Costume party type-in at TB Writers Plus

TB Writers Plus in Dayton hosted a costume party/type-in last weekend. It was a treat to attend.

Here's the new room, bright and spacious:

My border collie, Della, came along and was eager to explore and meet everyone. She was so well behaved! Meanwhile, Keenan wears fine straw headgear as he does some work.

New employee Torii told me she loves the chance to unwind by fixing typewriters.

The Brumfield boys, Clayton and Sam, dressed as a newsie and a reporter.

Tyler Lewis, who also used to work here, dressed as a musketeer and wrote an autumnal poem for me.

Josh DiMora brought a lovely 1889 National.

This 1916 Rex was available to type on.

People in and out of costume gradually joined in.

I also called myself a reporter ... 

This necktie was a gift from Robert Messenger.

One of the nicest experiences was meeting 21-year-old Cesar Martinez, who came up from San Antonio, Texas.

Cesar has started his own typewriter business, Eagle Eye, which currently operates from his garage. He's a thoughtful young man who does a great job of representing the new generation of typewriter technicians.

Here Cesar tries out my Gossen Tippa Pilot. 

All told, this was a friendly and interesting event. I look forward to my next visit to Dayton!

PS: Check out Gery L. Deer's three-part story on TB Writers Plus:

Part 1- "A career from another era"

Part 2- "I can't do it alone"

Part 3- "Typewriter enthusiasts: a close-knit community"

Southworth air mail stationery

What a spectacular box of stationery I found at my neighborhood antique mall this afternoon! I love the lettering and imagery on the box and the lightning-bolt motif.

Southworth paper has special meaning for me. Not only was this the first company to produce paper especially for typewriters, but it was founded by my great-great-great-grandfather Wells Southworth.

Click on any image to see a high-resolution (600dpi) image.

 

Typewriter repair = chess?

"Mateo" usually beats me.

 

Free Thoughts, October 2024

This time I was joined by Sayo, a Xavier student, to type "free thoughts" for the public. We had plenty of requests, and I captured only a few of the results in photos.

Sayo was new at this, but he proved to be a gifted on-the-spot thinker. Afterwards, he said that the experience made him feel like a better person. I know what he means! I recommend giving this a try if you want to create meaningful moments for yourself and for the people you'll meet.

Some of my efforts:

This one isn't readable but the students' expressions are better than the thought! (Topic: why are pickles smaller than cucumbers?)

Some of Sayo's work:

Good, huh??

AI can't generate this (yet)

As my readers surely know, generative AI continues to make impressive/frightening strides. Chatbots pass the Turing test with flying colors. AI-generated images, music, and videos have eerie detail and depth, providing new aesthetic possibilities as well as easy tools for propaganda and harrassment. AI can animate your old family photos, or add detail that was never there. It can generate a realistic podcast based on any document you give it. Massive data centers are springing up to handle the surging demand, boosting our electricity consumption to alarming levels. And the AI future has barely begun.

Yet there is one thing AI can't generate ... at least not yet.

This is "typewritten text" according to Midjourney:

Midjourney attempts to generate a particular typewritten word:

Meta AI gives it a shot:

Several image generators provided by Nightcafe don't do any better. This one is atmospheric and eye-catching, but that's not typewritten text:

This one gets a "participant" badge—not even "honorable mention":

As for this one, uh ... what?