Chris Watts is not in competition with me. We are separated by several generations.
He is older than my oldest grandchild. But younger than my youngest son. Who is younger than my oldest son by fifteen years.
I remember a time when homes were lit by gas mantle. Some by oil lamp still. Cooking was done on a coal range. Water for laundry was heated in a boiler with a fire underneath in a wash house in the yard shared by eight tenants.
Laundry was scrubbed on a wash board with a bar of soap. Water was heated in a copper boiler with a coal fire underneath.
Whites were not kept white with bleach. They were boiled in washing soda and bleached on the drying green.
I knew no wireless (radio) for the first eight years of my life. Television was not in every home for thirty years after .
Chris Watts may remember a time without computers. My grandchildren don't. His expertise exceeds mine by light years. They would learn from him. I learn from them.
My grandchildren appreciate how Chris Watts expresses himself. His fearless and outrageous use of language and visual images shocks and delights them. He is a lightning rod. I suspect he attracts more readers than not by his precocity.
His instruction is far beyond my range of computer literacy.
I may still acquire skills that allow me to use my computer to better advantage.
Chris acknowledges he finds what I write interesting and informative.
I am in awe of his amazing skills ,intellect and cutting wit.
And very glad Chris Watts has become part of our circle of communication.
I call him friend.
Saturday, 10 September 2011
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2 comments:
"Whites were not kept white with bleach. They were boiled in washing soda and bleached on the drying green."
When I was a child, whites were kept white with "laundry blueing." A "Dolly Blue" was tossed intothe water and it did its magic. There is no comparison in my opinion; other methods leave whites looking yellow. I used to be able to buy blueing most recently at Weston Produce but since it has closed I have not been able to find it. Current detergent products such as Oxiclean just don't cut it; they contain chemicals that are toxic to the environment. Blueing is non-toxic.
Sometimes, what's old is new.... and may often be better.
Evelyn,
Although I do not remember a time before the box of TIDE, I do indeed remember a time without computers. Infact I remember with great detail the delight of playing with my first computer a Commodore 64. My dad had aquired a stylus input for it over the summer which was pretty advanced. That combined with LOGO and BASIC shaped how I interfaced with the world around me. Every iteration in computing came through our doors, bringin with it new challenges and vast opportunities.
It hasn't stopped.
Watching my daughters interact with a vast array of computers and digital devices both in and out of the home seems like both a trip forward and backward in time.
As does reading your blog.
I too am glad that the circles of communication are expanding. Friendships are a great by-product, both a necessary and positive one in growing a functional community.
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