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Chris Aldrich

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Musings of a Modern Day Cyberneticist

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Dr. Miller has tipped me off that the suggested text for his upcoming course An Introduction to Hilbert Spaces will be:  Berberian, Sterling Khazag. Introduction To Hilbert Space. Oxford University Press, 1961. Reprint Literary Licensing, 2012. He’s not happy that it ignores measure theory as a means to introduce the Lebesque integral, so he’ll be … Continue reading

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It’s been a dog’s age, but I spent a few minutes this afternoon updating my Now Page. One of these days I might actually automate it…

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Introduction to Hilbert Spaces: An Adventure In Infinite Dimensions

Majestic green tree in front of the 3 story brick building that is part of the Math Sciences Building at UCLA
Looking for some serious entertainment with an intellectual bent on Tuesday nights this fall? Professor Michael Miller has got you covered in multiple dimensions. Dr. Miller has now listed his mathematics offering for Fall 2025 at UCLA Extension. It’s Introduction to Hilbert Spaces: An Adventure In Infinite Dimensions (MATH 900). As always, it will be … Continue reading Introduction to Hilbert Spaces: An Adventure In Infinite Dimensions

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The Uses and Subtleties of the Line Indicator on a Typewriter

Close up of the typing point and line indicator of a Remington Standard typewriter. This line is fairly wide and shows at least 14 hash marks on each side.
The Useful Line Indicator The metal bar often with either grooves or embossed with white lines or in later century models the clear plastic Perspex card guides often with pre-printed white or red lines and/or hash marks on either side of the a typing point are called the line indicator. The “line” it suggests is … Continue reading The Uses and Subtleties of the Line Indicator on a Typewriter

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A black Corona flat top typewriter in the foreground with an index card reading "Wednesday Core" in it. In the background is a television playing season 2 of Wednesday on Netflix featuring Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams. It almost looks as if she's staring over to the Corona typewriter jealously.
True Wednesdaycore: Even Wednesday Addams is checking out my Corona flat top! Hey Thing! Wanna come over and type with me?

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Close up of the front of a cleaned vintage 1971 Olympia SG-3 standard typewriter
On Wednesday the 6th, I finished up most of the rest of the clean/oil/adjust of my new (to me) 1971 Olympia SG-3 standard typewriter. The carriage was probably more involved than the main body, though the main body seems to have made the most difference to have been cleaned out.  Surely there will be a … Continue reading

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Partially disassembled 1971 Olympia SG-3 typewriter on a wooden table with tools around it. In front of the naked typewriter is the removeable carriage
Tonight I spent about three hours disassembling and cleaning the carriage portion of my 1971 Olympia SG-3. I really love the fact that flipping two levers inside the shell allows the entire carriage to lift up and off for easier servicing.  The grinding/sticking I was originally getting mid-carriage was due to a piece of the … Continue reading

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Restoration of another 1950 Royal KMG standard typewriter

Hero view of a 1950 Royal KMG standard typewriter sitting on a library card catalog next to a bottle of gin and a penguin-shaped cocktail shaker
On Thursday, I broke down my recent Royal KMG typewriter for a full clean/oil/adjust. I spent some time cleaning most of the removed body panels and auxiliary parts.  Yesterday, in the cool of the morning I blew it out and flushed it with mineral spirits.  Then re-assembled it all. I oiled and adjusted most of … Continue reading Restoration of another 1950 Royal KMG standard typewriter

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A 1950 Royal KMG typewriter stripped down for servicing and cleaning. Parts and tools are arranged all over a large wooden table.
The hardest part about typewriter restoration is that you’ve got the machine taken apart and in pieces and you’re three-quarters of the way through cleaning it when you’re instantaneously struck with the irresistible desire to quit cleaning so you can rush it back together so you can type on it right now.

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A 1945 Royal KMM barn machine opened up on a dining room table surrounded by bubble wrap and boxes.
I’d purchased this in 2024 as a late Christmas present for myself, but it took several weeks to be delivered due to our neighborhood being closed off by the National Guard for the Eaton Fire. It finally arrived on January 23 in true “barn” condition. The carriage took a hit and is off about 1/2″ … Continue reading

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1950 Royal KMG standard typewriter viewed from the front
Back on March 7, 2025, I picked up my second Royal KMG for the pittance of $21. The first was in pica, but this one has my preferred elite/12 pitch size. Today I pulled it out of the office closet where it’s been waiting patiently since the Eaton Fire for some restoration attention. I acquired … Continue reading

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For those looking to delve in deeper to gutting books, Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren go into greater depth in How to Read a Book (Touchstone, 1972, 2011) in which they discuss various levels of reading books with which many students are less familiar. They break reading down into various modes including inspectional … Continue reading

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A double old fashioned with a redish looking Boulevardier cocktail in it surrounded by the bottles of the constituents and a Royal FP typewriter in pink all sitting on a library card catalog
A lovely, well-balanced cocktail as I finish up this week’s reading and notes on The Notebook for this week’s book club meeting tomorrow morning. (The lemon twist really makes this.)

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The real question that typewriter enthusiasts want to know is: will the Royal KMM typewriter be making an appearance too?!!! Or will the new Jessica be using some sort of crappy computer laptop? If she does use a typewriter, should it be a similar KMM or should she change it to something else, and if … Continue reading

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White index card with blue ink in a Royal KMG that reads: "Geoffrey Chaucer in The House of Flame on staring at "screens" all day: For when your labour's all done / And you've made all the accounts / Instead of rest and other things / You go straight home / And as dumb as any stone / Sit at another book / Till your eyes are fully dazed

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Index card in brown Royal Quiet De Luxe typewriter with Vogue typeface we read: Despite the recent catastrophic fires, I feel like the gods are smiling on me as three independent bookstores have opened within three and a half miles of my home in the past year.

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A copy of The Notebook sits on a desk in front of a Royal KMG typewriter, a drawer from a card catalog full of index cards, some blank index cards, a fountain pen and a Negroni cocktail off to one side.
The next book for the Dan Allosso Book Club is Roland Allen‘s The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper (United Kingdom: Profile Books, 2023). For those interested in intellectual history, here’s a chance to join a long standing book club full of inveterate note takers/zettelkasten-ers, educators, and lifelong learners. Those interested in the topic are … Continue reading

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Index card in large font on a white Olympia SG-3 typewriter which reads "Once Upon a Time..."
Once upon a time…

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Front view of a wide carriage white bodied 1971 Olympia SG-3 standard typewriter with gray keys sitting on a library card catalog
An observant friend knew I was looking for either an Olympia SG-1 or an SG-3 typewriter and got an SG-3 for me for my birthday on July 8th. It arrived on Friday the 11th.  Naturally I was excited to open it up, but I was even more surprised to discover that it was hiding a … Continue reading

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Gray enameled 3 hole steel punch sits on an oak library card catalogue next to some pink flowers in a vase and Royal FP typewrtier
Anna Havron recently mentioned that she had a Bates Hummer punch from years back, so it only took a second’s thought to pick up this $3.99 purchase at the local Acts Thrift store when I ran across it on June 28th It was in pretty solid shape with some heavy dust, light pitting on some … Continue reading

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1957 Royal FPP Standard Typewriter Restoration

A cameo pink 1957 Royal FPP Standard Typewriter on a library card catalog next to a small blue vase of pink and purple flowers.
During my evacuation from the Eaton Fires, I picked up this 1957 Royal FPP on March 5, 2025, for $31.00. Apparently it had been previously owned by Luke Legg. While it was in somewhat workable shape, it needed a massive clean out. It may be one of the dirtiest machines I’ve cleaned up so far. … Continue reading 1957 Royal FPP Standard Typewriter Restoration

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View into the drawer of a metal index card filing cabinet full of tabbed cards and index cards. The section is labeled "Typewriters / Ribbons / Spools" and the tabs are all typewriter related.
How do you keep track of your typewriter collection? Do you keep a simple typewritten list? Do you use a spreadsheet? The Typewriter Database? A period-appropriate card index?  Tags on your machines on the shelves? Via your blog or web page? All of the above? Keep track?!? I enjoy tripping over them all over the … Continue reading

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My commute patterns changed dramatically last year and the Eaton Fire catastrophe has decimated the first half of 2025 for me, so I’m trying to get back to my old Huffduffer habits for more focused content consumption versus doomscrolling. Sadly, it seems the tagging system has been disabled/disappeared? It was one of my favorite discovery … Continue reading

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A red Negroni cocktail on an old fashioned glass next to a brown Royal HH standard typewriter on an executive tanker desk.
Negroni paired with a Royal HHE for tonight’s writing. 

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Longer shot of Rob Reiner with a black suite jacket and matching black baseball hat and a blue outline of a typewriter. In the foreground he's talking to Ebraheim whose back is to us.
In season 4, episode 3 “Scallop” of The Bear (FX, 2025), the inimitable Rob Reiner shows up as a business consultant by the name of Albert Schnurr. In his introduction, he’s wearing a black baseball cap featuring a typewriter. A line drawing/outline, it looks a bit like a Corona 3 to me. It’s definitely not … Continue reading

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Close up of black cast iron 3 hole punch with a silver metal page guage slider and a heavy metal handle.
Swung through the thrift store today and found this fantastic beast. $3.82 was absolutely too little for such a lovely vintage piece. Not sure of the age, but definitely manufactured to last. Twenty minutes of cleaning and a light oiling and it’s almost as new as the day it came off the factory floor. Handles … Continue reading

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Typewriter Repair Costs and Valuation: Professional Shops versus Collectors versus First Time Buyers

Close up of a naked 1952 Royal Quiet De Luxe typewriter seen from an oblique view.
I often see people asking questions about the value of vintage typewriters. Questions like:  Is it really worth $550 to buy a clean, oiled, and adjusted typewriter from a repair shop? What about the cheap typewriters I see for $20-50 on Facebook Marketplace? Are they any “good”? What’s with the dramatic difference in prices? Am … Continue reading Typewriter Repair Costs and Valuation: Professional Shops versus Collectors versus First Time Buyers

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Two typewriters on a wooden bench in front of a large book case. Surrounding it are 7 more standard typewriters of various makes and models
Happy International Typewriter Day!  Today commemorates the date in 1868 when Christopher Latham Sholes was granted a patent for the first commercially successful typewriter. What are you doing to celebrate? I’m writing about the typewriter market to help out beginning collectors.

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Oblique view onto the right side of a yellow and gray bodied 1961 Royal FP typewriter on a wooden surface
Acquired in April 2025 from a bank in Idaho Falls. I spent way more on shipping than the pittance I spent on the machine itself. I had modest hopes that purchasing it as an ex-bank machine that it would have a non-standard typeface and my bet paid off. It was all bonus points that it … Continue reading

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Grey Royal KMG typewriter carriage with typed quote on a white index card which reads: The secret to life is to waste time i ways that you like. ---Jerry Seinfeld