And What Did You Buy Today?(Not Watches or related)

I have a soft spot for graphic t-shirts with things from my youth: Ducktales, Beavis and Butt-Head, TMNT etc. My wife absolutely hates them 😁

I had one of these when I was a Kid. In some ways it was more of a family thing and kept with the other games and puzzels.

When I was in college I attempted to replace the inside guts with LEDs as micro controllers were coming into popularity. I always regretted that as this was sort of a unique item. Every now and then I run across a small part from the old one in a drawer. (unless I look specifically for it.) Could be that I am remembering the last time I saw the part. Dissembling the toy was a regret.

I never really knew what it was called. I never saw another one till a couple of weeks ago in the background image of 1960s educational computer toys. I only remembered that I had a mechanical computer that read question cards. I learned that the toy was called a Think-A-Tron. An online search indicated that these come up for sale in online auctions fairly regularly. They sold new for under 10USD. Now they sell for twice or three times that.

I found one and it came this week. The main spring was jammed. There are websites that show the inner working. I was able to find that a retainer for the card was jamming the main wheel. I temporarily replaced the main spring with a rubber band.

The operation is quite simple. One winds the spring with the center crank. The card is notched and when inserted releases the main wheel with a flashlight bulb behind it. The patterns look like the traditional blinking lights. The inside is not unlike that of a clock striking or repeater watch mechanism.



It is interesting how ones appreciations change over time. Back in the 1970 I wanted to see it display more than the 5 letters. The questions on the cards are quite dated. It does get old quickly. So I can see why I wanted to "Improve it."

I was fascinated how groups of dots could create images. I was also fascinated with printing and typography.

Now I find I appreciate the nostalgia of it. When microcomputers were new. The idea of rows of blinking lights seemed old fashioned. The sleek CRT screens were the style. Computers offered a minimalist approach. Clean solutions to complex problems.

Not today, but recently bought a planter for the back deck, and we assembled it (with Remi's "help" of course)...



Better shot of it outside...



It has a built in water reservoir underneath, and there's a little float in the fill tube to let you know when it needs water. It also drains excess automatically when it rains a lot. My wife just ordered another one - hope to have these full of veggies in a month or so...

This planter is beautiful. May I ask the brand it is or where you purchased this?

Costco...made in Canada so not sure if it would be available in the US...

https://www.costco.ca/cedarcraft-elevated-cedar-planter-76.2-cm-(30-in.).product.100858154.html

Splurged on a medium format camera lens!

If you're so offended by a nine year old post on a non-watch related thread in the Open Discussion forum you can simply click on the OPTIONS button and report the post to the moderators.

There's no need to slag me for posting photographs of feral animals that are decimating our native wildlife.

Picked this up today from a friend who built it up from a 1:24 model kit (all white plastic) for me. It's an Australian GMH Holden Kingswood Tri-matic 1975. Built and painted with Painstaking detail to accuracy. The seats took hundreds of passes of paint so thin that the evaporation of the paint was a major issue but that was part of the exacting process to get a leather effect over the plastic. My photos are rubbish, but you get the idea. Btw this car was my first ever new car and I recall paying the princely sum of AUD2,850 on the road. In 1987 we bought two, one for myself and one for Mrs Blubarb, at a cost of $750 each. Nice easy to work on long red motors. Today they cost between AUD35k yob$80k - how times have changed.

My photos are pretty crappy but you get the idea. The interior is so much better than what the pics show. Tomorrow I will spend some time to improve on the photos.