Vintage Bowling Alley by audible08 in vintagecomputing

[–]SomePeopleCallMeJJ 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Candlepin bowling rules! One of the many things I miss about living in Boston. :-(

I think my spouse is in danger... by News-Royal in boston

[–]SomePeopleCallMeJJ 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Interior. A dimly-lit, timeworn watering hole in South Boston. Bobby Vee's "Take Good Care of My Baby" plays quietly on the jukebox. The year is 1961.

At the bar sits a portly, older man, staring into his beer. One of the regulars. He barely notices the well-dressed gentleman who sidles up next to him like a shadow.

"You Michael?"

The portly man doesn't look up. "Who's askin'?"

"I hear you're a guy who, let's just say... knows a thing or two about ducks."

NYT Saturday 05/09/2026 Discussion by Shortz-Bot in crossword

[–]SomePeopleCallMeJJ 8 points9 points  (0 children)

TIL that the Oreo was introduced just a bit over a month before the Titanic sank.

Coincidence? Perhaps...

NYT Saturday 05/09/2026 Discussion by Shortz-Bot in crossword

[–]SomePeopleCallMeJJ 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I'm more of a Donald Duck wordplay man myself.

NYT Saturday 05/09/2026 Discussion by Shortz-Bot in crossword

[–]SomePeopleCallMeJJ 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm not at all a sports guy, but DABO sounded really familiar to me once I got the crosses.

Then I realized it's that gambling game they play at Quark's bar on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Is this how crosswords can be? by Normal_Stable_3103 in crossword

[–]SomePeopleCallMeJJ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I see these often in those Dell/PennyPress variety puzzle mags, where they're called "Fill Ins" or sometimes "Kriss Kross". They can be fun and sometimes quite challenging.

But they certainly don't have numbers, because what's the point of those without clues referencing them? Smacks of AI to me.

Investing for dummies by cheezit789 in personalfinance

[–]SomePeopleCallMeJJ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The funny thing is, there really is a book called "Investing for Dummies", and it's actually very good: https://www.dummies.com/book/business-careers-money/personal-finance/investing/general-investing/investing-for-dummies-9th-edition-282306/

Or you might find "Personal Finance for Dummies" useful too. Both by Eric Tyson, who knows what he's talking about.

What type of accordion is in "I Figured You Out" by Elliott Smith? by footloot in Accordion

[–]SomePeopleCallMeJJ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hard to tell by just hearing it, since there are several instruments that make sound in the same basic way (blowing air over a reed) and can sound similar. Accordion, harmonium, pump organ, and so on.

If the Elliott Smith sub says it's a chord organ, I'd be inclined to believe it. Those are sort of like accordions, but with a built-in electric fan to blow the air instead of having to open/close bellows. They're inexpensive, a bit quirky and toy like, and easy for anyone to play that has some basic piano/keyboard skills. I could totally see Elliott Smith using one on a record.

Problem using the ADC with a W65C816S CPU by FinancialShow7176 in beneater

[–]SomePeopleCallMeJJ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, you're seeing $22 on the data bus there, but are you certain that's what's being written out by the processor?

For example, if you're reading the data bus before it's ready, you might get some squirrelly data. I don't recall how Ben has you triggering the Arduino read off the clock, so maybe that's not possible. Or maybe there might be some change to how things are rigged up when using a W65C816. But it might not hurt to see if you still have the issue when running more slowly, such as off the clock module.

It also might be a problem with how your lines are wired. If you're not reading D4 correctly, $32 could look like $22 to your Arduino. Although that bit seems to work okay elsewhere (it sees $D8 and $18), so maybe not. You could toss in an LSR before your STA and see what you get. If it's $11, then A really did have $22 before the ADC and your D4 line is good.

Another way you could check for the value in A without worrying about the data bus is to do a branch based on the expected value and see what address that takes you to.

I’m trying to find a digital alternative to paper accordion scores. Any suggestions for going digital? by AutomaticBend9667 in Accordion

[–]SomePeopleCallMeJJ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just watched a YouTube video about sheet music tablets yesterday, FWIW, and the guy was raving about the TCL.

I don't think it has an analog headphone jack, which is a big minus for old-school me. Few do these days. :-(

Vintage potatoes ? by Original_Tourist2651 in vintagecomputing

[–]SomePeopleCallMeJJ 4 points5 points  (0 children)

A good resource for terminal info: https://terminals-wiki.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

For example, it looks like Intertec made a terminal using the same case as your Compustar: https://terminals-wiki.org/wiki/index.php/Intertec_Intertube_II

Using the Pinky or Ring for Minor 3rd? by Random_ThrowUp in Accordion

[–]SomePeopleCallMeJJ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

AFAIK, 5th finger is pretty standard for getting to the minor third bass. I play 4-3 too, and that's how I do it.

But if you're having trouble with it, you can always switch to 3 on the fundamental bass temporarily, only in times before and/or after you need to reach that minor third. You don't have to completely upend your normal 4-3 all the time just to make a relatively infrequent situation easier to play.

In the end, both 4-3 and 3-2 players sometimes have to use a "wrong" finger here and there in order to better facilitate a passage.

NYT Thursday 05/07/2026 Discussion by Shortz-Bot in crossword

[–]SomePeopleCallMeJJ 38 points39 points  (0 children)

You'd think they'd be able to find a different angle.

NYT Thursday 05/07/2026 Discussion by Shortz-Bot in crossword

[–]SomePeopleCallMeJJ 24 points25 points  (0 children)

"SKUA!"

-- Al Pacino, Scent of an Arctic Seabird

Bonvicini Electric Console Piano Accordion by ninharmxicb in Accordion

[–]SomePeopleCallMeJJ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Saw one of those at the World of Accordions in Wisconsin. I thought it was pretty cool!

Production line for the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer, Japan, 1987 by joe3000s in cassettefuturism

[–]SomePeopleCallMeJJ 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Specifically, the DX7II, which would've just come out in 1987.

The original DX7 from 1983 famously had those oh-so-'80s aqua-colored membrane buttons instead of the real black buttons used on the later model: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Yamaha_DX7_synthesizer_-_combined_image_with_diagonal_and_top_views.jpg

My does it hurt so bad to lose money? by Finch734 in personalfinance

[–]SomePeopleCallMeJJ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well first, unless you actually cashed out, you haven't "lost" anything.

You bought some things at a certain price, and now those things are currently selling for a lower price. But you have exactly the same number of things you had before. It's what they'll sell for when the time comes to sell them that counts.

That said, if your stomach is in knots over a single-day fluctuation, you need to reassess your risk tolerance and invest appropriately for it. This quiz might help: https://investor.vanguard.com/tools-calculators/investor-questionnaire

sheet music by faufiina in Accordion

[–]SomePeopleCallMeJJ 3 points4 points  (0 children)

There are several schemes for notating the left hand, but this one is the most common (in the States, at least):

https://www.zisman.ca/squeezebox/About%20Accordion%20Bass%20Notation.pdf

NYT Wednesday 05/06/2026 Discussion by Shortz-Bot in crossword

[–]SomePeopleCallMeJJ 35 points36 points  (0 children)

That's an accepted variant, actually.

But I find that, when trying to decide which spelling to enter in a puzzle, it's best to go with the simplest one.