8 Jun
2008
8 Jun
'08
2 p.m.
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 2008 15:57:29 -0700 (PDT)
From: Chris M
I arguably my first vintage computer invaded by
apparently teeny tiny critters once! I had the box, a
TI PC, stuck in my parked van for a winter anyhow.
Thank your lucky stars that you didn't suffer the fate of one of our
customers several years ago. He'd pulled out his Zorba from storage,
opened the door of the A: drive and was bitten by several irritated
brown recluse spiders that had decided to call his luggable "home".
Out of curiosity, does anyone take any sort of precautions when
rescuing an old piece of equipment that's been in storage for awhile?
I can imagine that if brown recluse spiders can feel at home inside a
computer, black widow spiders also would, not to mention cockroaches,
etc.
If you're going to fumigate a piece of equipment, what's the least
destructive (to the equipment) fumigant?
Cheers,
Chuck
8 Jun
8 Jun
4:01 p.m.
Chuck Guzis wrote:
If you're going to fumigate a piece of equipment,
what's the least
destructive (to the equipment) fumigant?
CO2 would be the obvious answer, though I'm not sure if it'd be as harmful to
insects as it is to other, larger critters. Put the kit in question in a thick
plastic bag, force all the oxygen out with carbon dioxide or similar, and
leave it for a while. Should certainly get rid of rodents, though insects
might take a wee bit longer.
Pesticide wise... no idea. Some types of fly spray certainly don't get on well
with plastics.....
--
Phil.
classiccmp at philpem.me.uk
http://www.philpem.me.uk/
6:58 p.m.
On Sunday 08 June 2008 16:01, Philip Pemberton wrote:
Chuck Guzis wrote:
Sure does work on insects, this is a pretty common technique for folks that
want to store grain for long term, put a bag liner inside of a 5 gallon
bucket, drop a chunk of dry ice in there and after it sublimates close up
the bag. :-)
--
Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and
ablest -- form of life in this section of space, ?a critter that can
be killed but can't be tamed. ?--Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters"
-
Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James
M Dakin
If you're going to fumigate a piece of
equipment, what's the least
destructive (to the equipment) fumigant?
CO2 would be the obvious answer, though I'm not sure if it'd be as harmful
to insects as it is to other, larger critters. Put the kit in question in a
thick plastic bag, force all the oxygen out with carbon dioxide or similar,
and leave it for a while. Should certainly get rid of rodents, though
insects might take a wee bit longer. 
4:03 p.m.
--- Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com> wrote:
I had a friend who was bitten by one. Off went his
pinky (he was claustrophobic and refused to sit in
the, uh, hyperbolic chamber, oi IIRC, which would have
conceivably saved it. Don't ask me, I'm just relating
what he told me.
Date: Thu, 5
Jun 2008 15:57:29 -0700 (PDT)
From: Chris M
I arguably my first vintage computer invaded by
apparently teeny tiny critters once! I had the
box, a
TI PC, stuck in my parked van for a winter
anyhow.
Thank your lucky stars that you didn't suffer the
fate of one of our
customers several years ago. He'd pulled out his
Zorba from storage,
opened the door of the A: drive and was bitten by
several irritated
brown recluse spiders that had decided to call his
luggable "home". Out of curiosity, does anyone take any sort of
precautions when
rescuing an old piece of equipment that's been in
storage for awhile?
I can imagine that if brown recluse spiders can feel
at home inside a
computer, black widow spiders also would, not to
mention cockroaches,
etc.
So no one even wants to warrant a guess as to what
was living in mine? Shredded paper and insulation (the
van was originally my brother's - not exactly a 70's
relic but close - no brown panelling but there were
boards screwed along the inside (w/insutlation behind)
- to hang pictures maybe??? LOL LOL LOL LOL!
If you're going to fumigate a piece of equipment,
what's the least
destructive (to the equipment) fumigant?
Presumably if it's not going to remain on the
circuitry or components very long, not likely that
those types of chemicals would hurt it. I've tossed
keyboards in reasonably strong ammonia solutions, so I
wouldn't get too concerned about *bug juice*. Of
course I hear the stuff that's commonly available on
the left coast, ironically, is stronger then what the
layman can buy off the shelf here in NJ for instance.
Ok, but this does entail a subsequent wash down.
Perhaps a better approach would be to leave the piece
of equipment out in the blazing sun for a bit until
it's too uncomfortable for anything to remain.
Probably not the best idea if a magnetic disk is
involved, but 1/2 - 1 hour in the sun isn't likely too
damage circuity. I wouldn't think.
Removing a mobo in most cases into that big a deal.
I've had to do even back in oh 1990 when my T2K was
acting funky. Pulled it out (had lots of experience
doing that anyway, was constantly taking it apart -
probably why it got funky to begin with), pulled all
the socketed chips (BUT LEFT THEM ADJACENT TO THEIR
SOCKETS) and sprayed the whole thing down w/some
solution I bought from Radio Shack. Let it dry, put it
all back together, and it ran like a charm. For a
while. Did another wash down not too long after -
probably didn't let it dry long enought that time
though. It was as flakey as ever :(. Eventually tossed
it.
9 Jun
9 Jun
11:54 a.m.
On 08/06/2008 21:03, Chris M wrote:
--- Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com> wrote:
I had a friend who was bitten by one. Off went his
pinky (he was claustrophobic and refused to sit in
the, uh, hyperbolic chamber,
He probably meant "hyperbaric" -- high pressure, used for such things as
decompression sickness in divers.
So no one even wants to warrant a guess as to what
was living in mine? Shredded paper and insulation
Probably mice. They can get through much smaller gaps than you'd
believe - a fraction of an inch is enough.
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Network Manager
University of York
8 Jun
8 Jun
6:55 p.m.
On Sunday 08 June 2008 14:00, Chuck Guzis wrote:
If you're going to fumigate a piece of equipment,
what's the least
destructive (to the equipment) fumigant?
I have a truck that spends a lot of time sitting around. I used to have a
problem with yellowjackets getting into it and building nests, in some of
the damndest places. And then at one point I got given a jug of "gear oil"
(the sort of stuff you'd put in the rear end "punkin") and it had a hole in
the jug, so I had to be careful how I put it in the back of the truck,
where it's been ever since.
Now you open the rear window on the cap, and the inside of it smells like an
old garage and nary a critter in sight. :-)
--
Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and
ablest -- form of life in this section of space, ?a critter that can
be killed but can't be tamed. ?--Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters"
-
Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James
M Dakin
10 Jun
10 Jun
10:22 a.m.
do you mean differential oil?
--- "Roy J. Tellason" <rtellason at verizon.net> wrote:
And then at one point I got
given a jug of "gear oil"
(the sort of stuff you'd put in the rear end
"punkin") and it had a hole in
the jug, so I had to be careful how I put it in the
back of the truck,
where it's been ever since.
11 Jun
11 Jun
2:22 a.m.
On Tue, 10 Jun 2008, Chris M wrote:
do you mean differential oil?
From whence was it derived?
--
David Griffith
dgriffi at cs.csubak.edu
A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?
11:03 a.m.
On Tuesday 10 June 2008 10:22, Chris M wrote:
do you mean differential oil?
Yeah, though "gear oil" is what it says on the label...
It's pretty heavy stuff, 80W or 90W or something like that.
--- "Roy J. Tellason" <rtellason at
verizon.net> wrote:
And then at one point I got given a jug of "gear oil" (the sort of stuff
you'd put in the rear end "punkin") and it had a hole in the jug, so I
had to be careful how I put it in the back of the truck, where it's been
ever since.
--
Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and
ablest -- form of life in this section of space, ?a critter that can
be killed but can't be tamed. ?--Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters"
-
Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James
M Dakin
2:26 p.m.
New subject: Apple Lisa
Hello, all,
I know of the whereabouts of a known working Apple Lisa computer in my local area. I am
not sure yet what model it is, but it apparently is in very good condition, and works
perfectly. I'm waiting for a response from the owner on the specifics in terms of
what model it is, and what peripherals and accessories are available.
The owner of the machine is trying to figure out what it might be worth. I know that a
Lisa sold on eBay for $10K back in '94, but there just isn't much out there in
terms of sales of such machines.
Anyone out there have any idea what such a machine might be worth on the open market
(e.g., eBay?)
I wish I could get the machine for myself, but my pockets are empty.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Please reply off-list to rickb <At> bensene
<Dot> com
Thanks,
Rick Bensene
The Old Calculator Museum (and some computers too!)
http://oldcalculatormuseum.com
4:54 p.m.
New subject: Apple Lisa
Please apologize for my typo in my original message -- the $10K Lisa sold on eBay in 2004,
not 1994.
Rick Bensene
7:59 p.m.
New subject: Apple Lisa
Reminds me a few years ago an acquaintance showed me a Lisa he had received
from somewhere (long before the $/collectible value
took off).
It was not functional and off-gassing from the NiCd batteries was visibly
corroding one of the main PCBs.
I tried to convince him it would be a good idea to cut the batteries out
promptly, to at least keep things from getting worse til the time he took
a more serious look at restoring it, but he didn't want to remove them.
Don't know what became of the unit.
(Ho hum).
12 Jun
12 Jun
10:04 a.m.
New subject: Apple Lisa
It depends on several factors.
If it's a Lisa 1, it can fetch 10K, if it's a working Lisa 2, anywhere
from $500-$1000 depending on condition and what else
comes with it.
Is there a hard drive? Is it a Widget? Is it a Profile? Is it one
of
the MacWorks compatible-only ones?
Does it have the 3A ROM which lowers its value?
Any (original) software?
Any manuals?
Is the case the original white, or has it yellowed?
Does it have an original mouse, or does it have one of the Mac+ ones?
Does the keyboard have the pull-out cards?
Most importantly, were the NiCAD batteries removed if it's not a 2/10?
If not there could have been a lot of damage from leakage.
see: http://lisafaq.sunder.net/lisafaq-hw-io_batteries.html
Rick Bensene wrote:
Hello, all,
I know of the whereabouts of a known working Apple Lisa computer in my local area. I am
not sure yet what model it is, but it apparently is in very good condition, and works
perfectly. I'm waiting for a response from the owner on the specifics in terms of
what model it is, and what peripherals and accessories are available.
The owner of the machine is trying to figure out what it might be worth. I know that a
Lisa sold on eBay for $10K back in '94, but there just isn't much out there in
terms of sales of such machines.
Anyone out there have any idea what such a machine might be worth on the open market
(e.g., eBay?)
I wish I could get the machine for myself, but my pockets are empty.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Please reply off-list to rickb <At> bensene
<Dot> com
Thanks,
Rick Bensene
The Old Calculator Museum (and some computers too!)
http://oldcalculatormuseum.com
11 Jun
11 Jun
12:30 p.m.
The smell of 90W will keep most critters away, particularly single women.
They now have SYNTHETIC 90W! But they haven't yet mastered how to
synthesize the overwhelming stink.
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin at xenosoft.com
On Tue, 10 Jun 2008, Chris M wrote:
do you mean differential oil?
--- "Roy J. Tellason" <rtellason at verizon.net> wrote:
And then at one point I got
> given a jug of "gear oil"
> (the sort of stuff you'd put in the rear end
> "punkin") and it had a hole in
> the jug, so I had to be careful how I put it in the
> back of the truck,
> where it's been ever since.
8 Jun
8 Jun
8:25 p.m.
From: cclist at sydex.com
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
Date: Sun, 8 Jun 2008 11:00:44 -0700
Subject: Re: invading varmints
---snip---
If you're going to fumigate a piece of equipment, what's the least
destructive (to the equipment) fumigant?
Cheers,
Chuck
Place it in a sealed plastic bag and put it in the oven.
Bake at about 120 to 130F for about 4 hours. Not
much can live through that but the electronics shouldn't
have any issues as long as it is cooled before powering
up.
Dwight
_________________________________________________________________
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9 Jun
9 Jun
9:59 a.m.
Chuck Guzis wrote:
Out of curiosity, does anyone take any sort of
precautions when
rescuing an old piece of equipment that's been in storage for awhile?
I can imagine that if brown recluse spiders can feel at home inside a
computer, black widow spiders also would, not to mention cockroaches,
etc.
I've found fire ants, brown recluses, and one black widow in stored
equipment. The only infestation that ever "got" me was some kind of
sand lice or fleas or something, from a drive tray I picked up on the
Gulf Coast a couple of years ago.
If I suspect critters, I'll put the box in a black trash bag in the
sun for a few hours. That gets pretty warm in the Texas sun, and
anything mobile will try to vacate.
There's also that thing about looking before I stick my fingers in. :)
Doc
8:08 p.m.
Doc Shipley wrote:
If I suspect critters, I'll put the box in a
black trash bag in the
sun for a few hours. That gets pretty warm in the Texas sun, and
anything mobile will try to vacate.
Forgive the daft question, but you do seal the bag (to roast them) or
leave it open (so they escape)?
--
Jim Leonard (trixter at oldskool.org) http://www.oldskool.org/
Help our electronic games project: http://www.mobygames.com/
Or check out some trippy MindCandy at http://www.mindcandydvd.com/
A child borne of the home computer wars: http://trixter.wordpress.com/
10 Jun
10 Jun
11:23 a.m.
Jim Leonard wrote:
Doc Shipley wrote:
Leave it open. I usually put the bag down over the case, if it's
roughly PC or drawer-shaped, and weight the edges at intervals.
Killing bugs down here is like bailing out the ocean with a coffee
mug. I just want them elsewhere before I arrive. :)
Doc
If I suspect critters, I'll put the box in
a black trash bag in the
sun for a few hours. That gets pretty warm in the Texas sun, and
anything mobile will try to vacate.
Forgive the daft question, but you do seal the bag (to roast them) or
leave it open (so they escape)?
1:59 p.m.
--- Doc Shipley <doc at mdrconsult.com> wrote:
Killing bugs down here is like bailing out the
ocean with a coffee
mug. I just want them elsewhere before I arrive.
:)
Besides it's mean! Unless they're real nasty. I think
I would opt to at least trap something like a brown
recluse (if it seemed practical). I have no qualms
about killing skeeters or fleas or ticks though.
Bigger (and less parasitic) bugs are much harder for
me to kill. Yeah as long as they're not bothering me,
I won't bother them *snifful wipe*
5858
days inactive
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19 comments
13 participants
participants (13)
-
cclist＠sydex.com -
chrism3667＠yahoo.com -
cisin＠xenosoft.com -
classiccmp＠philpem.me.uk -
dgriffi＠cs.csubak.edu -
dkelvey＠hotmail.com -
doc＠mdrconsult.com -
hilpert＠cs.ubc.ca -
pete＠dunnington.plus.com -
ray＠arachelian.com -
rickb＠bensene.com -
rtellason＠verizon.net -
trixter＠oldskool.org