threadCharlie StrossApr 22, 2023
@maelduin13 @pluralistic Just think, we're at most a generation away from light bulb jokes being as obsolescent as jokes about slide rules and buggy whips!
Show threadWilhelm GereApr 22, 2023
@cstross @maelduin13 @pluralistic
Show threadCharlie Stross
@Wgere @maelduin13 @pluralistic False: the moon landings were not done with a slide rule. (NASA had digital computers from the start. Even the Soviet program used electromechanical calculators. Slide rules only offer 2-3 decimal places of precision, which is inadequate for astronavigation. Log tables can push it to 4-5 places but are increasingly cumbersome.)
Apr 22, 2023 at 2:31pmWeb
Show threadMael DuinApr 22, 2023

@cstross @Wgere @pluralistic

False. The first moon landing was done by slide rule.

And the moon rocket was just a f***ing huge catapult.

Show threadMael DuinApr 22, 2023

@cstross @Wgere @pluralistic

Did @cstross block me for my hilarious joke about the first moon rocket being a catapult?

Show threadWilhelm GereApr 23, 2023

@maelduin13 @cstross @pluralistic

Uhm, nope. I was wondering myself if this thing was on.

Show threadWilhelm GereApr 23, 2023

@cstross @maelduin13 @pluralistic

Da. Was joke. Soyuz done with slide rule. Go to gulag.