Greg Mayman wrote in a message to Roy J. Tellason:

 -=> Roy J. Tellason said to Greg Mayman
 -=> about "POWER SUPPLY" on 12-03-03  04:06.....

 RJT> Been actually spending some time getting it organized,  too...   :-)

 GM> That's usually the hardest part... for me anyway.

Yes,  it's proving to be the case here.  Concurrent with hardware issues, 
too.  Until yesterday I never saw a HD where just putting the power
connector in would prevent a system from powering up at all,  so I guess
there's a problem in there,  and I have a thought or two on that subject, 
like maybe a shorted cap or similar?  We'll see,  if I can find the time to
mess with it.

 RJT> _And_ doing some of the same with parts here.  It'd be nice if I could
 RJT> actually put some of this stuff to use,  instead of just collecting
 RJT> it!

 GM> I wish I could use more of the stuff I've collected. Most of it
 GM> jes' sets 'n' rots...

Yeah.  At least I've collected a ton of schematics of assorted simple
little circuits,  and may have the inclination to play with some of them. 
I like the simple approach,  when it can be made to work.  Some stuff gets
just too elaborate,  though.  There was one design I can remember where a
signal went in the order FET -> optoisolator -> transistor -> SCR
-> bridge (!) -> triac, which I thought was a bit much...

 GM> The amount of stuff I've gathered together for some project that
 GM> I've put off until I get a round tuit, is just incredible!

I'm beginning to hate that.

 GM> And stuff that has broken and is waiting to be fixed...

I've surely had enough of that,  stuff that isn't fixed is either going to
get scrapped (like I need more parts!) or just tossed.  A couple of VCRs
came my way recently,  the one got brought up here,  boards yanked,  what
usable bits off the hardware pulled out,  and the rest was out in the trash
in something under a half hour.  The other one is sitting out in the back
of my truck,  waiting for me to do a similar thing to it.  I just don't
have a box handy to toss the boards into,  to scrap 'em.  Even at that,  I
don't need the parts all that much...

 GM> Here's an oddity that you'd appreciate....

 GM> Yesterday's mail brought a complementary copy of SOUTH AUSTRALIA'S 
 GM> SECRETS, "an initiative of the South Australian Government".

 GM> A wealth of information and misinformation -- or possibly 
 GM> "disinformation" which from the construction of the word seems to 
 GM> mean information that leaves you knowing less than when you 
 GM> started 

Heh.

 GM> Page 59: "You finally come to a fancy red-brick wall on your left. 
 GM> The mansion lying beyond belongs to the Neon family of neon light
 GM> fame."

 GM> And that turned up within five minutes of opening the book and 
 GM> sampling a few passages at random...

 GM> I always thought the neon lights and signs were named for the gas 
 GM> neon, discovered in the 1890s by Sir William Ramsay, which was in
 GM> turn named for the Greek word for "new".

 GM> Silly old me 

Yep!  Me too,  I guess.

 GM> I wonder what other "gems" it contains.

 GM> Maybe a description of the home of the Sodium family who invented
 GM> the Sodium vapor lamps that bear their name 

Jeez,  I hope they don't start trying to collect royalties on table salt...

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