Bachelor Living Tricks

[p***@hotmail.com]

A few weeks ago TCM was running a series of movies starring Jack Lemon,
including Billy Wilder's 1960 multi-Oscar winner (including best picture)
_The Apartment_, where Lemon played bachelor and corporate climber
Baxter. I happened to tune in at the famous scene where he is using
a tennis racket to strain spaghetti, to the amusement of his guest
Fran, played by Shirley MacLaine.

Many years ago this was used as an intro for a humorous article in
_Reader's Digest_ about interesting ways that bachelors have devised
to do various household tasks. The author claimed that he had a
friend who used his fencing mask to strain spaghetti, and he
himself used a strip of window screen.

Another trick that I remember was the author's way of making ice
cubes, or rather ice chunks. Modern plastic ice cube trays are
flexible, and each compartment has angled walls so that if you
hold the tray upside down and twist it the ice cubes will drop
free. Back in 1960 ice cube trays were made of aluminum with a
single large watertight compartment, divided up by a separate
aluminum grid to form smaller spaces for the individual ice cubes.
Once the water was frozen, you pulled a lever attached to the grid
and this would theoretically tilt each of the cross partitions
slightly and free up the ice cubes. In practice the ice could
bind to the rather flimsy partition structure and make this difficult.

The author would simply use the ice cube tray without the partitions.
The resulting slab of ice would pop free of the tray with just a
slight tap, and he would stab it into appropriately sized chunks
with a Japanese commando knife he'd brought back from World War 2.

Innovative domestic techniques devised by bachelors have appeared
in science fiction stories. In Robert Heinlein's short novel
_Waldo_ the title character has myesthemia gravis and lives
in his own space station in free fall. When his physician friend
visits and they have dinner together, Waldo is shown eating his
steak with a surgical shears and a pair of forceps.

I would be interested in other non-traditional ways of performing
household tasks, either from science fiction or from real life.

Peter Wezeman
anti-social Darwinist

[Jack Bohn]

Post by p***@hotmail.com
Many years ago this was used as an intro for a humorous article in
_Reader's Digest_ about interesting ways that bachelors have devised
to do various household tasks. The author claimed that he had a
friend who used his fencing mask to strain spaghetti,

Also televised; Batman, I think. A tennis racquet is more readily available, and lends itself to the joke about "serving meatballs."

Post by p***@hotmail.com
I would be interested in other non-traditional ways of performing
household tasks, either from science fiction or from real life.

What leapt to mind was Uncle Buck from the eponymous movie, who, having either broken the washing machine and dryer, or been intimidated by the controls, was seen microwaving the laundry, justifying it to a visitor as his preferred method, as it kills germs. Later, I read articles about the kitchen being the most infected room in the house that recommend this treatment for the cleaning sponge for just that reason.

From sf, all that's coming to mind is a cartoon of a space station where an overenthusiastic worker has connected a vacuum cleaner hose to an overboard vent. I'm sure something else will come up.

[Kevrob]

Post by Jack Bohn

Post by p***@hotmail.com
Many years ago this was used as an intro for a humorous article in
_Reader's Digest_ about interesting ways that bachelors have devised
to do various household tasks. The author claimed that he had a
friend who used his fencing mask to strain spaghetti,

Also televised; Batman, I think. A tennis racquet is more readily available, and lends itself to the joke about "serving meatballs."

Post by p***@hotmail.com
I would be interested in other non-traditional ways of performing
household tasks, either from science fiction or from real life.

What leapt to mind was Uncle Buck from the eponymous movie, who, having either broken the washing machine and dryer, or been intimidated by the controls, was seen microwaving the laundry, justifying it to a visitor as his preferred method, as it kills germs. Later, I read articles about the kitchen being the most infected room in the house that recommend this treatment for the cleaning sponge for just that reason.

I watched "The Apartment" on TV when I was in my teens, and ever
since I've referred to "bachelor survival cooking" as my method
in the kitchen.

An episode of the TV sitcom The Courtship of Eddie's Father,"
starring Bill Bixby (Tim O'Hara, David {Robert} Bruce Banner) had
his pal Norman, who invented "bachelor salad" - half a head of
lettuce, with salad dressing poured on it, eaten over the sink.
No dishes to wash! {Not an sf series, except Eddie's dad was
named Tom Corbett!}

There are several books like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Cookbook-Bachelors-Survival-Guide-Kitchen/dp/1985063042

https://www.behance.net/gallery/9574687/The-Bachelors-Survival-Guide

Post by Jack Bohn
From sf, all that's coming to mind is a cartoon of a space station where an overenthusiastic worker has connected a vacuum cleaner hose to an overboard vent. I'm sure something else will come up.

I remember reading Superman stories where the Man of Steel
quick-cooked a beef roast with his heat vision.

The Roomba is vacuuming-bot is Heinlein's "Hired Girl" brought
into Real Life. There's the Talking Toaster in "Red Dwarf,"
but it doesn't actually help.

I'm trying to remember the source that taught me that on a
space craft or space station, just pitching trash out the
airlock isn't enough. Unless the ship changes trajectory,
or the garbage is accelerated into another one, it will follow
you until you make an engine burn. Perhaps the speculation about
the "fireflies" John Glenn saw on the Friendship 7 mission,
thought to be frost flakes on the capsule dislodging?

There have to be plenty of 'life hacks' i'm unaware of.
I've never tried cooking on my car's engine, but that's
been a thing, apparently, as long as there have been cars.
I remember moving copies of this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manifold_Destiny_(cookbook)

...back in my bookselling days.

Kevin R

[Ted Nolan <tednolan>]

Post by Jack Bohn

Post by Jack Bohn

Post by p***@hotmail.com
Many years ago this was used as an intro for a humorous article in
_Reader's Digest_ about interesting ways that bachelors have devised
to do various household tasks. The author claimed that he had a
friend who used his fencing mask to strain spaghetti,

Also televised; Batman, I think. A tennis racquet is more readily

available, and lends itself to the joke about "serving meatballs."

Post by Jack Bohn

Post by p***@hotmail.com
I would be interested in other non-traditional ways of performing
household tasks, either from science fiction or from real life.

What leapt to mind was Uncle Buck from the eponymous movie, who,

having either broken the washing machine and dryer, or been intimidated
by the controls, was seen microwaving the laundry, justifying it to a
visitor as his preferred method, as it kills germs. Later, I read
articles about the kitchen being the most infected room in the house
that recommend this treatment for the cleaning sponge for just that
reason.
I watched "The Apartment" on TV when I was in my teens, and ever
since I've referred to "bachelor survival cooking" as my method
in the kitchen.
An episode of the TV sitcom The Courtship of Eddie's Father,"
starring Bill Bixby (Tim O'Hara, David {Robert} Bruce Banner) had
his pal Norman, who invented "bachelor salad" - half a head of
lettuce, with salad dressing poured on it, eaten over the sink.
No dishes to wash! {Not an sf series, except Eddie's dad was
named Tom Corbett!}
https://www.amazon.com/Cookbook-Bachelors-Survival-Guide-Kitchen/dp/1985063042
https://www.behance.net/gallery/9574687/The-Bachelors-Survival-Guide

Post by Jack Bohn
From sf, all that's coming to mind is a cartoon of a space station

where an overenthusiastic worker has connected a vacuum cleaner hose to
an overboard vent. I'm sure something else will come up.
I remember reading Superman stories where the Man of Steel
quick-cooked a beef roast with his heat vision.
The Roomba is vacuuming-bot is Heinlein's "Hired Girl" brought
into Real Life. There's the Talking Toaster in "Red Dwarf,"
but it doesn't actually help.
I'm trying to remember the source that taught me that on a
space craft or space station, just pitching trash out the
airlock isn't enough. Unless the ship changes trajectory,
or the garbage is accelerated into another one, it will follow
you until you make an engine burn. Perhaps the speculation about
the "fireflies" John Glenn saw on the Friendship 7 mission,
thought to be frost flakes on the capsule dislodging?
There have to be plenty of 'life hacks' i'm unaware of.
I've never tried cooking on my car's engine, but that's
been a thing, apparently, as long as there have been cars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manifold_Destiny_(cookbook)
...back in my bookselling days.

Bachelor dogs: Stick a fork in a hot dog and hold it over the stove eye
until done.

[Kevrob]

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>
Bachelor dogs: Stick a fork in a hot dog and hold it over the stove eye
until done.

"Stove eye?" That would have been a gas flame in my house.
An electric stove's cooktop would have had burners, with
heating elements. "Eye' is totally new to me. a little searching
suggests it is a Southernism, which makes sense.

Oh, there was a much less culinarily-correct way to cook a sausage,
BITD. Take a working electrical cord salvaged from some dead appliance,
strip the wires, attach alligator clips, and, after plugging in,
clip the frank at both ends, and run the power through it. A fire
hazard? Sure, but what's a possible conflagration versus eating a
cold tube steak?

https://www.evilmadscientist.com/2007/cooking-hot-dogs-via-electrocution/

{Important note: This may kill you}

Or, buy a Presto Hot Dogger!

http://blog.kevmo314.com/presto-hotdogger.html

{Not my blog, BTW.} One of my roommates in my college days
had one of these, totally against dorm rules, and we enjoyed
many an impromptu wiener after the cafeteria had closed.

Kevin R

[Ted Nolan <tednolan>]

Post by Kevrob

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>
Bachelor dogs: Stick a fork in a hot dog and hold it over the stove eye
until done.

"Stove eye?" That would have been a gas flame in my house.
An electric stove's cooktop would have had burners, with
heating elements. "Eye' is totally new to me. a little searching
suggests it is a Southernism, which makes sense.

Wouldn't surprise me. Never heard them called burners. Don't you
try to *not* burn food?

Post by Kevrob
Oh, there was a much less culinarily-correct way to cook a sausage,
BITD. Take a working electrical cord salvaged from some dead appliance,
strip the wires, attach alligator clips, and, after plugging in,
clip the frank at both ends, and run the power through it. A fire
hazard? Sure, but what's a possible conflagration versus eating a
cold tube steak?
https://www.evilmadscientist.com/2007/cooking-hot-dogs-via-electrocution/
{Important note: This may kill you}

I've done this, but with two nails in a board, one end of the cord at
each nail.

For some reason, my mother always boiled them. Don't now why, as that
seems like about the least good way to do it.

[Kevrob]

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>

Post by Kevrob
https://www.evilmadscientist.com/2007/cooking-hot-dogs-via-electrocution/
{Important note: This may kill you}

I've done this, but with two nails in a board, one end of the cord at
each nail.

I've heard of that version.

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>
For some reason, my mother always boiled them. Don't now why, as that
seems like about the least good way to do it.

It's the easiest.

I usually par-boil sausage, so i am sure it is cooked through,
then finish them up in the broiler or on grill, so they are browned.
Browned in a pan will do in a pinch.

I had marinara with boiled/grilled turkey sausage in it last night,
along with some leftover grilled boneless pork chops, all of it
diced up. The sauce went over some grilled spaghetti squash and
a few storebought, frozen cheese ravioli.

I don't think grilling spaghetti squash qualifies as
"bachelor survival," though. Tasty, though.

Kevin R

[Dorothy J Heydt]

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>

Post by Kevrob

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>
Bachelor dogs: Stick a fork in a hot dog and hold it over the stove eye
until done.

"Stove eye?" That would have been a gas flame in my house.
An electric stove's cooktop would have had burners, with
heating elements. "Eye' is totally new to me. a little searching
suggests it is a Southernism, which makes sense.

Wouldn't surprise me. Never heard them called burners. Don't you
try to *not* burn food?

Post by Kevrob
Oh, there was a much less culinarily-correct way to cook a sausage,
BITD. Take a working electrical cord salvaged from some dead appliance,
strip the wires, attach alligator clips, and, after plugging in,
clip the frank at both ends, and run the power through it. A fire
hazard? Sure, but what's a possible conflagration versus eating a
cold tube steak?
https://www.evilmadscientist.com/2007/cooking-hot-dogs-via-electrocution/
{Important note: This may kill you}

I've done this, but with two nails in a board, one end of the cord at
each nail.
For some reason, my mother always boiled them. Don't now why, as that
seems like about the least good way to do it.

Depends on (a) how spicy the hot dogs are, and (b) how spicy you
like them. If (a) significantly exceeds (b), boiling may help.

[Jay E. Morris]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
Depends on (a) how spicy the hot dogs are, and (b) how spicy you
like them. If (a) significantly exceeds (b), boiling may help.

Never had spicy hot dogs growing up, just standard Oscar Myer dogs, but
my mother always boiled them. Occasionally they were done on the grill.

We had spicy sausages though and those were done pan fried and quite
often done on the grill

[Greg Goss]

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>

Post by Kevrob

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>
Bachelor dogs: Stick a fork in a hot dog and hold it over the stove eye
until done.

"Stove eye?" That would have been a gas flame in my house.
An electric stove's cooktop would have had burners, with
heating elements. "Eye' is totally new to me. a little searching
suggests it is a Southernism, which makes sense.

Wouldn't surprise me. Never heard them called burners. Don't you
try to *not* burn food?

Probably a carry-over from gas stoves. You burn something to cook
food. I have a gas stove and call 'em burners, but I grew up with
electric stoves. Heck, a quick google feeds me INDUCTION elements
that don't even get hot as "burners". http://tinyurl.com/ya3u4jf2
https://www.living.ca/en/p-365828-lb-ic-16d3-1800w-portable-induction-countertop-burner-push-button-controller-four-digital-display?from_pla=google&sku=377433&gclid=CjwKCAjw4avaBRBPEiwA_ZetYnbVhaDp9A1WkatIreRIJ-cKUDWa52377nW1k5TCehakZWCzBotujhoC5vQQAvD_BwE#sku377433

On an electric stove, it's sometimes called an "element". (ObSF - No,
not a captive fire elemental.)

I think that the Brits call 'em hobs.

This is the first I've ever heard "eye".

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>
For some reason, my mother always boiled them. Don't now why, as that
seems like about the least good way to do it.

There are two things called "hot dogs" around here. There are skinny
things with a pretty bland flavour. These are the true "hot dogs",
and I've always boiled them.

Thicker sausages, more flavour, sometimes very strongly flavoured, are
called "smokies". I microwave these, after punching a few holes wiith
a fork.

Smokies get nothing but mustard. Hot dogs get more - ketchup,
mustard, sometimes green relish, sometimes sliced "cheese", etc.

[Dorothy J Heydt]

Post by Greg Goss

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>
Wouldn't surprise me. Never heard them called burners. Don't you
try to *not* burn food?

Probably a carry-over from gas stoves. You burn something to cook
food. I have a gas stove and call 'em burners, but I grew up with
electric stoves. Heck, a quick google feeds me INDUCTION elements
that don't even get hot as "burners". http://tinyurl.com/ya3u4jf2

The one we have goes up to 425 F. It lives downstairs in our tiny
laundry-room-turned-kitchen. Two weeks after we got it, I had a
pacemaker put in and now I can't get within two feet of it, so
Hal cooks anything that can't go in the microwave.

/deep sigh

[David DeLaney]

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>

Post by Kevrob
"Stove eye?" That would have been a gas flame in my house.
An electric stove's cooktop would have had burners, with
heating elements. "Eye' is totally new to me. a little searching
suggests it is a Southernism, which makes sense.

Wouldn't surprise me. Never heard them called burners. Don't you
try to *not* burn food?

I can confirm "burners", tho "stove burners" is also correct. You also try not
to burn cook's flesh, so it can be used as a mnemonic...

Dave, who has not used his stove OR oven for years now

[Bernard Peek]

Post by Kevrob

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>
Bachelor dogs: Stick a fork in a hot dog and hold it over the stove eye
until done.

"Stove eye?" That would have been a gas flame in my house.
An electric stove's cooktop would have had burners, with
heating elements. "Eye' is totally new to me. a little searching
suggests it is a Southernism, which makes sense.
Oh, there was a much less culinarily-correct way to cook a sausage,
BITD. Take a working electrical cord salvaged from some dead appliance,
strip the wires, attach alligator clips, and, after plugging in,
clip the frank at both ends, and run the power through it. A fire
hazard? Sure, but what's a possible conflagration versus eating a
cold tube steak?
https://www.evilmadscientist.com/2007/cooking-hot-dogs-via-electrocution/

In the UK we have a 230v supply so you need to cook two franks in series.

[Adamastor Glace Mortimer]

Post by Kevrob

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>
Bachelor dogs: Stick a fork in a hot dog and hold it over the stove eye
until done.

"Stove eye?" That would have been a gas flame in my house.
An electric stove's cooktop would have had burners, with
heating elements. "Eye' is totally new to me. a little searching
suggests it is a Southernism, which makes sense.
Oh, there was a much less culinarily-correct way to cook a sausage,
BITD. Take a working electrical cord salvaged from some dead appliance,
strip the wires, attach alligator clips, and, after plugging in,
clip the frank at both ends, and run the power through it. A fire
hazard? Sure, but what's a possible conflagration versus eating a
cold tube steak?
https://www.evilmadscientist.com/2007/cooking-hot-dogs-via-electrocution/
{Important note: This may kill you}
Or, buy a Presto Hot Dogger!
http://blog.kevmo314.com/presto-hotdogger.html

This appears to be the commercial version of a project in a book I
once had. It was a book about electrical things boys could build on
their own. The project included something like a saw blade that
you had to cut up and it was held in place by some scrap wood that
you nailed it to. And you then soldered the ends of a power cord to
the connector that you screwed onto the steel blades. The impaling
of the hot dogs was similar to the commercial device above.

My memory is a bit fuzzy on the blade. It may have been an ordinary
saw blade or it may have been some sort of thing that had long,
pointy teeth on it, much longer than the rather tiny teeth on most
saw blades. In any event, the hot dogs were to be impaled on the
teeth.

The book was full of seriously unsafe things that you could do with
some wire, scrap pieces of metal and wood and an electrical socket.
I think the book was published in the 1920s. Oh, the lawsuits such
a book would provoke today! Of course no publisher in their right
mind would publish such a book now.

Post by Kevrob
{Not my blog, BTW.} One of my roommates in my college days
had one of these, totally against dorm rules, and we enjoyed
many an impromptu wiener after the cafeteria had closed.
Kevin R

Adamastor Glace Mortimer

[Dorothy J Heydt]

Post by Kevrob
I'm trying to remember the source that taught me that on a
space craft or space station, just pitching trash out the
airlock isn't enough. Unless the ship changes trajectory,
or the garbage is accelerated into another one, it will follow
you until you make an engine burn. Perhaps the speculation about
the "fireflies" John Glenn saw on the Friendship 7 mission,
thought to be frost flakes on the capsule dislodging?

Something similar in Heinlein's _The Rolling Stones_. Castor and
Pollux have brought along a load of second-hand bicycles to sell
on Mars, but for I forget what reason they have to be jettisoned.
So they bundle them all together and *just barely* shove them
loose from the ship. The bicycles accompany the ship all the way
to Mars orbit, where the boys are able to retrieve them. Their
get-rich-quick scheme doesn't pan out, however, because Mars has
tariffs that would turn Trump green with envy.

Post by Kevrob
There have to be plenty of 'life hacks' i'm unaware of.
I've never tried cooking on my car's engine, but that's
been a thing, apparently, as long as there have been cars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manifold_Destiny_(cookbook)
...back in my bookselling days.

Mythbusters, with Alton Brown's assistance, cooked a whole
Thanksgiving dinner on their engine while driving from San
Francisco up to redwood country. One or two recipes didn't pan
out, but the rest was reported as delicious.

[Kevrob]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

I'm trying to remember the source ....

Something similar in Heinlein's _The Rolling Stones_. Castor and
Pollux have brought along a load of second-hand bicycles to sell
on Mars, but for I forget what reason they have to be jettisoned.
So they bundle them all together and *just barely* shove them
loose from the ship. The bicycles accompany the ship all the way
to Mars orbit, where the boys are able to retrieve them. Their
get-rich-quick scheme doesn't pan out, however, because Mars has
tariffs that would turn Trump green with envy.

Of course! I thought I read something in Heinlein about that,
but searches including "waste," "trash' or "garbage" only
brought up articles about toilets in space, as on the ISS.

Thanks!

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manifold_Destiny_(cookbook)
...back in my bookselling days.

Mythbusters, with Alton Brown's assistance, cooked a whole
Thanksgiving dinner on their engine while driving from San
Francisco up to redwood country. One or two recipes didn't pan
out, but the rest was reported as delicious.

I suspect the marshmallow on top of the sweet potatoes would
be a challenge to get just right.

Kevin R

[Dorothy J Heydt]

Post by Kevrob

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

I'm trying to remember the source ....

Something similar in Heinlein's _The Rolling Stones_. Castor and
Pollux have brought along a load of second-hand bicycles to sell
on Mars, but for I forget what reason they have to be jettisoned.
So they bundle them all together and *just barely* shove them
loose from the ship. The bicycles accompany the ship all the way
to Mars orbit, where the boys are able to retrieve them. Their
get-rich-quick scheme doesn't pan out, however, because Mars has
tariffs that would turn Trump green with envy.

Of course! I thought I read something in Heinlein about that,
but searches including "waste," "trash' or "garbage" only
brought up articles about toilets in space, as on the ISS.
Thanks!

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manifold_Destiny_(cookbook)
...back in my bookselling days.

Mythbusters, with Alton Brown's assistance, cooked a whole
Thanksgiving dinner on their engine while driving from San
Francisco up to redwood country. One or two recipes didn't pan
out, but the rest was reported as delicious.

I suspect the marshmallow on top of the sweet potatoes would
be a challenge to get just right.

I can't remember if marshmallow sweet potatoes were on the menu
or not. IIRC what was supposed to be turkey gravy never
thickened, so they said wotthehell and served it as soup.

[lal_truckee]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
Something similar in Heinlein's _The Rolling Stones_. Castor and
Pollux have brought along a load of second-hand bicycles to sell
on Mars, but for I forget what reason they have to be jettisoned.
So they bundle them all together and *just barely* shove them
loose from the ship. The bicycles accompany the ship all the way
to Mars orbit, where the boys are able to retrieve them.

IIRC, the twins needed pressurized work space for bicycle fleet
refurbishment. The bikes otherwise were moved outboard to provide such
space.

Heinlein mentions refurbishing the bikes, and arranging for them to
tag-along during free orbit, but doesn't mention how the bike fleet
would be expected to survive vacuum as all the volatiles in the grease
boiled away, among other issues. Heinlein worked on pressure suits
during WWII and so likely was familiar with the issues, (such
familiarity showing up again in HSSWT.)

I suppose fore planning might provide a bunch of pressure-tight sacks,
and some Dewar bottles full of liquid nitrogen, but whether such a
solution would be sufficient...

At least Heinlein did tip his hat at the engineering and science
occasionally.

[Dorothy J Heydt]

Post by lal_truckee

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
Something similar in Heinlein's _The Rolling Stones_. Castor and
Pollux have brought along a load of second-hand bicycles to sell
on Mars, but for I forget what reason they have to be jettisoned.
So they bundle them all together and *just barely* shove them
loose from the ship. The bicycles accompany the ship all the way
to Mars orbit, where the boys are able to retrieve them.

IIRC, the twins needed pressurized work space for bicycle fleet
refurbishment. The bikes otherwise were moved outboard to provide such
space.
Heinlein mentions refurbishing the bikes, and arranging for them to
tag-along during free orbit, but doesn't mention how the bike fleet
would be expected to survive vacuum as all the volatiles in the grease
boiled away, among other issues. Heinlein worked on pressure suits
during WWII and so likely was familiar with the issues, (such
familiarity showing up again in HSSWT.)
I suppose fore planning might provide a bunch of pressure-tight sacks,
and some Dewar bottles full of liquid nitrogen, but whether such a
solution would be sufficient...
At least Heinlein did tip his hat at the engineering and science
occasionally.

Well, he was trained at Annapolis as a mechanical engineer.

We might also consider that _The Rolling Stones_ was intended to
be a juvenile, and maybe he didn't want to get the engineering
too complicated for the twelve-year-old boys who were going to be
his readers.

(Or maybe Alice Dalgliesh didn't.)

[p***@hotmail.com]

Post by lal_truckee

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
Something similar in Heinlein's _The Rolling Stones_. Castor and
Pollux have brought along a load of second-hand bicycles to sell
on Mars, but for I forget what reason they have to be jettisoned.
So they bundle them all together and *just barely* shove them
loose from the ship. The bicycles accompany the ship all the way
to Mars orbit, where the boys are able to retrieve them.

IIRC, the twins needed pressurized work space for bicycle fleet
refurbishment. The bikes otherwise were moved outboard to provide such
space.
Heinlein mentions refurbishing the bikes, and arranging for them to
tag-along during free orbit, but doesn't mention how the bike fleet
would be expected to survive vacuum as all the volatiles in the grease
boiled away, among other issues. Heinlein worked on pressure suits
during WWII and so likely was familiar with the issues, (such
familiarity showing up again in HSSWT.)

Note that the bicycles had originally been manufactured for use on
the moon, and so were necessarily vacuum compatible in terms of
design and materials.

Heinlein had recognized the nuances of vacuum engineering four years
earlier in _Gentlemen be Seated_ where a construction supervisor
on a lunar tunnel states to a visiting reporter that elastomers
used on Earth do not work in vacuum.

Peter Wezeman
anti-social Darwinist

[J. Clarke]

On Mon, 16 Jul 2018 11:34:15 -0700, lal_truckee

Post by lal_truckee

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
Something similar in Heinlein's _The Rolling Stones_. Castor and
Pollux have brought along a load of second-hand bicycles to sell
on Mars, but for I forget what reason they have to be jettisoned.
So they bundle them all together and *just barely* shove them
loose from the ship. The bicycles accompany the ship all the way
to Mars orbit, where the boys are able to retrieve them.

IIRC, the twins needed pressurized work space for bicycle fleet
refurbishment. The bikes otherwise were moved outboard to provide such
space.
Heinlein mentions refurbishing the bikes, and arranging for them to
tag-along during free orbit, but doesn't mention how the bike fleet
would be expected to survive vacuum as all the volatiles in the grease
boiled away, among other issues. Heinlein worked on pressure suits
during WWII and so likely was familiar with the issues, (such
familiarity showing up again in HSSWT.)

This was aboard a nuclear powered space ship that was old enough that
an individual could buy it on a used-spaceship lot. I suspect that
with humans working in space that long, lubrication in vacuum would be
a non-issue, especially considering that the bicycles in question had
previously been in service on the Moon.

Post by lal_truckee
I suppose fore planning might provide a bunch of pressure-tight sacks,
and some Dewar bottles full of liquid nitrogen, but whether such a
solution would be sufficient...
At least Heinlein did tip his hat at the engineering and science
occasionally.

[p***@hotmail.com]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Kevrob
I'm trying to remember the source that taught me that on a
space craft or space station, just pitching trash out the
airlock isn't enough. Unless the ship changes trajectory,
or the garbage is accelerated into another one, it will follow
you until you make an engine burn. Perhaps the speculation about
the "fireflies" John Glenn saw on the Friendship 7 mission,
thought to be frost flakes on the capsule dislodging?

Something similar in Heinlein's _The Rolling Stones_. Castor and
Pollux have brought along a load of second-hand bicycles to sell
on Mars, but for I forget what reason they have to be jettisoned.
So they bundle them all together and *just barely* shove them
loose from the ship. The bicycles accompany the ship all the way
to Mars orbit, where the boys are able to retrieve them. Their
get-rich-quick scheme doesn't pan out, however, because Mars has
tariffs that would turn Trump green with envy.

There was a disease outbreak on the passenger liner War God that had
used the same launch window as the Rolling Stone. The liner's
physician was dead or disabled from the epidemic so Dr. Stone had
to be transferred to the War God to render aid, which required the
Rolling Stone to alter its trajectory and match orbits. The twins
had strung the bikes outside so they could use the cargo hold as
a workshop and there was no time to re-stow them. Realizing that the
bicycles were on course for Mars, on the chance that they could be
recovered the twins rigged up a radar corner reflector and attached
it to the bikes along with a note that the cargo was in free transit
by intention and not subject to salvage.

Peter Wezeman
anti-social Darwinist

[a***@yahoo.com]

Post by Kevrob
An episode of the TV sitcom The Courtship of Eddie's Father,"
starring Bill Bixby (Tim O'Hara, David {Robert} Bruce Banner) had
his pal Norman, who invented "bachelor salad" - half a head of
lettuce, with salad dressing poured on it, eaten over the sink.
No dishes to wash! {Not an sf series, except Eddie's dad was
named Tom Corbett!}

A couple of weeks ago, I had a "wedge salad" which was half a head of lettuce with bacon tomato and ranch dressing. It was on a plate.

[Kevrob]

Post by a***@yahoo.com

Post by Kevrob
An episode of the TV sitcom The Courtship of Eddie's Father,"
starring Bill Bixby (Tim O'Hara, David {Robert} Bruce Banner) had
his pal Norman, who invented "bachelor salad" - half a head of
lettuce, with salad dressing poured on it, eaten over the sink.
No dishes to wash! {Not an sf series, except Eddie's dad was
named Tom Corbett!}

A couple of weeks ago, I had a "wedge salad" which was half a head of lettuce with bacon tomato and ranch dressing. It was on a plate.

Oh, that was popular at chain steakhouses I went to in the 70s.
Anybody remember a NY area chain called "Steak & Brew"? It
went under, but re-emerged as Beefteak Charlie's.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beefsteak_Charlie%27s

In the days of the drinking age of 18 years, S&B in our
town had a reputation about being lax about carding your
table when a pitcher of beer was brought. One 18-yr-old
senior at the table, or good fake IDs, and you could have
a meal and get snockered.

Kevin R

[m***@sky.com]

Post by p***@hotmail.com
A few weeks ago TCM was running a series of movies starring Jack Lemon,
including Billy Wilder's 1960 multi-Oscar winner (including best picture)
_The Apartment_, where Lemon played bachelor and corporate climber
Baxter. I happened to tune in at the famous scene where he is using
a tennis racket to strain spaghetti, to the amusement of his guest
Fran, played by Shirley MacLaine.

...

ObSF - in Chapter 4 of "Memory" when Miles has to buy and prepare his own food for the first time and buys ready-meals.

He gathered up his spoils and took them down to the checkout, where the clerk looked him up and down with a peculiar smile. He braced himself inwardly for some snide remark,_Ah, mutant?_ He should have worn his ImpSec uniform; nobody dared sneer at that Horus-eye winking from the collar. But what she said was "Ah, Bachelor?"
(end quote)

Although a bachelor, I am too worried about my health to do anything too weird. I will observe that the microwave oven has made bachelor cooking a lot easier - almost everything I eat cooked has been prepared with either one or two five-minute bursts in the microwave. It has also changed life for those too frail for traditional cooking - at least one of the UK's "meals on wheels" services is being phased out, as people can now use microwaves to heat up pre-prepared meals - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-43583267 (I don't buy ready-meals as I think they are expensive and not very healthy but I still cook with a microwave)

[Dorothy J Heydt]

Post by m***@sky.com

Post by p***@hotmail.com
A few weeks ago TCM was running a series of movies starring Jack Lemon,
including Billy Wilder's 1960 multi-Oscar winner (including best picture)
_The Apartment_, where Lemon played bachelor and corporate climber
Baxter. I happened to tune in at the famous scene where he is using
a tennis racket to strain spaghetti, to the amusement of his guest
Fran, played by Shirley MacLaine.

...
ObSF - in Chapter 4 of "Memory" when Miles has to buy and prepare his
own food for the first time and buys ready-meals.
He gathered up his spoils and took them down to the checkout, where the
clerk looked him up and down with a peculiar smile. He braced himself
inwardly for some snide remark,_Ah, mutant?_ He should have worn his
ImpSec uniform; nobody dared sneer at that Horus-eye winking from the
collar. But what she said was "Ah, Bachelor?"
(end quote)
Although a bachelor, I am too worried about my health to do anything too
weird. I will observe that the microwave oven has made bachelor cooking
a lot easier - almost everything I eat cooked has been prepared with
either one or two five-minute bursts in the microwave. It has also
changed life for those too frail for traditional cooking - at least one
of the UK's "meals on wheels" services is being phased out, as people
can now use microwaves to heat up pre-prepared meals -
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-43583267 (I don't buy ready-meals
as I think they are expensive and not very healthy but I still cook with
a microwave)

And I've already mentioned the induction hotplate that I can't
use because of the pacemaker, so Hal has to. There is a
perfectly good kitchen upstairs ... up seventeen stairs, and I'd
rather not go up there if I don't have to.

[David DeLaney]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
And I've already mentioned the induction hotplate that I can't
use because of the pacemaker, so Hal has to. There is a
perfectly good kitchen upstairs ... up seventeen stairs, and I'd
rather not go up there if I don't have to.

I'll note that now that microwaves are a mostly-perfected tech, I don't think
"fill a pan halfway with water, heat on stove for a while till boiling, drop
hotdogs in, wait, fish hotdogs carefully out onto a plate, dispose of boiling
hotdog-water, wash pan & dry, ..." counts as 'simplest' any more.

Dave, yes, in the microwave they swell & pop. I donut know of a downside tho.

[Peter Trei]

Post by David DeLaney

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
And I've already mentioned the induction hotplate that I can't
use because of the pacemaker, so Hal has to. There is a
perfectly good kitchen upstairs ... up seventeen stairs, and I'd
rather not go up there if I don't have to.

I'll note that now that microwaves are a mostly-perfected tech, I don't think
"fill a pan halfway with water, heat on stove for a while till boiling, drop
hotdogs in, wait, fish hotdogs carefully out onto a plate, dispose of boiling
hotdog-water, wash pan & dry, ..." counts as 'simplest' any more.
Dave, yes, in the microwave they swell & pop. I donut know of a downside tho.

I hate boiled hotdogs. I dislike microwaved ones. Grilling is best, followed
by cooking in a frying pan.

Gotta love that Maillard reaction.

pt

[Jaimie Vandenbergh]

On Wed, 18 Jul 2018 05:56:02 -0700 (PDT), Peter Trei

Post by Peter Trei

Post by David DeLaney

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
And I've already mentioned the induction hotplate that I can't
use because of the pacemaker, so Hal has to. There is a
perfectly good kitchen upstairs ... up seventeen stairs, and I'd
rather not go up there if I don't have to.

I'll note that now that microwaves are a mostly-perfected tech, I don't think
"fill a pan halfway with water, heat on stove for a while till boiling, drop
hotdogs in, wait, fish hotdogs carefully out onto a plate, dispose of boiling
hotdog-water, wash pan & dry, ..." counts as 'simplest' any more.
Dave, yes, in the microwave they swell & pop. I donut know of a downside tho.

I hate boiled hotdogs. I dislike microwaved ones. Grilling is best, followed
by cooking in a frying pan.
Gotta love that Maillard reaction.

Burnt crunchy bits are one of the four major food groups.

Cheers - Jaimie

[J. Clarke]

On Wed, 18 Jul 2018 07:35:30 -0500, David DeLaney

Post by David DeLaney

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
And I've already mentioned the induction hotplate that I can't
use because of the pacemaker, so Hal has to. There is a
perfectly good kitchen upstairs ... up seventeen stairs, and I'd
rather not go up there if I don't have to.

I'll note that now that microwaves are a mostly-perfected tech, I don't think
"fill a pan halfway with water, heat on stove for a while till boiling, drop
hotdogs in, wait, fish hotdogs carefully out onto a plate, dispose of boiling
hotdog-water, wash pan & dry, ..." counts as 'simplest' any more.
Dave, yes, in the microwave they swell & pop. I donut know of a downside tho.

Wrap in a paper towel and it cuts down on the swell and pop.

[Ahasuerus]

On Sunday, July 15, 2018 at 2:35:59 AM UTC-4, ***@hotmail.com wrote:
[snip-snip]

Post by p***@hotmail.com
I would be interested in other non-traditional ways of performing
household tasks, either from science fiction or from real life.

"Mr. Smith returns to his chamber. Where the bed stood in the morning
a table all spread comes up through the floor. For Mr. Smith, being
above all a practical man, has reduced the problem of existence to its
simplest terms. For him, instead of the endless suites of apartments
of the olden time, one room fitted with ingenious mechanical
contrivances is enough. Here he sleeps, takes his meals, in short,
lives."

...

"... like all wealthy folk in our day, Mr. Smith has done away with
the domestic kitchen and is a subscriber to the Grand Alimentation
Company, which sends through a great network of tubes to subscribers'
residences all sorts of dishes, as a varied assortment is always in
readiness."

...

"I am tired out, Doctor, quite tired out! Do you not think that a bath
would refresh me?"

"Certainly. But you must wrap yourself up well before you go out into
the hall-way. You must not expose yourself to cold."

"Hall-way? Why, Doctor, as you well know, everything is done by
machinery here. It is not for me to go to the bath; the bath will come
to me. Just look!" and he pressed a button. After a few seconds a faint
rumbling was heard, which grew louder and louder. Suddenly the door
opened, and the tub appeared."

From "In the Year 2889" (1889) first published as by Jules Verne, but
believed to be primarily the work of Michel Verne -- see
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19362/19362-h/19362-h.htm

[Dorothy J Heydt]

Post by Ahasuerus
[snip-snip]

Post by p***@hotmail.com
I would be interested in other non-traditional ways of performing
household tasks, either from science fiction or from real life.

"Mr. Smith returns to his chamber. Where the bed stood in the morning
a table all spread comes up through the floor. For Mr. Smith, being
above all a practical man, has reduced the problem of existence to its
simplest terms. For him, instead of the endless suites of apartments
of the olden time, one room fitted with ingenious mechanical
contrivances is enough. Here he sleeps, takes his meals, in short,
lives."

Reminds me of the opening sequence in _An American in Paris,_ in
which Gene Kelly wakes up in his tiny efficiency apartment, and
puts away the nighttime items (bed, etc.) and brings in the
daytime items (washbasin, etc.) with a touch of hand, foot, or
whatever is within reach. He's *dancing* with the room, and of
course he was very good at it.

[Ahasuerus]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Ahasuerus
[snip-snip]

Post by p***@hotmail.com
I would be interested in other non-traditional ways of performing
household tasks, either from science fiction or from real life.

"Mr. Smith returns to his chamber. Where the bed stood in the morning
a table all spread comes up through the floor. For Mr. Smith, being
above all a practical man, has reduced the problem of existence to its
simplest terms. For him, instead of the endless suites of apartments
of the olden time, one room fitted with ingenious mechanical
contrivances is enough. Here he sleeps, takes his meals, in short,
lives."

Reminds me of the opening sequence in _An American in Paris,_ in
which Gene Kelly wakes up in his tiny efficiency apartment, and
puts away the nighttime items (bed, etc.) and brings in the
daytime items (washbasin, etc.) with a touch of hand, foot, or
whatever is within reach. He's *dancing* with the room, and of
course he was very good at it.

The Murphy bed has been a comedy staple since... let's see.
Apparently since Chaplin's _One A.M._ (1916) at the latest.

[Dorothy J Heydt]

Post by Ahasuerus

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Ahasuerus
[snip-snip]

Post by p***@hotmail.com
I would be interested in other non-traditional ways of performing
household tasks, either from science fiction or from real life.

"Mr. Smith returns to his chamber. Where the bed stood in the morning
a table all spread comes up through the floor. For Mr. Smith, being
above all a practical man, has reduced the problem of existence to its
simplest terms. For him, instead of the endless suites of apartments
of the olden time, one room fitted with ingenious mechanical
contrivances is enough. Here he sleeps, takes his meals, in short,
lives."

Reminds me of the opening sequence in _An American in Paris,_ in
which Gene Kelly wakes up in his tiny efficiency apartment, and
puts away the nighttime items (bed, etc.) and brings in the
daytime items (washbasin, etc.) with a touch of hand, foot, or
whatever is within reach. He's *dancing* with the room, and of
course he was very good at it.

The Murphy bed has been a comedy staple since... let's see.
Apparently since Chaplin's _One A.M._ (1916) at the latest.

Right.

I actually had a Murphy bed, or something along the same line, in
my first apartment. But IIRC (too lazy to get out the DVD and
watch the first scene of _AMiP_), Kelly's bed rose up into the
ceiling and out of frame. Which would work nicely, particularly
if his tiny pad had been cut out of a large Victorian-era house
with high ceilings.

[Lawrence Watt-Evans]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Ahasuerus

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
Reminds me of the opening sequence in _An American in Paris,_ in
which Gene Kelly wakes up in his tiny efficiency apartment, and
puts away the nighttime items (bed, etc.) and brings in the
daytime items (washbasin, etc.) with a touch of hand, foot, or
whatever is within reach. He's *dancing* with the room, and of
course he was very good at it.

The Murphy bed has been a comedy staple since... let's see.
Apparently since Chaplin's _One A.M._ (1916) at the latest.

Right.
I actually had a Murphy bed, or something along the same line, in
my first apartment. But IIRC (too lazy to get out the DVD and
watch the first scene of _AMiP_), Kelly's bed rose up into the
ceiling and out of frame. Which would work nicely, particularly
if his tiny pad had been cut out of a large Victorian-era house
with high ceilings.

One of my sisters had a bed like that in her tiny apartment in New
York's West Village. The apartment had once been part of a much
larger luxury apartment and had fourteen-foot ceilings, so hanging
furniture overhead until needed made a lot of sense.

[Ted Nolan <tednolan>]

Post by Lawrence Watt-Evans

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Ahasuerus

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
Reminds me of the opening sequence in _An American in Paris,_ in
which Gene Kelly wakes up in his tiny efficiency apartment, and
puts away the nighttime items (bed, etc.) and brings in the
daytime items (washbasin, etc.) with a touch of hand, foot, or
whatever is within reach. He's *dancing* with the room, and of
course he was very good at it.

The Murphy bed has been a comedy staple since... let's see.
Apparently since Chaplin's _One A.M._ (1916) at the latest.

Right.
I actually had a Murphy bed, or something along the same line, in
my first apartment. But IIRC (too lazy to get out the DVD and
watch the first scene of _AMiP_), Kelly's bed rose up into the
ceiling and out of frame. Which would work nicely, particularly
if his tiny pad had been cut out of a large Victorian-era house
with high ceilings.

One of my sisters had a bed like that in her tiny apartment in New
York's West Village. The apartment had once been part of a much
larger luxury apartment and had fourteen-foot ceilings, so hanging
furniture overhead until needed made a lot of sense.

Two thoughts:

1) It makes a hash of mythology. It's supposed to be the bed of Procrustes,
not Damocles.

2) I don't want anything with Murphy in the name hanging over my head.

[Lawrence Watt-Evans]

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>

Post by Lawrence Watt-Evans

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Ahasuerus

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
Reminds me of the opening sequence in _An American in Paris,_ in
which Gene Kelly wakes up in his tiny efficiency apartment, and
puts away the nighttime items (bed, etc.) and brings in the
daytime items (washbasin, etc.) with a touch of hand, foot, or
whatever is within reach. He's *dancing* with the room, and of
course he was very good at it.

The Murphy bed has been a comedy staple since... let's see.
Apparently since Chaplin's _One A.M._ (1916) at the latest.

Right.
I actually had a Murphy bed, or something along the same line, in
my first apartment. But IIRC (too lazy to get out the DVD and
watch the first scene of _AMiP_), Kelly's bed rose up into the
ceiling and out of frame. Which would work nicely, particularly
if his tiny pad had been cut out of a large Victorian-era house
with high ceilings.

One of my sisters had a bed like that in her tiny apartment in New
York's West Village. The apartment had once been part of a much
larger luxury apartment and had fourteen-foot ceilings, so hanging
furniture overhead until needed made a lot of sense.

1) It makes a hash of mythology. It's supposed to be the bed of Procrustes,
not Damocles.

I don't think the folks who built 55 Perry Street were very concerned
with mythological accuracy.

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>
2) I don't want anything with Murphy in the name hanging over my head.

Technically, it's not a Murphy bed, it's a loft bed.

[Adamastor Glace Mortimer]

Post by Lawrence Watt-Evans

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>

Post by Lawrence Watt-Evans

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Ahasuerus

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
Reminds me of the opening sequence in _An American in Paris,_ in
which Gene Kelly wakes up in his tiny efficiency apartment, and
puts away the nighttime items (bed, etc.) and brings in the
daytime items (washbasin, etc.) with a touch of hand, foot, or
whatever is within reach. He's *dancing* with the room, and of
course he was very good at it.

The Murphy bed has been a comedy staple since... let's see.
Apparently since Chaplin's _One A.M._ (1916) at the latest.

Right.
I actually had a Murphy bed, or something along the same line, in
my first apartment. But IIRC (too lazy to get out the DVD and
watch the first scene of _AMiP_), Kelly's bed rose up into the
ceiling and out of frame. Which would work nicely, particularly
if his tiny pad had been cut out of a large Victorian-era house
with high ceilings.

One of my sisters had a bed like that in her tiny apartment in New
York's West Village. The apartment had once been part of a much
larger luxury apartment and had fourteen-foot ceilings, so hanging
furniture overhead until needed made a lot of sense.

1) It makes a hash of mythology. It's supposed to be the bed of Procrustes,
not Damocles.

I don't think the folks who built 55 Perry Street were very concerned
with mythological accuracy. ....

Oh! I wonder if I knew your sister? It would have been quite a
while ago.

I also remember apartments that had a bathrub in the kitchen, but
those were on the lower east side rather than the lower west side.


Adamastor Glace Mortimer

[Lawrence Watt-Evans]

On Wed, 18 Jul 2018 18:52:36 +0200 (CEST), Adamastor Glace Mortimer

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA512

Post by Lawrence Watt-Evans

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>

Post by Lawrence Watt-Evans

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Ahasuerus

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
Reminds me of the opening sequence in _An American in Paris,_ in
which Gene Kelly wakes up in his tiny efficiency apartment, and
puts away the nighttime items (bed, etc.) and brings in the
daytime items (washbasin, etc.) with a touch of hand, foot, or
whatever is within reach. He's *dancing* with the room, and of
course he was very good at it.

The Murphy bed has been a comedy staple since... let's see.
Apparently since Chaplin's _One A.M._ (1916) at the latest.

Right.
I actually had a Murphy bed, or something along the same line, in
my first apartment. But IIRC (too lazy to get out the DVD and
watch the first scene of _AMiP_), Kelly's bed rose up into the
ceiling and out of frame. Which would work nicely, particularly
if his tiny pad had been cut out of a large Victorian-era house
with high ceilings.

One of my sisters had a bed like that in her tiny apartment in New
York's West Village. The apartment had once been part of a much
larger luxury apartment and had fourteen-foot ceilings, so hanging
furniture overhead until needed made a lot of sense.

1) It makes a hash of mythology. It's supposed to be the bed of Procrustes,
not Damocles.

I don't think the folks who built 55 Perry Street were very concerned
with mythological accuracy. ....

Oh! I wonder if I knew your sister? It would have been quite a
while ago.

She lived there in the 1970s -- don't remember exactly which years.
Possibly into the early '80s. Corner apartment on (I think) the second
floor, overlooking 4th Street. (Might've been the third floor. It's
been awhile and I only visited there twice.)

Her name was Jody Evans, and she was living with a guy named Karl;
right now I don't remember his last name.

I also remember apartments that had a bathrub in the kitchen, but
those were on the lower east side rather than the lower west side.
Adamastor Glace Mortimer

[Greg Goss]

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
Kelly's bed rose up into the
ceiling and out of frame. Which would work nicely, particularly
if his tiny pad had been cut out of a large Victorian-era house
with high ceilings.

2) I don't want anything with Murphy in the name hanging over my head.

I once lived about ten miles downstream from the proposed Murphy's
hydro dam.

The Murphy Creek Project is almost completely forgotten these days.
There's a half-paragraph mention on page 101 of
https://www.ordersdecisions.bcuc.com/bcuc/decisions/en/112107/1/document.do

(The Keenlyside powerhouse also mentioned in that paragraph did get
built.)

[Peter Trei]

Post by Greg Goss

Post by Ted Nolan <tednolan>

Post by Dorothy J Heydt
Kelly's bed rose up into the
ceiling and out of frame. Which would work nicely, particularly
if his tiny pad had been cut out of a large Victorian-era house
with high ceilings.

2) I don't want anything with Murphy in the name hanging over my head.

I once lived about ten miles downstream from the proposed Murphy's
hydro dam.
The Murphy Creek Project is almost completely forgotten these days.
There's a half-paragraph mention on page 101 of
https://www.ordersdecisions.bcuc.com/bcuc/decisions/en/112107/1/document.do
(The Keenlyside powerhouse also mentioned in that paragraph did get
built.)

I visited Disneyworld earlier this year, and we stayed at one of the budget
hotel complexes (Pop Century). The rooms were designed on the assumption that
families would be staying in them, and included a Murphy bed in
addition to the main bed.

pt

[Greg Goss]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Ahasuerus
The Murphy bed has been a comedy staple since... let's see.
Apparently since Chaplin's _One A.M._ (1916) at the latest.

Right.
I actually had a Murphy bed, or something along the same line, in
my first apartment. But IIRC (too lazy to get out the DVD and
watch the first scene of _AMiP_), Kelly's bed rose up into the
ceiling and out of frame. Which would work nicely, particularly
if his tiny pad had been cut out of a large Victorian-era house
with high ceilings.

A friend of mine bought a 430 square foot apartment while it was under
construction. The plan was for a murphy bed. But he had them build a
computer den up two or three stairs (leaving a very low ceiling for
someone as tall as me.) The computer den looked out over the living
room (or rather you could spin your chair and look at the LR.). The
queen bed would be pulled out from under the computer den to occupy
most of the living room.

He had electric blinds on the floor-to-ceiling windows of the LR but
there were no other such buildings particularly close. I don't know
if other buildings blocked his view of Vancouver's Stanley Park or
looked in on his bed later.

[p***@hotmail.com]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Ahasuerus
"Mr. Smith returns to his chamber. Where the bed stood in the morning
a table all spread comes up through the floor. For Mr. Smith, being
above all a practical man, has reduced the problem of existence to its
simplest terms. For him, instead of the endless suites of apartments
of the olden time, one room fitted with ingenious mechanical
contrivances is enough. Here he sleeps, takes his meals, in short,
lives."

Reminds me of the opening sequence in _An American in Paris,_ in
which Gene Kelly wakes up in his tiny efficiency apartment, and
puts away the nighttime items (bed, etc.) and brings in the
daytime items (washbasin, etc.) with a touch of hand, foot, or
whatever is within reach. He's *dancing* with the room, and of
course he was very good at it.

TCM ran _An American in Paris_ and I was able to see this.
It is a remarkable example of choreography; just 45 seconds
elapse from the moment Gene Kelly starts hoisting the loft bed
to when the apartment is fully reconfigured for daytime use.

As it happens, today's issue of the _Wall Street Journal_ has
an article about a current revival of Murphy beds. This is not
surprising when you consider the interest in small houses
and apartments.

Peter Wezeman
anti-social Darwinist

[Ted Nolan <tednolan>]

Post by p***@hotmail.com

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Ahasuerus
"Mr. Smith returns to his chamber. Where the bed stood in the morning
a table all spread comes up through the floor. For Mr. Smith, being
above all a practical man, has reduced the problem of existence to its
simplest terms. For him, instead of the endless suites of apartments
of the olden time, one room fitted with ingenious mechanical
contrivances is enough. Here he sleeps, takes his meals, in short,
lives."

Reminds me of the opening sequence in _An American in Paris,_ in
which Gene Kelly wakes up in his tiny efficiency apartment, and
puts away the nighttime items (bed, etc.) and brings in the
daytime items (washbasin, etc.) with a touch of hand, foot, or
whatever is within reach. He's *dancing* with the room, and of
course he was very good at it.

TCM ran _An American in Paris_ and I was able to see this.
It is a remarkable example of choreography; just 45 seconds
elapse from the moment Gene Kelly starts hoisting the loft bed
to when the apartment is fully reconfigured for daytime use.
As it happens, today's issue of the _Wall Street Journal_ has
an article about a current revival of Murphy beds. This is not
surprising when you consider the interest in small houses
and apartments.

I prefer the redesign Daffy Duck did to Elmer Fudd's house..

Never pwess the wed one!

[Dorothy J Heydt]

Post by p***@hotmail.com

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by Ahasuerus
"Mr. Smith returns to his chamber. Where the bed stood in the morning
a table all spread comes up through the floor. For Mr. Smith, being
above all a practical man, has reduced the problem of existence to its
simplest terms. For him, instead of the endless suites of apartments
of the olden time, one room fitted with ingenious mechanical
contrivances is enough. Here he sleeps, takes his meals, in short,
lives."

Reminds me of the opening sequence in _An American in Paris,_ in
which Gene Kelly wakes up in his tiny efficiency apartment, and
puts away the nighttime items (bed, etc.) and brings in the
daytime items (washbasin, etc.) with a touch of hand, foot, or
whatever is within reach. He's *dancing* with the room, and of
course he was very good at it.

TCM ran _An American in Paris_ and I was able to see this.
It is a remarkable example of choreography; just 45 seconds
elapse from the moment Gene Kelly starts hoisting the loft bed
to when the apartment is fully reconfigured for daytime use.
As it happens, today's issue of the _Wall Street Journal_ has
an article about a current revival of Murphy beds. This is not
surprising when you consider the interest in small houses
and apartments.

I had an apartment with a Murphy bed once. After rising from the
horizontal to the vertical position, it could be rotated 180
degrees on a vertical axis, hiding it behind a wall in a largish
cloest that ran the full width of the room. So if I put it up
but didn't rotate it, I had a lot more closet space.

[Greg Goss]

Post by Dorothy J Heydt

Post by p***@hotmail.com
As it happens, today's issue of the _Wall Street Journal_ has
an article about a current revival of Murphy beds. This is not
surprising when you consider the interest in small houses
and apartments.

I had an apartment with a Murphy bed once. After rising from the
horizontal to the vertical position, it could be rotated 180
degrees on a vertical axis, hiding it behind a wall in a largish
cloest that ran the full width of the room. So if I put it up
but didn't rotate it, I had a lot more closet space.

A friend had a micro apartment once. He had his computer office on a
platform at the back of the living room. You would flip open a panel
and the queen bed would roll out from under it.

[p***@hotmail.com]

Post by p***@hotmail.com
A few weeks ago TCM was running a series of movies starring Jack Lemon,
including Billy Wilder's 1960 multi-Oscar winner (including best picture)
_The Apartment_, where Lemon played bachelor and corporate climber
Baxter. I happened to tune in at the famous scene where he is using
a tennis racket to strain spaghetti, to the amusement of his guest
Fran, played by Shirley MacLaine.
Many years ago this was used as an intro for a humorous article in
_Reader's Digest_ about interesting ways that bachelors have devised
to do various household tasks. The author claimed that he had a
friend who used his fencing mask to strain spaghetti, and he
himself used a strip of window screen.
Another trick that I remember was the author's way of making ice
cubes, or rather ice chunks. Modern plastic ice cube trays are
flexible, and each compartment has angled walls so that if you
hold the tray upside down and twist it the ice cubes will drop
free. Back in 1960 ice cube trays were made of aluminum with a
single large watertight compartment, divided up by a separate
aluminum grid to form smaller spaces for the individual ice cubes.
Once the water was frozen, you pulled a lever attached to the grid
and this would theoretically tilt each of the cross partitions
slightly and free up the ice cubes. In practice the ice could
bind to the rather flimsy partition structure and make this difficult.
The author would simply use the ice cube tray without the partitions.
The resulting slab of ice would pop free of the tray with just a
slight tap, and he would stab it into appropriately sized chunks
with a Japanese commando knife he'd brought back from World War 2.
Innovative domestic techniques devised by bachelors have appeared
in science fiction stories. In Robert Heinlein's short novel
_Waldo_ the title character has myesthemia gravis and lives
in his own space station in free fall. When his physician friend
visits and they have dinner together, Waldo is shown eating his
steak with a surgical shears and a pair of forceps.
I would be interested in other non-traditional ways of performing
household tasks, either from science fiction or from real life.

Several years ago, the cause of problems with using a microwave oven to prepare
tea or coffee was publicized in mass media, specifically erratic water temperature.
With a conventional teapot or kettle, a heating element or stove burner heats the water
from the bottom, and convection distributes the heat fairly evenly, so when a kettle or
teapot steams or whistles the entire volume of water is at local boiling temperature.
In contrast, microwaves penetrate water to a limited extent, preferentially delivering
energy to the upper, lower, and side surfaces of the water. When bubbles of steam are
first seen, the average temperature of the water is significantly below boiling.

Taking note of this, I now keep a dial-type meat thermometer on a saucer on top of the
microwave oven. When I am reheating coffee, typically with milk, I make an educated
guess as to the required microwave time, and then use the thermometer to first stir
the coffee and then check that the temperature is at least 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
A digital thermometer might be faster but I have tried a few brands of inexpensive
dial instruments and found one that is easy to see even without my glasses and
gives a reading within fifteen seconds.

Peter Wezeman
anti-social Darwinist