Maybe that’s supposed to be a 2.5 Mb drive, but somebody typed an extra space.
Let’s say, though, that this is Image #2, showing a 5 Mb drive, in 1956.
So heavy it takes 4 men to wrestle it up that ramp and into the truck, and costing thousands of dollars.
By 1986, a low-end “IBM compatible” computer (which still meant $2000) had a 5 or 10 Mb hard drive, the size of…. Hmmm… A bit bigger than 2 packs of cigarettes, side by side… But heavier.
In 2024, my low end smartphone (about $200 if I hadn’t gotten it free) has 64 gigabytes of storage… Each Gb being 1,000 Mb, or 200 times the storage on that 1956 monster hard drive. Close to 13 thousand of those 1956 hard drives, in my pocket.
One picture from the camera on it can be 5 Mb, though most are around 3.5.
Good call on the 5MB vs 2.5MB. Here’s the result of search for “the largest IBM hard drive of 1956:
IBM 350
The RAMAC’s disk storage unit, the IBM 350, weighed over a ton, had to be moved around with forklifts, and was delivered via large cargo airplanes. It stored approximately 5MB of data: five million 8-bit characters on fifty 24-inch-diameter disks, a form of drum memory.
Maybe. It’s true that the grey concrete looks as though it could be vertical, like the side wal of a pool.
That is, until you look at the triangular patch of light falling on it, to the right of the picture.
It bends where it falls on the floor, showing that it’s horizontal. There are also what look like a few loose bits of plaster or other debris, lying on the floor below the ramp, and some yellowish sticks of something on the left.
It does seem to slope a little from the back wall towards the steps… so maybe it could still be the very very shallow end of a pool.
I’m guestimating from the presumably 6″ tiles it would be about 2 feet deep, dropping to 3 feet at left… If the water level comes up to the landing.
A couple feet more if it reaches the top of the blue tiles, in which case the whole ramp is underwater.
In either case the ramp is still dangerous, and the steps are descending underwater with no handrail.
Yikes!
(And yes I do have better things to do 😁. But I can’t resist a puzzle.)
I saw the concrete as horizontal, and shallow (you wouldn’t put a wheelchair bound person right into the deep end). I further think it could be a specific installation for a specific person. It is directly off of a door that doesn’t appear to be a main entrance. I suspect that most people enter the pool from a deck area, out of view.
Actually, we had a Cleo strip quite a way back about brown diamonds, and as I recall, I wrote about them then.
Rather than rare, which is how they first tried to market them, the dull brown stones were previously sold as industrial products, shaped into cutting tools, watch diamonds, and other uses where their looks and common availability didn’t matter.
Some were not even useful for that, being brittle or otherwise ruined by cracks, inclusions and impurities, and were ground into dust used for polishing.
…
Then somebody came up with what I consider a scam… And “chocolate diamonds” were born. They went from floor sweepings to gems in one fell swoop.
There is a relatively rare diamond color that’s close to brown, like a deep topaz… I forget what they call it… but it maintains the fire and refraction of diamond.
Chocolate diamonds, though, are relatively dull, and completely overpriced.
I lost my client last night. His name was Bill.
I’m reeling.I’m so something that i don’t have a name for.
I am, and have been for quite some time, totally burned out. Bill was the only reason that i was getting up in the morning. Even after retiring i wanted to stay with the grumpy stubborn old man a couple days a week.
Maybe devastated is close, but that still doesn’t really encompass everything that is happening in my head right now.
There is nothing left of me.
I don’t know what all bedevils you beyond the high stress of two real estate closings, and moving yourself and two cohorts to a new place. You speak of Bill as if he was literally, and not only figuratively, a member of your family. A large part of what makes you good at your job, and valued by your employer, is that you genuinely care about the client.
Clearly, you need some time to decompress. This is certainly not the first client you have had that has ultimately solved the mystery. Whatever you do to escape, now’s the time to do it. Take Buddy camping or fishing. Bring a few books and maybe some music you like. And get some sleep!
Deepest sympathy! Grumpy stubborn old people are sometimes the hardest to let go, because you have to get into their head a bit (and let them get into yours). You’ll get past this, but he’ll leave a big hole in your heart. Let’s hope he’ll be waiting for you when you pass out of this life and you can share the experiences that you’ve had since you lost him. Make sure they’re lots of good ones that you’d like to share.
Losing a close friend is hard next to losing a loved parent.
Mourn. Cry. Shout!
Any chance you can get some (preferably payed) time off to recover? It’s a health issue for you after all!
hang in there, Hap….as Liverlips said, now’s the time to escape and to hold your four-leggers a little close
as Arf said, you’ll get past this.
as Tigressy said , it’s a health issue for YOU , too.
You have suffered a great loss.
I’m guessing Bill, despite being a” grumpy stubborn old man,” also gave you many causes to smile.
Remember what caused those smiles to help ease the pain of losing him.
I know it doesn’t feel like it right now, but time will help too.
Go to his service and say good bye for the final time if you can. That too will help.
We’re ALL here for you. My feeling is, since he was the reason for you getting up in the morning, you should continue working. Someone out there needs you and vice versa. (aka Daleandkristen) Jean VanLeuven
Bill.
His name was Bill.
A grumpy stubborn old man.
But, Les, he was YOUR grumpy stubborn man.
And a friend.
You were probably closer to Bill than you could ever be with your own family.
Because he was YOUR family. And you, his.
You both probably know “secrets” shared together, that no one else would know.
You saw Bill at his best.
You saw Bill at his worst.
Only an honourable and decent man will feel the way you do right now.
Grieve.
Pray.
And honour Bill in whatever way you can while moving forward.
We are all here for you, Les.
May Deep Peace be placed upon you.
So sorry to hear your news and what it’s doing to you. They say not to make changes in your life when you’re depressed. (But you probably know that better than I do. ) Still, getting out from under the pressure sounds like a helluva good idea — either temporarily or permanently. Follow your heart.
Like the Lymphoma Awareness Day. One of our goldens got that, and we were able to treat it successfully. She lived another 5 years. Thank dog for pet insurance.
.
I see they did something useful with Tuesday’s dog…
Now, don’t scare everybody.
You should have mentioned that the dog is fine.
What you see here was just the extra.
That couch looks like one of ours which is convertible into a king-sized bed.
Looks like the dogs have already made the conversion…
When converted, ours is even large enough to fit one cat!
Same size then as our regular bed. Guess what…
,
I think I’d want to stay as close as possible to the center of that pile.
Well, that’s actually my second choice.
First choice is terra firma, and maybe a hundred feet away.
These images go a long way to explaining where the Post Office gets their mail handlers…
What goes up must come down. I’ve stacked many a hay bale, and they usually lock in pretty well, but I’ve never tried to create something like that!
,.
…
Very good!
Good likeness. What’s up with the guys rowing what look like sleek racing shells through cold and highly turbulent waters?
Kublai Khan’s battle fleet being destroyed by the “Divine Wind?|
Just a different take on it: It almost looks like he knocked the cover off of that ball!
..
Maybe that’s supposed to be a 2.5 Mb drive, but somebody typed an extra space.
Let’s say, though, that this is Image #2, showing a 5 Mb drive, in 1956.
So heavy it takes 4 men to wrestle it up that ramp and into the truck, and costing thousands of dollars.
By 1986, a low-end “IBM compatible” computer (which still meant $2000) had a 5 or 10 Mb hard drive, the size of…. Hmmm… A bit bigger than 2 packs of cigarettes, side by side… But heavier.
In 2024, my low end smartphone (about $200 if I hadn’t gotten it free) has 64 gigabytes of storage… Each Gb being 1,000 Mb, or 200 times the storage on that 1956 monster hard drive. Close to 13 thousand of those 1956 hard drives, in my pocket.
One picture from the camera on it can be 5 Mb, though most are around 3.5.
Good call on the 5MB vs 2.5MB. Here’s the result of search for “the largest IBM hard drive of 1956:
IBM 350
Oh, wow! They’ll never be able to fill that thing up!
,,,
Great story!
I know it’s probably just anthropomorphism, but I can’t possibly imagine that sweet faced pup being a male.
Her (to me) features are almost humanly female… but there’s supposedly no sexual dimorphism in dog faces.
Good thing I’ll never know if his name (no!) is really Butch.
,,.
We’re on sort of an “ADA roll” here, aren’t we?
“Yeah, you can exit out that door. But watch that last step. It’s kind of sudden.”
“Roll” being the operative word.
Wheelchair users nightmare.
Exactly right.
I wanna see what’s on the other side of the door.
a wheelchair factory
This looks like it could be a drained pool. Maybe that landing is about the fill level. Roll people down to the edge and dump ’em in ☺.
Maybe. It’s true that the grey concrete looks as though it could be vertical, like the side wal of a pool.
That is, until you look at the triangular patch of light falling on it, to the right of the picture.
It bends where it falls on the floor, showing that it’s horizontal. There are also what look like a few loose bits of plaster or other debris, lying on the floor below the ramp, and some yellowish sticks of something on the left.
It does seem to slope a little from the back wall towards the steps… so maybe it could still be the very very shallow end of a pool.
I’m guestimating from the presumably 6″ tiles it would be about 2 feet deep, dropping to 3 feet at left… If the water level comes up to the landing.
A couple feet more if it reaches the top of the blue tiles, in which case the whole ramp is underwater.
In either case the ramp is still dangerous, and the steps are descending underwater with no handrail.
Yikes!
(And yes I do have better things to do 😁. But I can’t resist a puzzle.)
I saw the concrete as horizontal, and shallow (you wouldn’t put a wheelchair bound person right into the deep end). I further think it could be a specific installation for a specific person. It is directly off of a door that doesn’t appear to be a main entrance. I suspect that most people enter the pool from a deck area, out of view.
I was going to say “looks like a still from Lawrence of Arabia.” I guess the photo below confirms that assessment.
My thoughts exactly.
Thomas Edward Lawrence’s picture is a link to the Wikipedia article about him.
Warning ! !
Cuteness overload (click the start arrow).
find the diamond ring
The unclaimed luggage room at O’Hare?
Can I claim the ring?
Aren’t those pretty rare?
Actually, we had a Cleo strip quite a way back about brown diamonds, and as I recall, I wrote about them then.
Rather than rare, which is how they first tried to market them, the dull brown stones were previously sold as industrial products, shaped into cutting tools, watch diamonds, and other uses where their looks and common availability didn’t matter.
Some were not even useful for that, being brittle or otherwise ruined by cracks, inclusions and impurities, and were ground into dust used for polishing.
…
Then somebody came up with what I consider a scam… And “chocolate diamonds” were born. They went from floor sweepings to gems in one fell swoop.
There is a relatively rare diamond color that’s close to brown, like a deep topaz… I forget what they call it… but it maintains the fire and refraction of diamond.
Chocolate diamonds, though, are relatively dull, and completely overpriced.
Got it.
Yes… I don’t understand either!
Not even going to try tonight. I’m just not up to it this evening.
Found it anyway. It kinda just jumped out all of a sudden.
In the morning you can find the other seven🤭
Go lie down with the dog. It will make both of you feel better, and you need the sleep.
Ok….. Something not quite right here.
Could be me, could be the puzzle… But I’m pretty sure it’s the caption.
I did it quickly so I could get back here to report….
Which means there may be even more… but I think it should say “Find the EIGHT diamond rings!”.
At least, that’s how many I’ve found so far, and I’m… let’s say 80% sure that’s all of them 😁
None of the few colors I have available show up well against this image.
Light green seemed the most visible… And I did circle eight rings.
Sorry if they’re hard to see.
Now go back and find the TOASTER
Do you really see a toaster?
Or are you just trying to make me look, to prove that I’m incredibly gullible?
Cos I am.
Oops… see Alexi’s “solution.”
Good work!
I saw Alexi’s solution and realized that there was no diamond in it. That’s when I realized what it was.
I didn’t bother looking for it.
Oh! Find the TOASTER !
Oh!
Did you “bother” looking at the solution you just posted?
Cos that’s P51Strega’s toaster… It’s obviously not any of the diamond rings.
Dang! I haven’t even had a chance to look for the toaster.
I was expecting your solution to show that there were actually eight rings
We’re working on two different puzzles!
You tell ’em!
Hennnnry!!!
More human ingenuity (I approve this invention).
Buenos dias, Cleomigos!
Perro™ rides… um… OK… well, I can’t exactly say “rides again”… or even that he’s actually riding…
I’m sure he has ridden, previously, but we eager fans have not yet seen him in the saddle…
so how about… Perro™ rides soon, I’m pretty sure!
At least Don Doggo is here, while we wait.
…
Ahhh… so he was summoned by his Papa…
a courtly figure, in his Spanish-gentleman’s-style white suit…
Yet even Papa is a bit more up-to-date than Don Doggo on his cultural icons.
Perhaps television reception wasn’t as good in Spain back then.
I’m sure the TV reception explains it. That was pre-cable.
I lost my client last night. His name was Bill.
I’m reeling.I’m so something that i don’t have a name for.
I am, and have been for quite some time, totally burned out. Bill was the only reason that i was getting up in the morning. Even after retiring i wanted to stay with the grumpy stubborn old man a couple days a week.
Maybe devastated is close, but that still doesn’t really encompass everything that is happening in my head right now.
There is nothing left of me.
I don’t know what all bedevils you beyond the high stress of two real estate closings, and moving yourself and two cohorts to a new place. You speak of Bill as if he was literally, and not only figuratively, a member of your family. A large part of what makes you good at your job, and valued by your employer, is that you genuinely care about the client.
Clearly, you need some time to decompress. This is certainly not the first client you have had that has ultimately solved the mystery. Whatever you do to escape, now’s the time to do it. Take Buddy camping or fishing. Bring a few books and maybe some music you like. And get some sleep!
Deepest sympathy! Grumpy stubborn old people are sometimes the hardest to let go, because you have to get into their head a bit (and let them get into yours). You’ll get past this, but he’ll leave a big hole in your heart. Let’s hope he’ll be waiting for you when you pass out of this life and you can share the experiences that you’ve had since you lost him. Make sure they’re lots of good ones that you’d like to share.
I’m really sorry, Les.
Losing a close friend is hard next to losing a loved parent.
Mourn. Cry. Shout!
Any chance you can get some (preferably payed) time off to recover? It’s a health issue for you after all!
hang in there, Hap….as Liverlips said, now’s the time to escape and to hold your four-leggers a little close
as Arf said, you’ll get past this.
as Tigressy said , it’s a health issue for YOU , too.
♥ You chose a really tough career ♥ The world needs you and the few like you who can do that work ♥ Thank you.
You have suffered a great loss.
I’m guessing Bill, despite being a” grumpy stubborn old man,” also gave you many causes to smile.
Remember what caused those smiles to help ease the pain of losing him.
I know it doesn’t feel like it right now, but time will help too.
Go to his service and say good bye for the final time if you can. That too will help.
Thanks all.
I’ve now got to decide if i want to wait eight months, or retire now.
We’re ALL here for you. My feeling is, since he was the reason for you getting up in the morning, you should continue working. Someone out there needs you and vice versa. (aka Daleandkristen) Jean VanLeuven
Bill.
His name was Bill.
A grumpy stubborn old man.
But, Les, he was YOUR grumpy stubborn man.
And a friend.
You were probably closer to Bill than you could ever be with your own family.
Because he was YOUR family. And you, his.
You both probably know “secrets” shared together, that no one else would know.
You saw Bill at his best.
You saw Bill at his worst.
Only an honourable and decent man will feel the way you do right now.
Grieve.
Pray.
And honour Bill in whatever way you can while moving forward.
We are all here for you, Les.
May Deep Peace be placed upon you.
Buddy, we’re even closer now that you’ve moved. If you need someone to talk to, let me know and I’ll arrange to come over.
So sorry to hear your news and what it’s doing to you. They say not to make changes in your life when you’re depressed. (But you probably know that better than I do. ) Still, getting out from under the pressure sounds like a helluva good idea — either temporarily or permanently. Follow your heart.
Like the Lymphoma Awareness Day. One of our goldens got that, and we were able to treat it successfully. She lived another 5 years. Thank dog for pet insurance.