What is it? CCXXVI

R.H. wrote:
> Just posted a new set, hopefully someone will be able identify the first
> piece, I think I know what it is but I haven't been able to confirm it.
>
> http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/
>
>
> Rob

1263 I can imagine a use. Suppose a surveyor has to lay out points
between corners so somebody can build a fence. He sets up his telescope
over one corner and sights to the other corner. Then he guides his
assistant with a plumb bob to points along the line.

The surveyor finds that the assistant's sleeve or body sometimes
interferes with his view of the far corner, so he has the assistant
extend his reach with a wand. The assistant complains that it fatigues
him to stand around holding out a wand with a plumb bob hanging from the
end, so a furniture maker turns out one with a handle similar to a baseball.

A boy might consider walking off with such a dandy souvenir. The metal
insert would make it easy for the surveyor to identify. It would also
deter theft. The crown would remind a boy of where the surveyor would
hit him. 1870 was the year the Department of Justice was created. CN,
the "Bulldog at the Feet of Jesus," was six feet tall, led a mob of
rock-throwing vigilantes, and named her house Hatchet Hall.

On Apr 10, 7:30 pm, Richard Heathfield <[email protected]> wrote:
> [talk about topic-drift!]
>
> E Z Peaces said:
>
> <snip>
>
> > One day I looked down the street and saw that the chow had gotten loose
> > and gone after a 90-year-old woman across the street. I grabbed a
> > spade. Before I got there,
>
> I can't help wondering whether you watch only a very little television, or
> perhaps even none at all. Let me explain why I wonder. Lest the
> faint-hearted be reading this, fear not - no dogs are involved!
>
> In Gloucester (UK) city centre, there is (or was) a Sainsbury's supermarket
> with a (well-used) back exit onto a side road. Across the street is (or
> was) a seating area, perhaps 30 yards from the shop exit. One busy, sunny
> Saturday morning about - oh, it has to be at least N years ago, if not
> longer, I was sitting on one of the benches, half-reading one of those
> wastes of moneyESC3b3cwcomputer magazines and half-watching the world go
> by.
>
> A woman emerged from the supermarket, pushing a trolley about half-full of
> heavy shopping. A very young child (maybe 2-3 years) rode in the child
> seat. Unwittingly, the woman pushed the trolley over an extremely uneven
> part of the paving, and the trolley started to tip. She tried to correct
> for it, but wasn't quite strong enough to do so, and it was clear that she
> was going to lose this battle. The shopping would soon be all over the
> road - and the child might easily sustain an injury.
>
> But the woman wasn't giving up easily, and was losing the battle
> sslloowwllyy. I could see that all she needed was one kind person to offer
> her an extra Newton or two in the required direction, and there were at
> least ten people closer to her than I was, most of whom had noticed what
> was happening and several of whom had actually stopped walking, so I just
> watched, waiting for one of them to react. After all, they were much, much
> closer than I was, and they were already standing up!
>
> But nobody went to her. Not *one* person.
>
> After about 10 seconds (half an eternity if you're the one fighting the
> trolley), I realised that nobody was going to move an inch for this poor
> woman, so I ran over as fast as I could, grabbed the basket *just* in
> time, hauled it upright, and moved it to safer paving.
>
> By the time I'd got home, I'd worked out what I consider to be the most
> likely explanation for the lack of help - TOO MUCH TV!
>
> People have become accustomed to seeing the most distressing situations
> unfold before their eyes, without being able to *do* anything. Que sera,
> sera! They are so used to not being in a position to help, that they have
> got out of the way of helping. They have become de-sensitised to other
> people's danger, so they just watch, and watch, and watch. And then they
> say how terribly sad it all is.
>
> (Note that the "fear for personal safety" explanation, which also occurred
> to me, didn't really apply here - nobody could seriously believe, surely,
> that the woman would turn on them if they helped her.)
>
> Having been a television non-watcher for quite a few years, I had not been
> de-sensitised in the same way, and so I was free to help. (I claim no
> great credit for this - I know that any rec.puzzler, metalworker, or
> woodworker would have done the same if they'd been present.)
>
> My closing moral is taken from the theme song of a weekend television
> program in the late 1970s:
>
> Sitting at home, watch TV
> Turn it off, no good to me
> Why don't you? Why don't you?
> Why don't youswitchoffyourtelevisionsetgoanddosomethinglessboringinstead?
>
> ObPuzzle/ObMetalwork/ObWoodwork: can you devise a suitable
> ObPuzzle/ObMetalwork/ObWoodwork suffix to a cross-post to
> rec.crafts.metalworking, rec.puzzles, and rec.woodworking, that could
> possibly compensate for straying so far off-topic? Recursive solutions are
> acceptable!
>
> --
> Richard Heathfield <http://www.cpax.org.uk>
> Email: -http://www. +rjh@
> Google users: <http://www.cpax.org.uk/prg/writings/googly.php>
> "Usenet is a strange place" - dmr 29 July 1999

I agree with Gunner. If it's true that's very unfortunate. I think
it's also education. No one seems to be taught to help others.
Slightly sideways to that: When I was home at Christmas my nephews
(kids) were playing Halo 3. I said to one of them that I thought they
should get shocked if they got hit. Basicly he said no one would play
if it hurt to screw up. On the other hand. He's the only nephew that
isn't trained in a martial art. I think they should all be trained in
first aid and martial arts from the time they're little.
Karl

"Barbara Bailey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Bruce L. Bergman <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
>> On Thu, 3 Apr 2008 16:22:42 +0200 (CEST), Barbara Bailey
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>"Lee Michaels" <[email protected]> wrote in
>>>news:[email protected]:
>>>> "R.H." <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>>> news:[email protected]...
>>
>>>>> Just posted a new set, hopefully someone will be able identify the
>>>>> first piece, I think I know what it is but I haven't been able to
>>>>> confirm it.
>>>>>
>>>>> http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> 1264 looks like a film cartidge. I am guessing 35 mm.
>>>>
>>>
>>>It's Ampex. That's magnetic sound recording tape or video tape rather
>>>than film.
>>
>> Judging from the cart size and the "AMPEX" I'm making an educated
>> guess - it's a short chunk of first-gen 2" helical scan video tape,
>> three or four minutes max. Probably for commercials or news footage.
>>
>> Note how they put the label on the spool instead of the cartridge -
>> bet you they could put just the spool on the shelf for compact
>> storage, and thread another into the cartridge.
>
> Indeed. Except for the width of the tape, it's pretty similar to the tape
> cartridges I used back when I worked at a radio station in the early
> 80's. I wasn't sure whether sound tape was ever that wide (for instance
> in a recording studio,) so I wasn't willing to categorically rule it out.
> However, in those, the tape reels weren't removable, but the carts
> themselves stored quite compactly on racks.

First, I don't know if 2" was ever available in helical scan. The 2" Ampex
we used at the ETS station I worked at was quadruplex. But that was in the
'60s.

I never saw a cartridge before. We used reel-to-reel for everything. Except
for the film chain, that is.

--
Ed Huntress

1264. film container of sorts
1266. Grain sampler probe(you shoved it into a grain pile with a rod, gave
it a twist and it opened up sampling the grain at that depth, the chain held
it together till you dumped the sample then repeat the process)
1268 carpet layer tack hammer?????????????????
"E Z Peaces" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> R.H. wrote:
>> Just posted a new set, hopefully someone will be able identify the first
>> piece, I think I know what it is but I haven't been able to confirm it.
>>
>> http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/
>>
>>
>> Rob
>
> 1263 I can imagine a use. Suppose a surveyor has to lay out points
> between corners so somebody can build a fence. He sets up his telescope
> over one corner and sights to the other corner. Then he guides his
> assistant with a plumb bob to points along the line.
>
> The surveyor finds that the assistant's sleeve or body sometimes
> interferes with his view of the far corner, so he has the assistant extend
> his reach with a wand. The assistant complains that it fatigues him to
> stand around holding out a wand with a plumb bob hanging from the end, so
> a furniture maker turns out one with a handle similar to a baseball.
>
> A boy might consider walking off with such a dandy souvenir. The metal
> insert would make it easy for the surveyor to identify. It would also
> deter theft. The crown would remind a boy of where the surveyor would hit
> him. 1870 was the year the Department of Justice was created. CN, the
> "Bulldog at the Feet of Jesus," was six feet tall, led a mob of
> rock-throwing vigilantes, and named her house Hatchet Hall.

"DoN. Nichols" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On 2008-04-03, R.H. <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Just posted a new set, hopefully someone will be able identify the first
>> piece, I think I know what it is but I haven't been able to confirm it.
>>
>> http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/
>
> As always, posting from rec.crafts.metalworking.
>
> 1263) To me -- this looks like a combination of a walking cane
> and a hook to hold down the head of a snake prior to
> killing it.
>
> A little more detail at the small end might help if you can
> still get it.
>
> An alternative might be a sceptre for a ruler or a cleric, but
> that does not seem to make sense given the time and location.
>
> 1264) A tape cartridge. The Ampex name supports that part. However
> it seems to be an unusually wide tape. Not large enough spools
> to justify considering it to be a predecessor to the U-matic
> video cartridges (which were 3/4" tape IIRC), and this looks
> closer to 1-3/4" or perhaps even 2". And it would require
> spooling out from the cartridge to wrap around a drum for
> helical scan to get a sufficient data rate. I think that
> perhaps it is for some kind of multi-track data recorder.

Just FYI, 2" Ampex tapes originally were quad, not helical. But Sony
developed some helical 2" and Ampex, IIRC, used the Sony patents for color.

As I've thought about that cartridge I wonder if it's from the automatic
cartridge loader that Ampex developed somewhat later.

--
Ed Huntress

> 1263) To me -- this looks like a combination of a walking cane
> and a hook to hold down the head of a snake prior to
> killing it.
>
> A little more detail at the small end might help if you can
> still get it.


I've shown this to a number of artifact experts and they agree with you that
it's probably a walking stick, except it appears to be missing the ferrule
on the small end and the owner may have later added a hook for some unknown
reason.

Here is a close-up of the small end:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v80/harnett65/Album%208/pic1263d.jpg



Rob

> Would a walking stick have a flat top?
>
> Apparently it was used to suspend something light, less than a pound. One
> might want to extend one's reach to hang a chain on a hook that was out or
> reach, but it seems as if a five-foot broomstick would be better because
> using both hands would provide better control. Besides, why would it need
> an identification plug?
>
> I once had a screwdriver with a handle the size and shape of a tennis
> ball. It reduced fatigue for driving a lot of big screws, in part because
> I could adjust my grip so my wrist was comfortable. I think this device
> was for dangling something long enough that fatigue mattered.
>
> Surveying comes to mind. If you are trying to line up three points, it
> can be helpful to have a clear view past your assistant. So the ingenious
> part-time surveyor gives his assistant a piece of broomstick. If the end
> moves, the plumb bob will start to swing, compromising accuracy. It
> occurs to the surveyor that a larger, ball-shaped handle would let the
> assistant take a steadier, less fatiguing grip.
>
> The surveyor makes furniture as a hobby, so he makes something suitable on
> a lathe. He has probably lost tools while surveying, so he adds a metal
> plug to stamp for identification. He uses his initials and the year of
> his birth, kind of like the user names that some people devise for
> internet accounts. If he tells the farmer, "1870 CN," the farmer will
> remember whose it is if he finds it six months later. He adds the crown
> because he happens to have a crown stamp. Assuming some will be lost or
> damaged, he makes several.


Sounds reasonable, but I've done lots of searching and haven't been able to
find anything else like it, so it's still a mystery for the moment. I think
I'll tentatively stay with the walking stick theory, although I do like
Patrick's Forest Boot-Snag idea. Hopefully someone will soon recognize it
and provide some evidence to prove how it was used.

The answers for the rest of this week's set can be seen here:

http://pzphotosans226z8.blogspot.com/


Rob

>> http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v80/harnett65/Album%208/pic1263d.jpg
>
> O.K. I agree that it once had a ferrule and no longer does.
> Looking at the hook shows that it is not suitable for snake capture as I
> had first thought (it would have to be rigid for that). It also appears
> to have had that hook in place for quite some time, based on the wear
> visible where the eye forks out. It might have been for hanging it on a
> wall or fence, or for pulling found objects on the path closer.
>
> Are the insignia and the date on the head stamped into gold? Or
> is that brass which has been kept polished? I would expect more wear on
> that if the latter.
>
> Thanks,
> DoN.



According to the owner, the metal is lead.

Below are two more close-ups, the owner thinks that they show some type of
crest carved into the wood:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v80/harnett65/Album%208/pic1263cr1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v80/harnett65/Album%208/pic1263cr2.jpg


I didn't post them earlier because there isn't much detail and they're
almost impossible to read.



Rob

On Thu, 3 Apr 2008 16:22:42 +0200 (CEST), Barbara Bailey
<[email protected]> wrote:
>"Lee Michaels" <[email protected]> wrote in
>news:[email protected]:
>> "R.H." <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...

>>> Just posted a new set, hopefully someone will be able identify the
>>> first piece, I think I know what it is but I haven't been able to
>>> confirm it.
>>>
>>> http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/
>>>
>>>
>> 1264 looks like a film cartidge. I am guessing 35 mm.
>>
>
>It's Ampex. That's magnetic sound recording tape or video tape rather than
>film.

Judging from the cart size and the "AMPEX" I'm making an educated
guess - it's a short chunk of first-gen 2" helical scan video tape,
three or four minutes max. Probably for commercials or news footage.

Note how they put the label on the spool instead of the cartridge -
bet you they could put just the spool on the shelf for compact
storage, and thread another into the cartridge.

--<< Bruce >>--

On Tue, 08 Apr 2008 18:23:53 -0400, E Z Peaces <[email protected]>
wrote:

>DoN. Nichols wrote:
>> On 2008-04-06, E Z Peaces <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> In the 19th Century there were a lot of men on foot and a lot of dogs
>>> running loose.
>>
>> There were also a lot of people who carried small pistols for
>> such confrontations.
>
>If you shoot a dog before it bites, the owner might charge or sue you.
>(IIRC, it was about 9 years ago that a professor at the University of
>Southern Mississippi shot a dog that ran after him as he jogged. He was
>arrested and, IIRC, convicted. The prosecutor alleged he'd overreacted
>because another dog had once bitten him.
>
>If you plan not to shoot until the dog attacks, you have to keep the gun
>at hand with a round in the chamber as you work. You might shoot
>yourself or it might be stolen. A stick seems more practical.

You might also have frogs fly out your ass as well. Pasta seems more
practical, and it passes the anal sphincter easier..after its been
cooked.

We all can testify to all the limping, gunless copsf, who had them
stolen, or shot themselves with theirs. Maybe they should have carried
sticks, ne?
>>
>>> If the device had a metal point like a target arrow, I
>>> would consider it an ideal "walking stick" to deter an aggressive and
>>> treacherous dog. Held by the knob, it could jab and whip like a fencing
>>> sword.
>>
>> Hmm ... you might want to try it with that and with a real
>> fencing sword for comparison. I think that ball handle would lose in
>> terms of control.
>
>I know what I'm thinking of, an umbrella! The tip seems like a good
>deterrent. I'd hold it a few inches from the handle for balance to move
>the tip faster. If the walking stick was shaped for defense against
>dogs, the ball may have been for balance.

And when the second dog jumps you from the side, ripping out your
hamstrings, you can do a Mary Poppins and simply fly away with your
bumblechute.

>
>>
>>> It's short and light enough for agility but long and strong
>>> enough to stop a lunging dog. One could also use the knob to club.
>>
>> This I consider the more useful end for dog repelling.
>
>I once clubbed an attacking dog three times on the head so hard I
>thought I might kill it. It wasn't deterred. Fortunately I had it by
>the collar. I've read that an attacking dog is pretty impervious to pain.

Might work well with a Yorkie, if you smash him in the head with that
1 1/4" brass knob..but its not going to do much good with those two
pit bulls.
>
>Another time a neighbor's dog circled me as I worked on a fence post at
>a farm. It looked treacherous, so I always carried a hammer or a 16"
>screwdriver. The dog seemed more afraid of the screwdriver. (The owner
>later shot that dog.)
>
>I don't know how people thought a century ago, but I'd want a deterrent
>that could be used like a large screwdriver. If I thought a big dog
>might attack anyway, I wouldn't depend on clubbing. I'd want a point
>like a big target arrow so I could inflict severe pain or kill the animal.
>
>I usually used that screwdriver as a marker for surveying. If the
>walking stick was designed for defense against dogs, the owner may have
>added a hook for an other use. Maybe that use was surveying.


"[L]iberals are afraid to state what they truly believe in, for to do so
would result in even less votes than they currently receive. Their
methodology is to lie about their real agenda in the hopes of regaining
power, at which point they will do whatever they damn well please. The
problem is they have concealed and obfuscated for so long that, as a group,
they themselves are no longer sure of their goals. They are a collection of
wild-eyed splinter groups, all holding a grab-bag of dreams and wishes. Some
want a Socialist, secular-humanist state, others the repeal of the Second
Amendment. Some want same sex/different species marriage, others want voting
rights for trees, fish, coal and bugs. Some want cradle to grave care and
complete subservience to the government nanny state, others want a culture
that walks in lockstep and speaks only with intonations of political
correctness. I view the American liberals in much the same way I view the
competing factions of Islamic
fundamentalists. The latter hate each other to the core, and only join
forces to attack the US or Israel. The former hate themselves to the core,
and only join forces to attack George Bush and conservatives." --Ron Marr

[talk about topic-drift!]

E Z Peaces said:

<snip>

> One day I looked down the street and saw that the chow had gotten loose
> and gone after a 90-year-old woman across the street. I grabbed a
> spade. Before I got there,

I can't help wondering whether you watch only a very little television, or
perhaps even none at all. Let me explain why I wonder. Lest the
faint-hearted be reading this, fear not - no dogs are involved!

In Gloucester (UK) city centre, there is (or was) a Sainsbury's supermarket
with a (well-used) back exit onto a side road. Across the street is (or
was) a seating area, perhaps 30 yards from the shop exit. One busy, sunny
Saturday morning about - oh, it has to be at least N years ago, if not
longer, I was sitting on one of the benches, half-reading one of those
wastes of moneyESC3b3cwcomputer magazines and half-watching the world go
by.

A woman emerged from the supermarket, pushing a trolley about half-full of
heavy shopping. A very young child (maybe 2-3 years) rode in the child
seat. Unwittingly, the woman pushed the trolley over an extremely uneven
part of the paving, and the trolley started to tip. She tried to correct
for it, but wasn't quite strong enough to do so, and it was clear that she
was going to lose this battle. The shopping would soon be all over the
road - and the child might easily sustain an injury.

But the woman wasn't giving up easily, and was losing the battle
sslloowwllyy. I could see that all she needed was one kind person to offer
her an extra Newton or two in the required direction, and there were at
least ten people closer to her than I was, most of whom had noticed what
was happening and several of whom had actually stopped walking, so I just
watched, waiting for one of them to react. After all, they were much, much
closer than I was, and they were already standing up!

But nobody went to her. Not *one* person.

After about 10 seconds (half an eternity if you're the one fighting the
trolley), I realised that nobody was going to move an inch for this poor
woman, so I ran over as fast as I could, grabbed the basket *just* in
time, hauled it upright, and moved it to safer paving.

By the time I'd got home, I'd worked out what I consider to be the most
likely explanation for the lack of help - TOO MUCH TV!

People have become accustomed to seeing the most distressing situations
unfold before their eyes, without being able to *do* anything. Que sera,
sera! They are so used to not being in a position to help, that they have
got out of the way of helping. They have become de-sensitised to other
people's danger, so they just watch, and watch, and watch. And then they
say how terribly sad it all is.

(Note that the "fear for personal safety" explanation, which also occurred
to me, didn't really apply here - nobody could seriously believe, surely,
that the woman would turn on them if they helped her.)

Having been a television non-watcher for quite a few years, I had not been
de-sensitised in the same way, and so I was free to help. (I claim no
great credit for this - I know that any rec.puzzler, metalworker, or
woodworker would have done the same if they'd been present.)

My closing moral is taken from the theme song of a weekend television
program in the late 1970s:

Sitting at home, watch TV
Turn it off, no good to me
Why don't you? Why don't you?
Why don't youswitchoffyourtelevisionsetgoanddosomethinglessboringinstead?

ObPuzzle/ObMetalwork/ObWoodwork: can you devise a suitable
ObPuzzle/ObMetalwork/ObWoodwork suffix to a cross-post to
rec.crafts.metalworking, rec.puzzles, and rec.woodworking, that could
possibly compensate for straying so far off-topic? Recursive solutions are
acceptable!

--
Richard Heathfield <http://www.cpax.org.uk>
Email: -http://www. +rjh@
Google users: <http://www.cpax.org.uk/prg/writings/googly.php>
"Usenet is a strange place" - dmr 29 July 1999

[email protected] wrote:

> I agree with Gunner. If it's true that's very unfortunate. I think
> it's also education. No one seems to be taught to help others.
> Slightly sideways to that: When I was home at Christmas my nephews
> (kids) were playing Halo 3. I said to one of them that I thought they
> should get shocked if they got hit. Basicly he said no one would play
> if it hurt to screw up. On the other hand. He's the only nephew that
> isn't trained in a martial art. I think they should all be trained in
> first aid and martial arts from the time they're little.
> Karl

In America I blame it mostly on education. In the 19th Century, Prussia
proved that compulsory education could be used to produce a docile work
force and electorate. In the 20th Century American education followed
their lead.

A compassionate pupil might notice many cases where a teacher's remarks
or grading seemed unkind or unfair to another child, but the pupil is
expected to shut up and stay out of trouble.

In American colleges, a 50% dropout rate in the freshman year used to be
common. When I was a freshman, others would come to me in a panic that
they were flunking out. I knew less than they did, but they mistook my
superlative complacency as evidence of scholastic competence.

I'd show my concern by asking questions about the subject matter. The
guy who was flunking wrongly assumed I knew the answers. In answering,
he would gain confidence. Confidence would transform him into an
outstanding student.

Discussing schoolwork with peers could be helpful to most students, but
when I was in public school this was discouraged; each student was
supposed to study and pass or fail on his own. Isn't that the same
morality that says to mind your own business if you see somebody in
trouble on the street?

DoN. Nichols wrote:
> On 2008-04-08, E Z Peaces <[email protected]> wrote:
>> DoN. Nichols wrote:
>>> On 2008-04-06, E Z Peaces <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>>> In the 19th Century there were a lot of men on foot and a lot of dogs
>>>> running loose.
>>> There were also a lot of people who carried small pistols for
>>> such confrontations.
>> If you shoot a dog before it bites, the owner might charge or sue you.
>> (IIRC, it was about 9 years ago that a professor at the University of
>> Southern Mississippi shot a dog that ran after him as he jogged. He was
>> arrested and, IIRC, convicted. The prosecutor alleged he'd overreacted
>> because another dog had once bitten him.
>
> You're talking about current times. Since the cane was dated
> 1870, and it was presumed that it was dated for the date of birth of the
> owner, then we can probably consider the period in which iw might have
> been used to be around 1890 to 1940 or so -- before it was problematic
> to shoot a dog which was attacking you.
>
> Enjoy,
> DoN.
>

When I discovered that a big screwdriver is a great deterrent, it was in
a situation that might have been the same a century ago. I was erecting
a corner post for a property fence 350 yards from the house and 30 yards
from the house where the dog came from. It was a big doberman. Instead
of barking, it raced in circles around me. I had two dobermans but
didn't trust this one because the look in its eye reminded me of a shark.

If it had been a century earlier, would I have shot a dog that hadn't
attacked and was in its own yard or just over the invisible line because
I didn't like the look in its eye? I might have been arrested or shot
by an enraged owner. Anyway, it would have been harmful to neighborly
relations. Besides, it could be hard to shoot a dog racing in circles.
Eventually, the owner shot that dog, but when I erected that post,
there was probably no real evidence that the dog was dangerous.

About 1920, an unpaved highway near here had a lot of foot traffic.
There was a notorious dog at a farm along the way. One night a young
man walking home from his girl's house heard the dog approach. He held
out a sharp knife and the lunging dog was apparently sliced long and
deep. It wasn't seen again.

I doubt anyone would have objected if he'd shot a notorious dog on a
public highway, but his girl's parents might not have welcomed a suitor
packing heat. Besides, shooting an animal in the dark is tricky.

A chow on my street used to escape and hunt people. I couldn't very
well keep a gun in my hand every time I stepped outside. Never knowing
when it would get loose, I made a 20", 20-ounce club that hung below my
shoulder and could be released in one second. When I was armed, the dog
would linger a moment and move slowly away.

Once it got loose as I walked past on the other side of the street. I
had no club. Often, acting like a tree can stop even an attack dog from
attacking, so I put my hands in my pockets and stood still. I turned to
stay facing it as it circled ten feet away. My pocket knife was in my
hand in my pocket. I didn't pull it out because trees don't do that
sort of thing. It would take two hands to open it, but I had it aligned
and ready.

The dog lunged. Somehow I had that knife out and open before the dog
reached me. It ran away. It never again came near me. Apparently a
knife can make a bigger impact on a dog's mind than a club.

When the wolf used to stalk pedestrians, some people would throw stones.
I thought that kind of aggression was a bad idea in the long run. I
used to carry a hay fork with sharpened tines. It was not aggressive,
but I figured it was a good deterrent and if necessary, could stop a
lunging wolf. A neighbor from Shanghai simply carried a slender stick
about 3 feet long. Other pedestrians did likewise. It didn't look like
an effective weapon but seemed an effective deterrent.

I think dogs instinctively fear things that could poke because unlike
humans, they can't parry. My umbrella is 39" long including a rounded
4" tip of bright metal. The extra length makes the umbrella a little
harder to stow or to carry without bumping things. I see no function
except to look menacing to an aggressive dog.

Traditionally, canes were considered weapons. At one time, a Londoner
needed a license to carry one. Waving a cane or carrying it under your
arm was illegal. The walking stick in question would be too short as a
cane for somebody over 5' tall. The handle doesn't look good for
supporting someone's weight while walking. So I imagine it was made
primarily to deter dogs.

1265: ice shaver

Northe

R.H. wrote:
>
>> 1263) To me -- this looks like a combination of a walking cane
>> and a hook to hold down the head of a snake prior to
>> killing it.
>>
>> A little more detail at the small end might help if you can
>> still get it.
>
>
> I've shown this to a number of artifact experts and they agree with you
> that it's probably a walking stick, except it appears to be missing the
> ferrule on the small end and the owner may have later added a hook for
> some unknown reason.
>
> Here is a close-up of the small end:
>
> http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v80/harnett65/Album%208/pic1263d.jpg
>
>
>
> Rob

Would a walking stick have a flat top?

Apparently it was used to suspend something light, less than a pound.
One might want to extend one's reach to hang a chain on a hook that was
out or reach, but it seems as if a five-foot broomstick would be better
because using both hands would provide better control. Besides, why
would it need an identification plug?

I once had a screwdriver with a handle the size and shape of a tennis
ball. It reduced fatigue for driving a lot of big screws, in part
because I could adjust my grip so my wrist was comfortable. I think
this device was for dangling something long enough that fatigue mattered.

Surveying comes to mind. If you are trying to line up three points, it
can be helpful to have a clear view past your assistant. So the
ingenious part-time surveyor gives his assistant a piece of broomstick.
If the end moves, the plumb bob will start to swing, compromising
accuracy. It occurs to the surveyor that a larger, ball-shaped handle
would let the assistant take a steadier, less fatiguing grip.

The surveyor makes furniture as a hobby, so he makes something suitable
on a lathe. He has probably lost tools while surveying, so he adds a
metal plug to stamp for identification. He uses his initials and the
year of his birth, kind of like the user names that some people devise
for internet accounts. If he tells the farmer, "1870 CN," the farmer
will remember whose it is if he finds it six months later. He adds the
crown because he happens to have a crown stamp. Assuming some will be
lost or damaged, he makes several.

"Lee Michaels" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

>
> "R.H." <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> Just posted a new set, hopefully someone will be able identify the
>> first piece, I think I know what it is but I haven't been able to
>> confirm it.
>>
>> http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/
>>
>>
> 1264 looks like a film cartidge. I am guessing 35 mm.
>

It's Ampex. That's magnetic sound recording tape or video tape rather than
film.

Bruce L. Bergman <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> On Thu, 3 Apr 2008 16:22:42 +0200 (CEST), Barbara Bailey
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>"Lee Michaels" <[email protected]> wrote in
>>news:[email protected]:
>>> "R.H." <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>> news:[email protected]...
>
>>>> Just posted a new set, hopefully someone will be able identify the
>>>> first piece, I think I know what it is but I haven't been able to
>>>> confirm it.
>>>>
>>>> http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/
>>>>
>>>>
>>> 1264 looks like a film cartidge. I am guessing 35 mm.
>>>
>>
>>It's Ampex. That's magnetic sound recording tape or video tape rather
>>than film.
>
> Judging from the cart size and the "AMPEX" I'm making an educated
> guess - it's a short chunk of first-gen 2" helical scan video tape,
> three or four minutes max. Probably for commercials or news footage.
>
> Note how they put the label on the spool instead of the cartridge -
> bet you they could put just the spool on the shelf for compact
> storage, and thread another into the cartridge.

Indeed. Except for the width of the tape, it's pretty similar to the tape
cartridges I used back when I worked at a radio station in the early
80's. I wasn't sure whether sound tape was ever that wide (for instance
in a recording studio,) so I wasn't willing to categorically rule it out.
However, in those, the tape reels weren't removable, but the carts
themselves stored quite compactly on racks.

Malingo wrote:
> E Z Peaces wrote:

>> Traditionally, canes were considered weapons. At one time, a Londoner
>> needed a license to carry one. Waving a cane or carrying it under your
>> arm was illegal. The walking stick in question would be too short as a
>> cane for somebody over 5' tall. The handle doesn't look good for
>> supporting someone's weight while walking. So I imagine it was made
>> primarily to deter dogs.
>
> by a surveyor?
>
>
Somebody altered the cane by putting a hook in it. That person may have
been a surveyor. He may or may not have been the one who made the cane.

Beyond that, I was imagining why somebody designed the cane that way.
When a cane is used for support, the length is important. For 98
percent of people, half their height is ideal. This one seems too short
for most adults. The handle should make it easy to pick up, and your
weight should flow from your arm through your wrist to the tip of the
cane. The flattened ball on this cane doesn't look efficient for that.

When a chow in the neighborhood used to get loose and circle me in my
yard, I fashioned a club. As a deterrent, it seemed ambiguous to the
dog. As a defensive weapon, it wasn't foolproof. To avoid a bite, I
would have had to land a disabling blow on a leaping dog.

Twenty years earlier, when pedestrians would spot a "tame" wolf slinking
up behind them, those who understood predatory dogs better than I did,
kept it well away by carrying flimsy sticks.

One day I looked down the street and saw that the chow had gotten loose
and gone after a 90-year-old woman across the street. I grabbed a
spade. Before I got there, she used her walking cane to get the best of
it in a standoff. She didn't swing it. Instead, she kept the rubber
tip between her and the dog and kept menacing it by jabbing. After
deciding it couldn't get past that cane, it ran back home. I think her
old-time knowledge of aggressive dogs saved her from what had looked
like a very bad situation.

Her support cane was clumsy for poking at a menacing dog. In the days
when people walked many miles on rural roads, they may have wanted
shorter, lighter canes as security against dogs. With a lathe you could
make your own.

Malingo wrote:
> Richard Heathfield wrote:
>
>> In Gloucester (UK) city centre, there is (or was) a Sainsbury's
>> supermarket with a (well-used) back exit onto a side road.
>
> This is quite a co-incidence.
> I live in the UK and on Wednesday of this week I visited Gloucester and
> looked around. I went into a folk museum that was opposite a church, it was
> free entry and an excellent way to spend an hour or two.
> There was a section on eels/elvers, very popular around that area because of
> the River Severn. There on the wall was...
> a cane like stick with a pointy bit at the bottom very similar to RH's "What
> is it" pic!
> PS
> to EZ Peaces
> There was no mention of a surveyor :)
>
>
This is from the New York Times, September 17, 1904:

**********

St Louis, Mo., September 16. — Mme. Mariana Cervera, widow of the
Spanish bull fighter, who was killed in St. Louis last June by Carleton
Bass, the American matador, attacked Felix Roberts, one of the alleged
bull fighters on trial in the Circuit Court at Clayton this afternoon
with a cane having a sharp dagger point. Roberts saved himself by a
quick motion of his hand, brushing aside the cane with a dexterity
attained in the arena.

Witnesses of the attack say that Mrs. Cervera walked quietly from the
courtroom to the bench upon which Roberts and several of his companions
were seated, and addressing him in Spanish, struck at him with the
pointed cane.

Mme. Cervera refused to discuss the matter, merely remarking, "I'll get
even with him yet."

Men understanding Spanish who were seated beside Roberts at the time say
they judge from the words used by Mme. Cervera a moment before the
attack that she believed Roberts had been talking about her.

**********

In not stating Mme. Cervera's occupation, the NYT leaves the reader to
assume she was a surveyor. I guess Roberts didn't know that Mme.
Cervera could understand Spanish. If there's anything surveyors fear
more than vicious dogs, it's slander about the validity of their surveys.

DoN. Nichols wrote:
> On 2008-04-05, R.H. <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> [ ... ]
>
>>> Are the insignia and the date on the head stamped into gold? Or
>>> is that brass which has been kept polished? I would expect more wear on
>>> that if the latter.
>
>
>> According to the owner, the metal is lead.
>
> Interesting. Problems in the white balance during the
> photography, then.
>
>> Below are two more close-ups, the owner thinks that they show some type of
>> crest carved into the wood:
>>
>> http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v80/harnett65/Album%208/pic1263cr1.jpg
>>
>> http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v80/harnett65/Album%208/pic1263cr2.jpg
>>
>>
>> I didn't post them earlier because there isn't much detail and they're
>> almost impossible to read.
>
> To me, they look more like natural structures in the wood grain,
> perhaps where a branch split off from the main trunk used for carving
> that.
>
> Enjoy,
> DoN.
>
The use of flawed wood suggests to me that it was made for personal use
and not for sale. It appears to be tapered to about 0.6" in diameter.
Wouldn't a walking stick with a tip that small poke holes in the ground?

"Walking stick" might be a good generic description, but I think it was
patterned after a device made for protection and not support. I recall
three dogs who were persistent in trying to get behind me: a
full-blooded wolf, a doberman, and a chow. I would not have gone
empty-handed.

In the 19th Century there were a lot of men on foot and a lot of dogs
running loose. If the device had a metal point like a target arrow, I
would consider it an ideal "walking stick" to deter an aggressive and
treacherous dog. Held by the knob, it could jab and whip like a fencing
sword. It's short and light enough for agility but long and strong
enough to stop a lunging dog. One could also use the knob to club. To
keep it upright and handy while you worked, you could stick the point in
the ground or set the flat base on a level surface. The fancy lathe
work may have been to keep it from looking like something made to harm pets.

I think a surveyor's assistant made the "walking stick" on a lathe for
protection, then began hanging his plumb bob off the end over Point B so
the surveyor at Point A had a good view past him to Point C. Once the
surveyor set up his tripod, the assistant would hold his bob precisely
over the center of his pin by stepping closer and holding the baton with
two hands; that would be better than holding the cord with his hand.

The end of the stick has been shaped as if perhaps to attach a homemade
metal point. Perhaps the assistant decided that the danger of stabbing
himself was greater than the danger of meeting a dog that couldn't be
deterred except by stabbing. So he removed the point and added a hook.
He may have kept the point in his field tools in case he had to work
in a dangerous location.

Perhaps other surveyors made similar devices.

E Z Peaces wrote:

> (IIRC, it was about 9 years ago that a professor at the University of
> Southern Mississippi shot a dog that ran after him as he jogged. He was
> arrested and, IIRC, convicted. The prosecutor alleged he'd overreacted
> because another dog had once bitten him.

Who in his right mind takes a gun with them when jogging ?

cheers,
robby

E Z Peaces wrote:
> DoN. Nichols wrote:
>> On 2008-04-08, E Z Peaces <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> DoN. Nichols wrote:
>>>> On 2008-04-06, E Z Peaces <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> In the 19th Century there were a lot of men on foot and a lot of dogs
>>>>> running loose.
>>>> There were also a lot of people who carried small pistols for
>>>> such confrontations.
>>> If you shoot a dog before it bites, the owner might charge or sue you.
>>> (IIRC, it was about 9 years ago that a professor at the University of
>>> Southern Mississippi shot a dog that ran after him as he jogged. He was
>>> arrested and, IIRC, convicted. The prosecutor alleged he'd overreacted
>>> because another dog had once bitten him.
>>
>> You're talking about current times. Since the cane was dated
>> 1870, and it was presumed that it was dated for the date of birth of the
>> owner, then we can probably consider the period in which iw might have
>> been used to be around 1890 to 1940 or so -- before it was problematic
>> to shoot a dog which was attacking you.
>>
>> Enjoy,
>> DoN.
>>
>
> When I discovered that a big screwdriver is a great deterrent, it was in
> a situation that might have been the same a century ago. I was erecting
> a corner post for a property fence 350 yards from the house and 30 yards
> from the house where the dog came from. It was a big doberman. Instead
> of barking, it raced in circles around me. I had two dobermans but
> didn't trust this one because the look in its eye reminded me of a shark.
>
> If it had been a century earlier, would I have shot a dog that hadn't
> attacked and was in its own yard or just over the invisible line because
> I didn't like the look in its eye? I might have been arrested or shot
> by an enraged owner. Anyway, it would have been harmful to neighborly
> relations. Besides, it could be hard to shoot a dog racing in circles.
> Eventually, the owner shot that dog, but when I erected that post,
> there was probably no real evidence that the dog was dangerous.
>
> About 1920, an unpaved highway near here had a lot of foot traffic.
> There was a notorious dog at a farm along the way. One night a young
> man walking home from his girl's house heard the dog approach. He held
> out a sharp knife and the lunging dog was apparently sliced long and
> deep. It wasn't seen again.
>
> I doubt anyone would have objected if he'd shot a notorious dog on a
> public highway, but his girl's parents might not have welcomed a suitor
> packing heat. Besides, shooting an animal in the dark is tricky.
>
> A chow on my street used to escape and hunt people. I couldn't very
> well keep a gun in my hand every time I stepped outside. Never knowing
> when it would get loose, I made a 20", 20-ounce club that hung below my
> shoulder and could be released in one second. When I was armed, the dog
> would linger a moment and move slowly away.
>
> Once it got loose as I walked past on the other side of the street. I
> had no club. Often, acting like a tree can stop even an attack dog from
> attacking, so I put my hands in my pockets and stood still. I turned to
> stay facing it as it circled ten feet away. My pocket knife was in my
> hand in my pocket. I didn't pull it out because trees don't do that
> sort of thing. It would take two hands to open it, but I had it aligned
> and ready.
>
> The dog lunged. Somehow I had that knife out and open before the dog
> reached me. It ran away. It never again came near me. Apparently a
> knife can make a bigger impact on a dog's mind than a club.
>
> When the wolf used to stalk pedestrians, some people would throw stones.
> I thought that kind of aggression was a bad idea in the long run. I
> used to carry a hay fork with sharpened tines. It was not aggressive,
> but I figured it was a good deterrent and if necessary, could stop a
> lunging wolf. A neighbor from Shanghai simply carried a slender stick
> about 3 feet long. Other pedestrians did likewise. It didn't look like
> an effective weapon but seemed an effective deterrent.
>
> I think dogs instinctively fear things that could poke because unlike
> humans, they can't parry. My umbrella is 39" long including a rounded
> 4" tip of bright metal. The extra length makes the umbrella a little
> harder to stow or to carry without bumping things. I see no function
> except to look menacing to an aggressive dog.
>
> Traditionally, canes were considered weapons. At one time, a Londoner
> needed a license to carry one. Waving a cane or carrying it under your
> arm was illegal. The walking stick in question would be too short as a
> cane for somebody over 5' tall. The handle doesn't look good for
> supporting someone's weight while walking. So I imagine it was made
> primarily to deter dogs.

by a surveyor?

Richard Heathfield wrote:

> In Gloucester (UK) city centre, there is (or was) a Sainsbury's
> supermarket with a (well-used) back exit onto a side road.

This is quite a co-incidence.
I live in the UK and on Wednesday of this week I visited Gloucester and
looked around. I went into a folk museum that was opposite a church, it was
free entry and an excellent way to spend an hour or two.
There was a section on eels/elvers, very popular around that area because of
the River Severn. There on the wall was...
a cane like stick with a pointy bit at the bottom very similar to RH's "What
is it" pic!
PS
to EZ Peaces
There was no mention of a surveyor :)






Across the
> street is (or was) a seating area, perhaps 30 yards from the shop exit.
> One busy, sunny Saturday morning about - oh, it has to be at least N
> years ago, if not longer, I was sitting on one of the benches,
> half-reading one of those wastes of moneyESC3b3cwcomputer magazines and
> half-watching the world go by.
>
> A woman emerged from the supermarket, pushing a trolley about half-full of
> heavy shopping. A very young child (maybe 2-3 years) rode in the child
> seat. Unwittingly, the woman pushed the trolley over an extremely uneven
> part of the paving, and the trolley started to tip. She tried to correct
> for it, but wasn't quite strong enough to do so, and it was clear that she
> was going to lose this battle. The shopping would soon be all over the
> road - and the child might easily sustain an injury.
>
> But the woman wasn't giving up easily, and was losing the battle
> sslloowwllyy. I could see that all she needed was one kind person to offer
> her an extra Newton or two in the required direction, and there were at
> least ten people closer to her than I was, most of whom had noticed what
> was happening and several of whom had actually stopped walking, so I just
> watched, waiting for one of them to react. After all, they were much, much
> closer than I was, and they were already standing up!
>
> But nobody went to her. Not *one* person.
>
> After about 10 seconds (half an eternity if you're the one fighting the
> trolley), I realised that nobody was going to move an inch for this poor
> woman, so I ran over as fast as I could, grabbed the basket *just* in
> time, hauled it upright, and moved it to safer paving.
>
> By the time I'd got home, I'd worked out what I consider to be the most
> likely explanation for the lack of help - TOO MUCH TV!
>
> People have become accustomed to seeing the most distressing situations
> unfold before their eyes, without being able to *do* anything. Que sera,
> sera! They are so used to not being in a position to help, that they have
> got out of the way of helping. They have become de-sensitised to other
> people's danger, so they just watch, and watch, and watch. And then they
> say how terribly sad it all is.
>
> (Note that the "fear for personal safety" explanation, which also occurred
> to me, didn't really apply here - nobody could seriously believe, surely,
> that the woman would turn on them if they helped her.)
>
> Having been a television non-watcher for quite a few years, I had not been
> de-sensitised in the same way, and so I was free to help. (I claim no
> great credit for this - I know that any rec.puzzler, metalworker, or
> woodworker would have done the same if they'd been present.)
>
> My closing moral is taken from the theme song of a weekend television
> program in the late 1970s:
>
> Sitting at home, watch TV
> Turn it off, no good to me
> Why don't you? Why don't you?
> Why don't youswitchoffyourtelevisionsetgoanddosomethinglessboringinstead?
>
> ObPuzzle/ObMetalwork/ObWoodwork: can you devise a suitable
> ObPuzzle/ObMetalwork/ObWoodwork suffix to a cross-post to
> rec.crafts.metalworking, rec.puzzles, and rec.woodworking, that could
> possibly compensate for straying so far off-topic? Recursive solutions are
> acceptable!

E Z Peaces wrote:
> Malingo wrote:
>> Richard Heathfield wrote:
>>
>>> In Gloucester (UK) city centre, there is (or was) a Sainsbury's
>>> supermarket with a (well-used) back exit onto a side road.
>>
>> This is quite a co-incidence.
>> I live in the UK and on Wednesday of this week I visited Gloucester and
>> looked around. I went into a folk museum that was opposite a church, it
>> was free entry and an excellent way to spend an hour or two.
>> There was a section on eels/elvers, very popular around that area
>> because of the River Severn. There on the wall was...
>> a cane like stick with a pointy bit at the bottom very similar to RH's
>> "What is it" pic!
>> PS
>> to EZ Peaces
>> There was no mention of a surveyor :)
>>
>>
> This is from the New York Times, September 17, 1904:
>
> **********
>
> St Louis, Mo., September 16. — Mme. Mariana Cervera, widow of the
> Spanish bull fighter, who was killed in St. Louis last June by Carleton
> Bass, the American matador, attacked Felix Roberts, one of the alleged
> bull fighters on trial in the Circuit Court at Clayton this afternoon
> with a cane having a sharp dagger point. Roberts saved himself by a
> quick motion of his hand, brushing aside the cane with a dexterity
> attained in the arena.
>
> Witnesses of the attack say that Mrs. Cervera walked quietly from the
> courtroom to the bench upon which Roberts and several of his companions
> were seated, and addressing him in Spanish, struck at him with the
> pointed cane.
>
> Mme. Cervera refused to discuss the matter, merely remarking, "I'll get
> even with him yet."
>
> Men understanding Spanish who were seated beside Roberts at the time say
> they judge from the words used by Mme. Cervera a moment before the
> attack that she believed Roberts had been talking about her.
>
> **********
>
> In not stating Mme. Cervera's occupation, the NYT leaves the reader to
> assume she was a surveyor. I guess Roberts didn't know that Mme.
> Cervera could understand Spanish. If there's anything surveyors fear
> more than vicious dogs, it's slander about the validity of their surveys.


If it's not for eeling in Gloucester it could be for the sport of poking
trolls out from under their bridges. ( I once knew a dog owning Spanish
troll who did a bit of surveying as a sideline. )

E Z Peaces wrote:
> Malingo wrote:
>> E Z Peaces wrote:
>>> Malingo wrote:
>>>> Richard Heathfield wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> In Gloucester (UK) city centre, there is (or was) a Sainsbury's
>>>>> supermarket with a (well-used) back exit onto a side road.
>>>> This is quite a co-incidence.
>>>> I live in the UK and on Wednesday of this week I visited Gloucester and
>>>> looked around. I went into a folk museum that was opposite a church, it
>>>> was free entry and an excellent way to spend an hour or two.
>>>> There was a section on eels/elvers, very popular around that area
>>>> because of the River Severn. There on the wall was...
>>>> a cane like stick with a pointy bit at the bottom very similar to RH's
>>>> "What is it" pic!
>>>> PS
>>>> to EZ Peaces
>>>> There was no mention of a surveyor :)
>>>>
>>>>
>>> This is from the New York Times, September 17, 1904:
>>>
>>> **********
>>>
>>> St Louis, Mo., September 16. — Mme. Mariana Cervera, widow of the
>>> Spanish bull fighter, who was killed in St. Louis last June by Carleton
>>> Bass, the American matador, attacked Felix Roberts, one of the alleged
>>> bull fighters on trial in the Circuit Court at Clayton this afternoon
>>> with a cane having a sharp dagger point. Roberts saved himself by a
>>> quick motion of his hand, brushing aside the cane with a dexterity
>>> attained in the arena.
>>>
>>> Witnesses of the attack say that Mrs. Cervera walked quietly from the
>>> courtroom to the bench upon which Roberts and several of his companions
>>> were seated, and addressing him in Spanish, struck at him with the
>>> pointed cane.
>>>
>>> Mme. Cervera refused to discuss the matter, merely remarking, "I'll get
>>> even with him yet."
>>>
>>> Men understanding Spanish who were seated beside Roberts at the time say
>>> they judge from the words used by Mme. Cervera a moment before the
>>> attack that she believed Roberts had been talking about her.
>>>
>>> **********
>>>
>>> In not stating Mme. Cervera's occupation, the NYT leaves the reader to
>>> assume she was a surveyor. I guess Roberts didn't know that Mme.
>>> Cervera could understand Spanish. If there's anything surveyors fear
>>> more than vicious dogs, it's slander about the validity of their
>>> surveys.
>>
>>
>> If it's not for eeling in Gloucester it could be for the sport of poking
>> trolls out from under their bridges. ( I once knew a dog owning Spanish
>> troll who did a bit of surveying as a sideline. )
>>
>>
> You knew Mme. Cervera?

I met her once on the banks of The Severn, a blonde woman who walked with a
stick and carried a
bag of surveyors tools. After I had shown interest in her theodolite she
invited me to spend an hour or so "eeling" with her. She expertly used her
stick to hook the eels from the river.
Obviously a woman of many talents.




>
> On June 5 at the World's Fair, her husband Don Manuel Cervera was
> introduced to the crowd as the favorite matador of the King of Spain.
>
> Carleton Bass was known in Mexico as the American Matador, but he was
> from Ireland. Cervera offered him and five other bullfighters $250 for
> a bullfight at the World's Fair, and there would be a six-month American
> tour. Mme. Cervera assured him that Richard Norris and the Exposition
> Company had fixed everything with the St. Louis authorities.
>
> June 4, the sheriff announced that deputies would arrest anyone seen
> bullfighting. Norris didn't have any bulls, anyway. He showed Bass
> some steers. Bass said fighting a steer would ruin his reputation.
>
> As the spokesman for the bullfighters, Bass agreed to fight steers if
> the bullfighters were paid in advance. Norris said he'd given Mme.
> Cervera the check. She told Bass the bank had rejected it.
>
> On the morning of June 7, Cervera told people he was going to Bass's
> hotel room and might not return alive because Bass was jealous of his
> reputation as a bullfighter. (In fact, Cervera was not a bullfighter.
> He was a dancer.)
>
> A carpenter working in the hall saw him enter the room. Ten minutes
> later he heard a shot. Bass immediately asked him to come as a witness.
> There was no blood on the floor because Bass had thoughtfully shot
> Cervera in the heart. A butcher knife lay by the body. Bass said it
> was self-defense.
>
> Bass told police Cervera had pulled the knife after Bass insisted that
> nobody would put on the show without being paid. Bass leaped over the
> bed, picked up his pistol from a table, and fired. I'll bet Cervera
> wished he'd used a pointed cane instead of a knife.
>
> Police speculated that the dispute was really about Mme. Cervera,
> described as a striking blonde.

THAT'S HER!

In article <[email protected]>,
"R.H." <[email protected]> wrote:

> http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/

Quite a nice varied collection this time.

1263 - No really good ideas what you'd use a hook on a stick for. From
the care in finishing it seems it was something that would be rather
valued by the owner. My whimsical guess: a tool to lure a gator by
having some bit of bait on the hook, whilst being ready (with the other
hand) to slip a ring or noose around the jaws and capture it.

1264 - An AMPEX magnetic tape cartridge; I think this may be one of the
types that was used by radio stations to hold ads or station
identifications for odd moments, but am not certain of that. It's
definitely more likely to be audio (or possibly video) than computer
data, in my opinion, from the "time" label on the one hub.

1265 - Tool for harvesting some sort of berry or fruit?

1266 - Seems it should be familiar, but I cannot place from where or
what.

1267 - Something to fit over the spine of a book? Not sure what that
would accomplish, though.

1268 - Hammer for use when glazing or repairing windows. The square
face for general work (like tightening rails and stiles), the pointy end
for chipping out old putty, and the flat central ridge for setting
points.

I'm not sure I've ever said it before, and certainly not enough, but
many thanks to Rob for putting these puzzles together each week. I
quite appreciate the challenge, and it seems a bunch of others do, too.

Now to see other people's guesses...

--
Andrew Erickson

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot
lose." -- Jim Elliot

"R.H." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Just posted a new set, hopefully someone will be able identify the first
> piece, I think I know what it is but I haven't been able to confirm it.
>
> http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/
>
>
1264 looks like a film cartidge. I am guessing 35 mm.

"R.H." <[email protected]> wrote:

>Just posted a new set, hopefully someone will be able identify the first
>piece, I think I know what it is but I haven't been able to confirm it.
>
>http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/
>
>
>Rob

First one is the Forest Boot-Snag. Patented in 1870, it never really caught on
because it takes over a hundred years on average to snag a boot.
--
Patrick Hamlyn posting from Perth, Western Australia
Windsurfing capital of the Southern Hemisphere
Moderator: polyforms group ([email protected])

On Wed, 09 Apr 2008 08:23:14 +0200, Robby Goetschalckx
<[email protected]> wrote:

>E Z Peaces wrote:
>
>> (IIRC, it was about 9 years ago that a professor at the University of
>> Southern Mississippi shot a dog that ran after him as he jogged. He was
>> arrested and, IIRC, convicted. The prosecutor alleged he'd overreacted
>> because another dog had once bitten him.
>
>Who in his right mind takes a gun with them when jogging ?
>
>cheers,
>robby

Anyone who runs in a bad area, one that may be subject to crime,
attacking animals etc.

Who in their right mind would keep a smoke detector in their home?

Gunner


"[L]iberals are afraid to state what they truly believe in, for to do so
would result in even less votes than they currently receive. Their
methodology is to lie about their real agenda in the hopes of regaining
power, at which point they will do whatever they damn well please. The
problem is they have concealed and obfuscated for so long that, as a group,
they themselves are no longer sure of their goals. They are a collection of
wild-eyed splinter groups, all holding a grab-bag of dreams and wishes. Some
want a Socialist, secular-humanist state, others the repeal of the Second
Amendment. Some want same sex/different species marriage, others want voting
rights for trees, fish, coal and bugs. Some want cradle to grave care and
complete subservience to the government nanny state, others want a culture
that walks in lockstep and speaks only with intonations of political
correctness. I view the American liberals in much the same way I view the
competing factions of Islamic
fundamentalists. The latter hate each other to the core, and only join
forces to attack the US or Israel. The former hate themselves to the core,
and only join forces to attack George Bush and conservatives." --Ron Marr

1264 This is a video tape cartridge. Transverse video tape. Used in a
studio to play commercials. A whole bunch of cartridges, each with its own
commercial were held in the cartridge jukebox machine. Back in the days
when a commercial break only held 4 or 6 commercials, these machines were
used to edit or compose the tape played during a commercial break, to bring
us the benefits of new, improved products. Before the wonderful cartridge
tape jukebox machine, some person had to mount tapes of each commercial on a
machine by hand and edit them into the sequence. Nowadays, we are informed
of the benefits of sponsor's products with fully digital commercial assembly
systems.


"R.H." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Just posted a new set, hopefully someone will be able identify the first
> piece, I think I know what it is but I haven't been able to confirm it.
>
> http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/
>
>
> Rob

On 2008-04-03, R.H. <[email protected]> wrote:
> Just posted a new set, hopefully someone will be able identify the first
> piece, I think I know what it is but I haven't been able to confirm it.
>
> http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/

As always, posting from rec.crafts.metalworking.

1263) To me -- this looks like a combination of a walking cane
and a hook to hold down the head of a snake prior to
killing it.

A little more detail at the small end might help if you can
still get it.

An alternative might be a sceptre for a ruler or a cleric, but
that does not seem to make sense given the time and location.

1264) A tape cartridge. The Ampex name supports that part. However
it seems to be an unusually wide tape. Not large enough spools
to justify considering it to be a predecessor to the U-matic
video cartridges (which were 3/4" tape IIRC), and this looks
closer to 1-3/4" or perhaps even 2". And it would require
spooling out from the cartridge to wrap around a drum for
helical scan to get a sufficient data rate. I think that
perhaps it is for some kind of multi-track data recorder.

1265) Perhaps for producing shaved ice for beverages?

1266) Perhaps part of an air-dropped minefield marker? The end
cap threads would accept a rod with a flag to mark the
minefield. It could be dropped folded at the chain, and on the
way down the flag would cause the parts to align so when the
point hit the ground it would dig in and the cap would snap into
place.

1267) Perhaps the upper end of a sword scabbard?

1268) Interesting hammer. One end for chipping, one for driving
and a flange on the top perhaps for prying a board loose from a
crate?

Now to see what others have guessed.

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
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--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

On 2008-04-04, R.H. <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> 1263) To me -- this looks like a combination of a walking cane
>> and a hook to hold down the head of a snake prior to
>> killing it.
>>
>> A little more detail at the small end might help if you can
>> still get it.
>
>
> I've shown this to a number of artifact experts and they agree with you that
> it's probably a walking stick, except it appears to be missing the ferrule
> on the small end and the owner may have later added a hook for some unknown
> reason.
>
> Here is a close-up of the small end:
>
> http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v80/harnett65/Album%208/pic1263d.jpg

O.K. I agree that it once had a ferrule and no longer does.
Looking at the hook shows that it is not suitable for snake capture as I
had first thought (it would have to be rigid for that). It also appears
to have had that hook in place for quite some time, based on the wear
visible where the eye forks out. It might have been for hanging it on a
wall or fence, or for pulling found objects on the path closer.

Are the insignia and the date on the head stamped into gold? Or
is that brass which has been kept polished? I would expect more wear on
that if the latter.

Thanks,
DoN.

--
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--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

On 2008-04-04, E Z Peaces <[email protected]> wrote:
> R.H. wrote:
>>
>>> 1263) To me -- this looks like a combination of a walking cane
>>> and a hook to hold down the head of a snake prior to
>>> killing it.
>>>
>>> A little more detail at the small end might help if you can
>>> still get it.
>>
>>
>> I've shown this to a number of artifact experts and they agree with you
>> that it's probably a walking stick, except it appears to be missing the
>> ferrule on the small end and the owner may have later added a hook for
>> some unknown reason.
>>
>> Here is a close-up of the small end:
>>
>> http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v80/harnett65/Album%208/pic1263d.jpg
>>
>>
>>
>> Rob
>
> Would a walking stick have a flat top?

I have at least one with a flat top. It is closer in shape to a
mushroom than anything else, and it makes it easier to use palm pressure
on the end to help raising from a lower position. This would be
especially useful if the owner had to frequently squat down to examine
something at ground level, and had knees which were somewhat aged as
mine are. :-)

The head of mine started life as a whale tooth, and the shaft is
made form whale jawbone, spiral carved to resemble a narwhal's tusk.

> Apparently it was used to suspend something light, less than a pound.
> One might want to extend one's reach to hang a chain on a hook that was
> out or reach, but it seems as if a five-foot broomstick would be better
> because using both hands would provide better control. Besides, why
> would it need an identification plug?

Agreed.

> I once had a screwdriver with a handle the size and shape of a tennis
> ball. It reduced fatigue for driving a lot of big screws, in part
> because I could adjust my grip so my wrist was comfortable. I think
> this device was for dangling something long enough that fatigue mattered.

Perhaps -- or perhaps just for extra palm surface contact when
rising from a squating position.

> Surveying comes to mind. If you are trying to line up three points, it
> can be helpful to have a clear view past your assistant. So the
> ingenious part-time surveyor gives his assistant a piece of broomstick.
> If the end moves, the plumb bob will start to swing, compromising
> accuracy. It occurs to the surveyor that a larger, ball-shaped handle
> would let the assistant take a steadier, less fatiguing grip.

In that case a longer stick would probably be better -- it would
allow two hands, widely separated, to offer greater stability.

> The surveyor makes furniture as a hobby, so he makes something suitable
> on a lathe. He has probably lost tools while surveying, so he adds a
> metal plug to stamp for identification. He uses his initials and the
> year of his birth, kind of like the user names that some people devise
> for internet accounts. If he tells the farmer, "1870 CN," the farmer
> will remember whose it is if he finds it six months later. He adds the
> crown because he happens to have a crown stamp. Assuming some will be
> lost or damaged, he makes several.

That makes a certain amount of sense.

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
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--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

On 2008-04-05, R.H. <[email protected]> wrote:

[ ... ]

>> Are the insignia and the date on the head stamped into gold? Or
>> is that brass which has been kept polished? I would expect more wear on
>> that if the latter.


> According to the owner, the metal is lead.

Interesting. Problems in the white balance during the
photography, then.

> Below are two more close-ups, the owner thinks that they show some type of
> crest carved into the wood:
>
> http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v80/harnett65/Album%208/pic1263cr1.jpg
>
> http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v80/harnett65/Album%208/pic1263cr2.jpg
>
>
> I didn't post them earlier because there isn't much detail and they're
> almost impossible to read.

To me, they look more like natural structures in the wood grain,
perhaps where a branch split off from the main trunk used for carving
that.

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Email: <[email protected]> | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

On 2008-04-06, E Z Peaces <[email protected]> wrote:
> DoN. Nichols wrote:
>> On 2008-04-05, R.H. <[email protected]> wrote:

[ ... ]

>>> I didn't post them earlier because there isn't much detail and they're
>>> almost impossible to read.
>>
>> To me, they look more like natural structures in the wood grain,
>> perhaps where a branch split off from the main trunk used for carving
>> that.

[ ... ]

> The use of flawed wood suggests to me that it was made for personal use
> and not for sale.

Well ... that depends. I have a friend who is a quite
successful decorative woodturner, and he often incorporates flaws into
his works -- to a very nice effect.

> It appears to be tapered to about 0.6" in diameter.
> Wouldn't a walking stick with a tip that small poke holes in the ground?

Well ... I have two old straight canes.

The first of them (which I described before in this thread) has
a copper ferrule around the tip and the OD measures at 0.582".

The second is a dark wood (mahogany or ebony, with black
lacquer), with a handle in the form of a hand griping something about
the size of cigar (whale tooth for both parts), and an ivory or bone tip
at the ground end which measures 0.607" diameter.

And as both of these have rubber cane caps on them to allow use
indoors without slipping or marring finely finished wooden floors, these
measurements were made perhaps 5/8" up from the bottom, so slightly
larger in diameter than the smallest end. And I've had no problems
using them outdoors on normal paths without the caps. Granted, on soggy
ground they would sink in, but then so would the feet. :-)

> "Walking stick" might be a good generic description, but I think it was
> patterned after a device made for protection and not support. I recall
> three dogs who were persistent in trying to get behind me: a
> full-blooded wolf, a doberman, and a chow. I would not have gone
> empty-handed.

Granted, There are times when something to protect yourself is
advisable.

> In the 19th Century there were a lot of men on foot and a lot of dogs
> running loose.

There were also a lot of people who carried small pistols for
such confrontations.

> If the device had a metal point like a target arrow, I
> would consider it an ideal "walking stick" to deter an aggressive and
> treacherous dog. Held by the knob, it could jab and whip like a fencing
> sword.

Hmm ... you might want to try it with that and with a real
fencing sword for comparison. I think that ball handle would lose in
terms of control.

> It's short and light enough for agility but long and strong
> enough to stop a lunging dog. One could also use the knob to club.

This I consider the more useful end for dog repelling.

> To
> keep it upright and handy while you worked, you could stick the point in
> the ground or set the flat base on a level surface. The fancy lathe
> work may have been to keep it from looking like something made to harm pets.
>
> I think a surveyor's assistant made the "walking stick" on a lathe for
> protection, then began hanging his plumb bob off the end over Point B so
> the surveyor at Point A had a good view past him to Point C. Once the
> surveyor set up his tripod, the assistant would hold his bob precisely
> over the center of his pin by stepping closer and holding the baton with
> two hands; that would be better than holding the cord with his hand.
>
> The end of the stick has been shaped as if perhaps to attach a homemade
> metal point. Perhaps the assistant decided that the danger of stabbing
> himself was greater than the danger of meeting a dog that couldn't be
> deterred except by stabbing. So he removed the point and added a hook.
> He may have kept the point in his field tools in case he had to work
> in a dangerous location.

Perhaps so -- but you would need tools to remove the hook and
install the point given the diameter of the wire which forms the eye.

> Perhaps other surveyors made similar devices.

Perhaps -- or perhaps not.

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Email: <[email protected]> | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
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--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

On 2008-04-08, E Z Peaces <[email protected]> wrote:
> DoN. Nichols wrote:
>> On 2008-04-06, E Z Peaces <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> In the 19th Century there were a lot of men on foot and a lot of dogs
>>> running loose.
>>
>> There were also a lot of people who carried small pistols for
>> such confrontations.
>
> If you shoot a dog before it bites, the owner might charge or sue you.
> (IIRC, it was about 9 years ago that a professor at the University of
> Southern Mississippi shot a dog that ran after him as he jogged. He was
> arrested and, IIRC, convicted. The prosecutor alleged he'd overreacted
> because another dog had once bitten him.

You're talking about current times. Since the cane was dated
1870, and it was presumed that it was dated for the date of birth of the
owner, then we can probably consider the period in which iw might have
been used to be around 1890 to 1940 or so -- before it was problematic
to shoot a dog which was attacking you.

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
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--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

Malingo wrote:
> E Z Peaces wrote:
>> Malingo wrote:
>>> Richard Heathfield wrote:
>>>
>>>> In Gloucester (UK) city centre, there is (or was) a Sainsbury's
>>>> supermarket with a (well-used) back exit onto a side road.
>>> This is quite a co-incidence.
>>> I live in the UK and on Wednesday of this week I visited Gloucester and
>>> looked around. I went into a folk museum that was opposite a church, it
>>> was free entry and an excellent way to spend an hour or two.
>>> There was a section on eels/elvers, very popular around that area
>>> because of the River Severn. There on the wall was...
>>> a cane like stick with a pointy bit at the bottom very similar to RH's
>>> "What is it" pic!
>>> PS
>>> to EZ Peaces
>>> There was no mention of a surveyor :)
>>>
>>>
>> This is from the New York Times, September 17, 1904:
>>
>> **********
>>
>> St Louis, Mo., September 16. — Mme. Mariana Cervera, widow of the
>> Spanish bull fighter, who was killed in St. Louis last June by Carleton
>> Bass, the American matador, attacked Felix Roberts, one of the alleged
>> bull fighters on trial in the Circuit Court at Clayton this afternoon
>> with a cane having a sharp dagger point. Roberts saved himself by a
>> quick motion of his hand, brushing aside the cane with a dexterity
>> attained in the arena.
>>
>> Witnesses of the attack say that Mrs. Cervera walked quietly from the
>> courtroom to the bench upon which Roberts and several of his companions
>> were seated, and addressing him in Spanish, struck at him with the
>> pointed cane.
>>
>> Mme. Cervera refused to discuss the matter, merely remarking, "I'll get
>> even with him yet."
>>
>> Men understanding Spanish who were seated beside Roberts at the time say
>> they judge from the words used by Mme. Cervera a moment before the
>> attack that she believed Roberts had been talking about her.
>>
>> **********
>>
>> In not stating Mme. Cervera's occupation, the NYT leaves the reader to
>> assume she was a surveyor. I guess Roberts didn't know that Mme.
>> Cervera could understand Spanish. If there's anything surveyors fear
>> more than vicious dogs, it's slander about the validity of their surveys.
>
>
> If it's not for eeling in Gloucester it could be for the sport of poking
> trolls out from under their bridges. ( I once knew a dog owning Spanish
> troll who did a bit of surveying as a sideline. )
>
>
You knew Mme. Cervera?

On June 5 at the World's Fair, her husband Don Manuel Cervera was
introduced to the crowd as the favorite matador of the King of Spain.

Carleton Bass was known in Mexico as the American Matador, but he was
from Ireland. Cervera offered him and five other bullfighters $250 for
a bullfight at the World's Fair, and there would be a six-month American
tour. Mme. Cervera assured him that Richard Norris and the Exposition
Company had fixed everything with the St. Louis authorities.

June 4, the sheriff announced that deputies would arrest anyone seen
bullfighting. Norris didn't have any bulls, anyway. He showed Bass
some steers. Bass said fighting a steer would ruin his reputation.

As the spokesman for the bullfighters, Bass agreed to fight steers if
the bullfighters were paid in advance. Norris said he'd given Mme.
Cervera the check. She told Bass the bank had rejected it.

On the morning of June 7, Cervera told people he was going to Bass's
hotel room and might not return alive because Bass was jealous of his
reputation as a bullfighter. (In fact, Cervera was not a bullfighter.
He was a dancer.)

A carpenter working in the hall saw him enter the room. Ten minutes
later he heard a shot. Bass immediately asked him to come as a witness.
There was no blood on the floor because Bass had thoughtfully shot
Cervera in the heart. A butcher knife lay by the body. Bass said it
was self-defense.

Bass told police Cervera had pulled the knife after Bass insisted that
nobody would put on the show without being paid. Bass leaped over the
bed, picked up his pistol from a table, and fired. I'll bet Cervera
wished he'd used a pointed cane instead of a knife.

Police speculated that the dispute was really about Mme. Cervera,
described as a striking blonde. Blonde jokes could ruin a surveyor's
reputation.

Malingo wrote:
> E Z Peaces wrote:
>> Malingo wrote:
>>> E Z Peaces wrote:
>>>> Malingo wrote:
>>>>> Richard Heathfield wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> In Gloucester (UK) city centre, there is (or was) a Sainsbury's
>>>>>> supermarket with a (well-used) back exit onto a side road.
>>>>> This is quite a co-incidence.
>>>>> I live in the UK and on Wednesday of this week I visited Gloucester and
>>>>> looked around. I went into a folk museum that was opposite a church, it
>>>>> was free entry and an excellent way to spend an hour or two.
>>>>> There was a section on eels/elvers, very popular around that area
>>>>> because of the River Severn. There on the wall was...
>>>>> a cane like stick with a pointy bit at the bottom very similar to RH's
>>>>> "What is it" pic!
>>>>> PS
>>>>> to EZ Peaces
>>>>> There was no mention of a surveyor :)
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> This is from the New York Times, September 17, 1904:
>>>>
>>>> **********
>>>>
>>>> St Louis, Mo., September 16. — Mme. Mariana Cervera, widow of the
>>>> Spanish bull fighter, who was killed in St. Louis last June by Carleton
>>>> Bass, the American matador, attacked Felix Roberts, one of the alleged
>>>> bull fighters on trial in the Circuit Court at Clayton this afternoon
>>>> with a cane having a sharp dagger point. Roberts saved himself by a
>>>> quick motion of his hand, brushing aside the cane with a dexterity
>>>> attained in the arena.
>>>>
>>>> Witnesses of the attack say that Mrs. Cervera walked quietly from the
>>>> courtroom to the bench upon which Roberts and several of his companions
>>>> were seated, and addressing him in Spanish, struck at him with the
>>>> pointed cane.
>>>>
>>>> Mme. Cervera refused to discuss the matter, merely remarking, "I'll get
>>>> even with him yet."
>>>>
>>>> Men understanding Spanish who were seated beside Roberts at the time say
>>>> they judge from the words used by Mme. Cervera a moment before the
>>>> attack that she believed Roberts had been talking about her.
>>>>
>>>> **********
>>>>
>>>> In not stating Mme. Cervera's occupation, the NYT leaves the reader to
>>>> assume she was a surveyor. I guess Roberts didn't know that Mme.
>>>> Cervera could understand Spanish. If there's anything surveyors fear
>>>> more than vicious dogs, it's slander about the validity of their
>>>> surveys.
>>>
>>> If it's not for eeling in Gloucester it could be for the sport of poking
>>> trolls out from under their bridges. ( I once knew a dog owning Spanish
>>> troll who did a bit of surveying as a sideline. )
>>>
>>>
>> You knew Mme. Cervera?
>
> I met her once on the banks of The Severn, a blonde woman who walked with a
> stick and carried a
> bag of surveyors tools. After I had shown interest in her theodolite she
> invited me to spend an hour or so "eeling" with her. She expertly used her
> stick to hook the eels from the river.
> Obviously a woman of many talents.
>

Marian Cervera was an American who had traveled to St. Louis to make a
bullfighting contract with Norris on behalf of her husband. To prevent
the bullfight, authorities tore down the arena June 4, three days before
the killing. The prosecutor decided it was self-defense and released
Bass about June 9.

Norris capitalized on the publicity. He rebuilt the arena to hold 5,000
and imported Mexican fighting bulls. He held the first bullfight
September 4. On September 16, Mrs. Cervera tried to stab Felix Roberts
with her cane in court. He and other matadors were on trial. He had
not been associated with Bass, so the trial must have been about the
current fights.

Those fights went on every Sunday for years. Matadors infuriated bulls
by poking them with canes. Matadors were injured every week. The
Humane Society went to court, but the judge ruled that it wasn't
bullfighting because the bulls weren't stabbed. Mrs. Cervera, who ran a
business called "Creation," went to the governor to have them stopped.
To get even, Roberts threatened to hire Bass as a matador.

Finally the Missouri Supreme Court took the case. The management
demonstrated that the audience were decent people who enjoyed watching
the sport after church. However, the plaintiffs presented evidence that
there were Mexicans in the crowd, that some women did not wear bonnets,
and that some men used vulgar language. Also, the Supreme Court said
the killing of Cervera and the lack of testimony from Bass showed that
the business was run by violent criminals (although Bass was long gone
and had had no dealings with the current management.)

So the business was shut down permanently although the Supreme Court
announced that Mrs. Cervera was not an impressive witness. It sounds as
if the justices were prejudiced against blonde surveyors.

>
> 1264) A tape cartridge. The Ampex name supports that part. However
> it seems to be an unusually wide tape. Not large enough spools
> to justify considering it to be a predecessor to the U-matic
> video cartridges (which were 3/4" tape IIRC), and this looks
> closer to 1-3/4" or perhaps even 2". And it would require
> spooling out from the cartridge to wrap around a drum for
> helical scan to get a sufficient data rate. I think that
> perhaps it is for some kind of multi-track data recorder.
>



Ampex video tape cartridge
50 mm wide sounds about right.
These were not helical scanned!
So this could be a very short segment - commercial or news feed?

http://www.secretlifeofmachines.com/secret_life_of_the_video.shtml

1263. Ocala is very close to Silver Springs and the winter
resting area for Ringling Brothers. I wonder if it can be an
elephant tender's stick. Silver Springs was the scene where all
the Tarzan movies were made.

1265. Must have something to do with chipping or flaking ice.

1267. Looks like an antique eye glass case to me for the old wire
frames.

--
______________________________
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)
[email protected]



"R.H." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Just posted a new set, hopefully someone will be able identify
> the first piece, I think I know what it is but I haven't been
> able to confirm it.
>
> http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/
>
>
> Rob

On Thu, 3 Apr 2008 04:08:59 -0400, R.H. wrote:

> Just posted a new set, hopefully someone will be able identify the first
> piece, I think I know what it is but I haven't been able to confirm it.
>
> http://puzzlephotos.blogspot.com/
>
>
> Rob

To guess without looking at other people's answers:

1263: A handle for grabbing a dangling smallish chain that you'd have to
reach for?

1264: Ampex made this, since you didn't photoshop their name out. I'd
guess it's a videotape cartridge/cassette of some sort, designed for
commercial/production use. It looks like too much tape to be audiotape,
and the "PGM NO" bit at the bottom would imply videotape

1265: Too small to be an old-fashioned pooper scooper, and the claw part
is the wrong configuration anyhow.

1266: Surveyor's chain? put the pointed end in the ground, pull out a
bunch of chain from the unscrew end, and voila.

1267: In another set I suggested a similary-shaped object was a
primitive penis enlargement device. This is a similar object, dating
from the Victorian era, which we discover was not as prudish as is
stereotypically thought. :-)

1268: Some sort of ice axe.

--
Ted S
fedya at bestweb dot net
Now blogging at http://justacineast.blogspot.com

DoN. Nichols wrote:
> On 2008-04-06, E Z Peaces <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> In the 19th Century there were a lot of men on foot and a lot of dogs
>> running loose.
>
> There were also a lot of people who carried small pistols for
> such confrontations.

If you shoot a dog before it bites, the owner might charge or sue you.
(IIRC, it was about 9 years ago that a professor at the University of
Southern Mississippi shot a dog that ran after him as he jogged. He was
arrested and, IIRC, convicted. The prosecutor alleged he'd overreacted
because another dog had once bitten him.

If you plan not to shoot until the dog attacks, you have to keep the gun
at hand with a round in the chamber as you work. You might shoot
yourself or it might be stolen. A stick seems more practical.
>
>> If the device had a metal point like a target arrow, I
>> would consider it an ideal "walking stick" to deter an aggressive and
>> treacherous dog. Held by the knob, it could jab and whip like a fencing
>> sword.
>
> Hmm ... you might want to try it with that and with a real
> fencing sword for comparison. I think that ball handle would lose in
> terms of control.

I know what I'm thinking of, an umbrella! The tip seems like a good
deterrent. I'd hold it a few inches from the handle for balance to move
the tip faster. If the walking stick was shaped for defense against
dogs, the ball may have been for balance.

>
>> It's short and light enough for agility but long and strong
>> enough to stop a lunging dog. One could also use the knob to club.
>
> This I consider the more useful end for dog repelling.

I once clubbed an attacking dog three times on the head so hard I
thought I might kill it. It wasn't deterred. Fortunately I had it by
the collar. I've read that an attacking dog is pretty impervious to pain.

Another time a neighbor's dog circled me as I worked on a fence post at
a farm. It looked treacherous, so I always carried a hammer or a 16"
screwdriver. The dog seemed more afraid of the screwdriver. (The owner
later shot that dog.)

I don't know how people thought a century ago, but I'd want a deterrent
that could be used like a large screwdriver. If I thought a big dog
might attack anyway, I wouldn't depend on clubbing. I'd want a point
like a big target arrow so I could inflict severe pain or kill the animal.

I usually used that screwdriver as a marker for surveying. If the
walking stick was designed for defense against dogs, the owner may have
added a hook for an other use. Maybe that use was surveying.