29 Mar
2005
29 Mar
'05
5:57 p.m.
I know this could be the start of YET ANOTHER thread "Oh I think
it's older than that..." but to avoid that, let's raise the
standard from opinion/hearsay to printed word.
Man I wish I had a collection of pre-1980 DATAMATIONs!
From _ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COMPUTER SCIENCE_(Van Nostrand), 1976:
KLUDGE
The word "kludge" is a term coined by Jackson Granholm in an
article "How to design a kludge" in _DATAMATION_ (February 1962).
The definition is given as "an ill-sorted collection of poorly
matched parts, forming a distressing whole". The design of every
computer contains some anomalies that prove to be annoying to the
users and wghich the designer wishes he had done differently. If
there are enough of these, the machine is called a "kludge".
By extention, the term has come to be applied to programs,
documentation, and even computer centers, so that the definition
is not "an ill-conceiverd and hence unreliable system that has
accumulated through patchwork, expediancy, and poor planning".
The first kludge article triggered five others ("How to maintain a
kludge", etc) in subsequent issues of _DATAMATION_. Four of the
articles may be found in the book _FAITH, HOPE AND PARITY_ edited
by Josh Moshman, Thompson Book Company, 1966.
-- F. Gruenberger
[Said book found at abebooks...]
29 Mar
29 Mar
6:37 p.m.
Actually the term goes back much further than that. Back in the early
days of flying machines the French were in the forefront of aircraft
design. In the early days the use of a "stick" to control the flying
surfaces used various levers and lines. The French used a system
whereby the "stick" was connected to a bell shaped device with lines
connected to both the forward and aft sides of the bell that
controlled the elevators and lines connected to the right and left
sides of the bell to control the ailerons. When the bell was pushed
forward at the top the forward edge went down and the line was
extended and the rear edge went up, pulling on that line. This
deflected the elevator..etc...etc...
This was a rather unwieldy system to say the least....but hell, what
would you expect from the French?
The French word for "bell" is "cloche" which is pronounced not
un-similarly to kludge. Thus, this word was bastardized by the
Americans and an unwieldy arrangement came to be known as a cloche or
later as a Kludge.
On Tue, 29 Mar 2005 17:57:18 -0800 (PST), Tom Jennings <tomj at wps.com> wrote:
I know this could be the start of YET ANOTHER thread
"Oh I think
it's older than that..." but to avoid that, let's raise the
standard from opinion/hearsay to printed word.
Man I wish I had a collection of pre-1980 DATAMATIONs!
From _ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COMPUTER SCIENCE_(Van Nostrand), 1976:
KLUDGE
The word "kludge" is a term coined by Jackson Granholm in an
article "How to design a kludge" in _DATAMATION_ (February 1962).
The definition is given as "an ill-sorted collection of poorly
matched parts, forming a distressing whole". The design of every
computer contains some anomalies that prove to be annoying to the
users and wghich the designer wishes he had done differently. If
there are enough of these, the machine is called a "kludge".
By extention, the term has come to be applied to programs,
documentation, and even computer centers, so that the definition
is not "an ill-conceiverd and hence unreliable system that has
accumulated through patchwork, expediancy, and poor planning".
The first kludge article triggered five others ("How to maintain a
kludge", etc) in subsequent issues of _DATAMATION_. Four of the
articles may be found in the book _FAITH, HOPE AND PARITY_ edited
by Josh Moshman, Thompson Book Company, 1966.
-- F. Gruenberger
[Said book found at abebooks...]
--
Jim Isbell
"If you are not living on the edge, well then,
you are just taking up too much space."
W5JAI
UltraVan #257
CAL - 27 #221
8:13 p.m.
On Tue, 29 Mar 2005, Jim Isbell, W5JAI wrote:
The French word for "bell" is
"cloche" which is pronounced not
un-similarly to kludge. Thus, this word was bastardized by the
Americans and an unwieldy arrangement came to be known as a cloche or
later as a Kludge.
Interesting. I'd always assumed it was a corruption of some form
of the German word 'kluge' (clever).
8:23 p.m.
On Tue, 29 Mar 2005, Jim Isbell, W5JAI wrote:
Me too. And I've seen a few etymologies/timelines that agree with that, the
'cloche' thing sounds a little far-fetched. But you never know...
Here's a good summary of fairly official sources on this one:
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=kludge
M.
The French word for "bell" is
"cloche" which is pronounced not
un-similarly to kludge. Thus, this word was bastardized by the
Americans and an unwieldy arrangement came to be known as a cloche or
later as a Kludge.
Interesting. I'd always assumed it was a corruption of
some form
of the German word 'kluge' (clever). 
8:51 p.m.
> The French word for "bell" is
"cloche" which is pronounced not
> un-similarly to kludge.
Well, "cloche" is lacking the plosive, but perhaps it's not too
unlikely a distortion.
Interesting. I'd always assumed it was a
corruption of some form of
the German word 'kluge' (clever).
The Jargon File entry for `kludge' seems to derive it from a Scots
word, though it does include a nod towards the German. See
http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/K/kludge.html (and kluge.html,
which contains not only some description of `kluge' but a good deal of
interesting historical material - amusingly, I somehow managed to pick
up both the -d- spelling and the /klooj/ pronunciation, to the point
that anything else looks/sounds wrong to me).
/~\ The ASCII der Mouse
\ / Ribbon Campaign
X Against HTML mouse at rodents.montreal.qc.ca
/ \ Email! 7D C8 61 52 5D E7 2D 39 4E F1 31 3E E8 B3 27 4B
30 Mar
30 Mar
4:04 p.m.
Um, bellcranks are still used to control planes today.
It works perfectly well in my Cherokee 180.
I think your way off base here.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Isbell, W5JAI" <jim.isbell at gmail.com>
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Cc: "Tom Jennings" <tomj at wps.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2005 9:37 PM
Subject: Re: origins of "kludge"
Actually the term goes back much further than that.
Back in the early
days of flying machines the French were in the forefront of aircraft
design. In the early days the use of a "stick" to control the flying
surfaces used various levers and lines. The French used a system
whereby the "stick" was connected to a bell shaped device with lines
connected to both the forward and aft sides of the bell that
controlled the elevators and lines connected to the right and left
sides of the bell to control the ailerons. When the bell was pushed
forward at the top the forward edge went down and the line was
extended and the rear edge went up, pulling on that line. This
deflected the elevator..etc...etc...
This was a rather unwieldy system to say the least....but hell, what
would you expect from the French?
The French word for "bell" is "cloche" which is pronounced not
un-similarly to kludge. Thus, this word was bastardized by the
Americans and an unwieldy arrangement came to be known as a cloche or
later as a Kludge.
On Tue, 29 Mar 2005 17:57:18 -0800 (PST), Tom Jennings <tomj at wps.com>
wrote:
I know this could be the start of YET ANOTHER
thread "Oh I think
it's older than that..." but to avoid that, let's raise the
standard from opinion/hearsay to printed word.
Man I wish I had a collection of pre-1980 DATAMATIONs!
From _ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COMPUTER SCIENCE_(Van Nostrand), 1976:
KLUDGE
The word "kludge" is a term coined by Jackson Granholm in an
article "How to design a kludge" in _DATAMATION_ (February 1962).
The definition is given as "an ill-sorted collection of poorly
matched parts, forming a distressing whole". The design of every
computer contains some anomalies that prove to be annoying to the
users and wghich the designer wishes he had done differently. If
there are enough of these, the machine is called a "kludge".
By extention, the term has come to be applied to programs,
documentation, and even computer centers, so that the definition
is not "an ill-conceiverd and hence unreliable system that has
accumulated through patchwork, expediancy, and poor planning".
The first kludge article triggered five others ("How to maintain a
kludge", etc) in subsequent issues of _DATAMATION_. Four of the
articles may be found in the book _FAITH, HOPE AND PARITY_ edited
by Josh Moshman, Thompson Book Company, 1966.
-- F. Gruenberger
[Said book found at abebooks...]
--
Jim Isbell
"If you are not living on the edge, well then,
you are just taking up too much space."
W5JAI
UltraVan #257
CAL - 27 #221
5:37 p.m.
I'm not so sure. I've never seen a bell shaped bellcrank (in fact, i
don't even know why they call them that). I don't think what Tom was
describing was a bellcrank.
Joe
At 07:04 PM 3/30/05 -0500, Bob wrote:
Um, bellcranks are still used to control planes today.
It works perfectly well in my Cherokee 180.
I think your way off base here.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Isbell, W5JAI" <jim.isbell at gmail.com>
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Cc: "Tom Jennings" <tomj at wps.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2005 9:37 PM
Subject: Re: origins of "kludge"
Actually the term goes back much further than
that. Back in the early
days of flying machines the French were in the forefront of aircraft
design. In the early days the use of a "stick" to control the flying
surfaces used various levers and lines. The French used a system
whereby the "stick" was connected to a bell shaped device with lines
connected to both the forward and aft sides of the bell that
controlled the elevators and lines connected to the right and left
sides of the bell to control the ailerons. When the bell was pushed
forward at the top the forward edge went down and the line was
extended and the rear edge went up, pulling on that line. This
deflected the elevator..etc...etc...
This was a rather unwieldy system to say the least....but hell, what
would you expect from the French?
The French word for "bell" is "cloche" which is pronounced not
un-similarly to kludge. Thus, this word was bastardized by the
Americans and an unwieldy arrangement came to be known as a cloche or
later as a Kludge.
On Tue, 29 Mar 2005 17:57:18 -0800 (PST), Tom Jennings <tomj at wps.com>
wrote:
I know this could be the start of YET ANOTHER
thread "Oh I think
it's older than that..." but to avoid that, let's raise the
standard from opinion/hearsay to printed word.
Man I wish I had a collection of pre-1980 DATAMATIONs!
From _ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COMPUTER SCIENCE_(Van Nostrand), 1976:
KLUDGE
The word "kludge" is a term coined by Jackson Granholm in an
article "How to design a kludge" in _DATAMATION_ (February 1962).
The definition is given as "an ill-sorted collection of poorly
matched parts, forming a distressing whole". The design of every
computer contains some anomalies that prove to be annoying to the
users and wghich the designer wishes he had done differently. If
there are enough of these, the machine is called a "kludge".
By extention, the term has come to be applied to programs,
documentation, and even computer centers, so that the definition
is not "an ill-conceiverd and hence unreliable system that has
accumulated through patchwork, expediancy, and poor planning".
The first kludge article triggered five others ("How to maintain a
kludge", etc) in subsequent issues of _DATAMATION_. Four of the
articles may be found in the book _FAITH, HOPE AND PARITY_ edited
by Josh Moshman, Thompson Book Company, 1966.
-- F. Gruenberger
[Said book found at abebooks...]
--
Jim Isbell
"If you are not living on the edge, well then,
you are just taking up too much space."
W5JAI
UltraVan #257
CAL - 27 #221
31 Mar
31 Mar
2:55 p.m.
I'm not so sure. I've never seen a bell shaped bellcrank (in fact, i
don't even know why they call them that). I don't think what Tom was
I believe the name comes from the fact that bellcranks were used to 'turn
the corner' on the mechancial wires that operated house bells, etc.
-tony
29 Mar
29 Mar
11:13 p.m.
On 30/03/2005, at 11:57 AM, Tom Jennings wrote:
I know this could be the start of YET ANOTHER thread
"Oh I think
it's older than that..." but to avoid that, let's raise the
standard from opinion/hearsay to printed word.
Well kludge has been in common use in Queensland (Australia) since at
least the early 1900s as the name of an outside toilet. This probably
pre-dates any computing reference :-)
In Queensland it's pronounced to rhyme with judge,
Huw Davies | e-mail: Huw.Davies at kerberos.davies.net.au
Melbourne | "If soccer was meant to be played in the
Australia | air, the sky would be painted green"
30 Mar
30 Mar
12:01 a.m.
Huw Davies wrote:
On 30/03/2005, at 11:57 AM, Tom Jennings wrote:
Doubtless from the Scots word "cludgie", meaning outside toilet. Since
we don't have those any more, it refers to any rather squalid toilet -
think about the bookmaker scene in Trainspotting.
Gordon.
I know this could be the start of YET ANOTHER
thread "Oh I think
it's older than that..." but to avoid that, let's raise the
standard from opinion/hearsay to printed word.
Well kludge has been in common use in Queensland (Australia) since at
least the early 1900s as the name of an outside toilet. This probably
pre-dates any computing reference :-)
In Queensland it's pronounced to rhyme with judge,
4:51 a.m.
On 30/03/2005, at 6:01 PM, Gordon JC Pearce wrote:
Doubtless from the Scots word "cludgie",
meaning outside toilet.
Since we don't have those any more, it refers to any rather squalid
toilet - think about the bookmaker scene in Trainspotting.
You mean you actually understand the dialog in Trainspotting - my
housekeeper who originally comes from Glasgow admits she can't
understand much of the dialog :-)
But yes, I'd agree, it's probably based on a Scottish word - wrong part
of the Celtic languages for me to understand....
Huw Davies | e-mail: Huw.Davies at kerberos.davies.net.au
Melbourne | "If soccer was meant to be played in the
Australia | air, the sky would be painted green"
5:54 a.m.
Doubtless from
the Scots word "cludgie", meaning outside toilet.
Since we don't have those any more, it refers to any rather squalid
toilet - think about the bookmaker scene in Trainspotting.
You mean you actually understand the dialog in Trainspotting - my
housekeeper who originally comes from Glasgow admits she can't
understand much of the dialog :-) 
2 Apr
2 Apr
11:37 a.m.
On Wed, 30 Mar 2005, Cameron Kaiser wrote:
I like the bit where they subtitle it during the party. ^_^
Only because the music is so loud, so they have to. No vintage computer
sightings in that one, but a great movie all the same!
--
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org
[ Old computing resources for business || Buy/Sell/Trade Vintage Computers ]
[ and academia at www.VintageTech.com || at http://marketplace.vintage.org ]
Doubtless from the Scots word "cludgie",
meaning outside toilet.
Since we don't have those any more, it refers to any rather squalid
toilet - think about the bookmaker scene in Trainspotting.
You mean you actually understand the dialog in Trainspotting - my
housekeeper who originally comes from Glasgow admits she can't
understand much of the dialog :-)
3 Apr
3 Apr
1:46 a.m.
New subject: OT: trainspotting was Re: origins of "kludge"
Vintage Computer Festival wrote:
On Wed, 30 Mar 2005, Cameron Kaiser wrote:
I like the bit where they subtitle it during the party. ^_^
Only because the music is so loud, so they have to. No vintage computer
sightings in that one, but a great movie all the same!
The book is better. Spud does a lot more in the book, but it's all
"fourth wall" dialogue - he's talking to you, rather than the characters
in the book. More like he's telling you about it after it's all past,
rather than as the story develops.
Dangerously offtopic, I know.
Gordon.
Doubtless from the Scots word "cludgie",
meaning outside toilet.
Since we don't have those any more, it refers to any rather squalid
toilet - think about the bookmaker scene in Trainspotting.
You mean you actually understand the dialog in Trainspotting - my
housekeeper who originally comes from Glasgow admits she can't
understand much of the dialog :-) 
30 Mar
30 Mar
6:36 a.m.
On Wed, 2005-03-30 at 22:51 +1000, Huw Davies wrote:
On 30/03/2005, at 6:01 PM, Gordon JC Pearce wrote:
Try reading the book - it's entirely written in the same style as spoke
Scottish, so is extremely heavy going. (I don't mind the dailogue in the
film, but the book made my brain hurt!)
Back on topic, does the correct pronunciation of kludge contain the 'd',
or is it silent? 98% of people here in the UK seem to pronounce the d,
but I've heard a few who don't. Mind you, 'bodge' is an equivalent and
more commonly heard over here than kludge.
cheers
Jules
Doubtless from the Scots word
"cludgie", meaning outside toilet.
Since we don't have those any more, it refers to any rather squalid
toilet - think about the bookmaker scene in Trainspotting.
You mean you actually understand the dialog in Trainspotting - my
housekeeper who originally comes from Glasgow admits she can't
understand much of the dialog :-) 
6:48 a.m.
On Wed, 30 Mar 2005 14:36:26 +0000, Jules Richardson
<julesrichardsonuk at yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
On Wed, 2005-03-30 at 22:51 +1000, Huw Davies wrote:
> On 30/03/2005, at 6:01 PM, Gordon JC Pearce wrote:
> > Doubtless from the Scots word
"cludgie", meaning outside toilet.
> > Since we don't have those any more, it refers to any rather squalid
> > toilet - think about the bookmaker scene in Trainspotting.
> You mean you actually understand the dialog in
Trainspotting - my
> housekeeper who originally comes from Glasgow admits she can't
> understand much of the dialog :-)
Back on topic, does the correct pronunciation of
kludge contain the 'd',
or is it silent? 98% of people here in the UK seem to pronounce the d,
but I've heard a few who don't. Mind you, 'bodge' is an equivalent and
more commonly heard over here than kludge.
Two separate words with different pronunciation, as per the jargon
file and earlier discussion here. Kludge (kl-uh-j) and Kluge
(kl-oo-j). I was surprised to find that a) I was wrong in assuming
they were net-variants of the same term, and b) anyone would care to
differentiate.
-dhbarr.
6:59 a.m.
Back on topic, does the correct pronunciation of
kludge contain the 'd',
or is it silent? 98% of people here in the UK seem to pronounce the d,
but I've heard a few who don't. Mind you, 'bodge' is an equivalent and
more commonly heard over here than kludge.
Strictly speaking, the "j" sound is composed of /d/ and /ch/ anyway. You
might be observing someone over-emphasising the initial /d/.
--
---------------------------------- personal: http://www.armory.com/~spectre/ --
Cameron Kaiser, Floodgap Systems Ltd * So. Calif., USA * ckaiser at floodgap.com
-- Support your local hospital. Play hockey. ----------------------------------
9:29 a.m.
New subject: origins of 'kludge'
On 30/03/2005, at 6:01 PM, Gordon JC Pearce wrote:
The film is set in Edinburgh, and most of the actors are from Edinburgh.
The people from the, uhm, less salubrious parts of Edinburgh (most of it,
really) have a particularly impenetrable accent.
Where I come from, up the far north-west, there isn't really an accent at
all. Everyone thinks I was either a BBC newsreader or I went to a posh
school (I did neither).
The bit in the club where it was subtitles was because they were almost
inaudible over the music *and* talking in a heavy dialect.
Gordon.
Doubtless from the Scots word
"cludgie", meaning outside toilet.
Since we don't have those any more, it refers to any rather squalid
toilet - think about the bookmaker scene in Trainspotting.
You mean you actually understand the dialog in Trainspotting - my
housekeeper who originally comes from Glasgow admits she can't
understand much of the dialog :-)
11:31 p.m.
New subject: origins of 'kludge'
On 31/03/2005, at 3:29 AM, gordonjcp at gjcp.net wrote:
Well that explains it. When I was last in Edinburgh I dropped into a
pub (it was a hot day) and had an entertaining discussion with a local
(I didn't understand a word). Apparently (according to the barman) he
was offering to buy me a drink and got slightly annoyed that I didn't
appear to want to accept. Just a simple language problem...
Huw Davies | e-mail: Huw.Davies at kerberos.davies.net.au
Melbourne | "If soccer was meant to be played in the
Australia | air, the sky would be painted green"
On 30/03/2005, at 6:01 PM, Gordon JC Pearce wrote:
The film is set in Edinburgh, and most of the actors are from
Edinburgh.
The people from the, uhm, less salubrious parts of Edinburgh (most of
it,
really) have a particularly impenetrable accent. Doubtless from the Scots word
"cludgie", meaning outside toilet.
Since we don't have those any more, it refers to any rather squalid
toilet - think about the bookmaker scene in Trainspotting.
You mean you actually understand the dialog in Trainspotting - my
housekeeper who originally comes from Glasgow admits she can't
understand much of the dialog :-)
6:55 a.m.
Well, since the modern meaning of kludge has nothing to do with a
toilet and much to do with a messed up arrangement, it would seem the
reference to the French makes more sense. Also the French is from the
1910s so is about as early as any other.
On Wed, 30 Mar 2005 09:01:27 +0100, Gordon JC Pearce <gordon at gjcp.net> wrote:
Huw Davies wrote:
--
Jim Isbell
"If you are not living on the edge, well then,
you are just taking up too much space."
W5JAI
UltraVan #257
CAL - 27 #221
On 30/03/2005, at 11:57 AM, Tom Jennings wrote:
Doubtless from the Scots word "cludgie", meaning outside toilet. Since
we don't have those any more, it refers to any rather squalid toilet -
think about the bookmaker scene in Trainspotting.
Gordon.
I know this could be the start of YET ANOTHER
thread "Oh I think
it's older than that..." but to avoid that, let's raise the
standard from opinion/hearsay to printed word.
Well kludge has been in common use in Queensland (Australia) since at
least the early 1900s as the name of an outside toilet. This probably
pre-dates any computing reference :-)
In Queensland it's pronounced to rhyme with judge, 
7:48 a.m.
Huw Davies wrote:
Well kludge has been in common use in Queensland (Australia) since at
least the early 1900s as the name of an outside toilet. This probably
pre-dates any computing reference :-)
In Queensland it's pronounced to rhyme with judge,
We know you furriners don't know how to speak english properly, unlike
us Americans [;)], so, how do you pronounce "judge" in Queensland?
joo-j, jud-j, ju-ah-j, ja-j, ???
8:44 a.m.
At 16:48 30/03/2005, Kevin Handy wrote:
We know you furriners don't know how to speak
english properly, unlike
us Americans [;)], so, how do you pronounce "judge" in Queensland?
joo-j, jud-j, ju-ah-j, ja-j, ???
I believe that in England, Judge is usually pronounced "M'lud".....
;)
11:29 p.m.
On 31/03/2005, at 1:48 AM, Kevin Handy wrote:
Huw Davies wrote:
Rhymes with kludge :-)
OK, jud-j, certainly not joo-j.
Huw Davies | e-mail: Huw.Davies at kerberos.davies.net.au
Melbourne | "If soccer was meant to be played in the
Australia | air, the sky would be painted green"
Well kludge has been in common use in Queensland (Australia) since at
least the early 1900s as the name of an outside toilet. This probably
pre-dates any computing reference :-)
In Queensland it's pronounced to rhyme with judge,
We know you furriners don't know how to speak english properly, unlike
us Americans [;)], so, how do you pronounce "judge" in Queensland?
joo-j, jud-j, ju-ah-j, ja-j, ??? 
11:51 p.m.
New subject: Drivers for Old Mac Nubus Cards (from 1993 and before)
I have a bunch of cards for old Nubus Macs I can't find drivers for. Anybody
happen to have ones for these cards?:
Spectral Innovations, Inc 1993
macDSP II/C Rev B
(DSP Card)
Nuport II by Micronet
FCCID:HEQ297NP
Model: NP-2
1991 By Micronet tech, Inc
P/N 9101675-02
(50 Pin SCSI card, only driver I seen was password protected)
Sigma Designs 1991
DoubleUp Rev 2.11
Roms: DUAM2 2.00
(Hardware disk compression board)
Storm technology, In 1992
SCNB-1.0
(another DSP card)
Supermac 1991
1002259-001A Spigot Nubus
Version 1.0 ROM
ASSY:0007532-0001 Rev A
(The first Supermac Spigot video capture card with just 1 RCA input for
video, I found some kind of OS 6 driver but not sure about it)
Thanks
1:31 p.m.
In Queensland it's pronounced to rhyme with judge,
I've also picked up the 'klduge' spelling and pronounciation. When I've
got some piece of hardware going by dead-bugging in a totally different
chip, of when I've manange to get 2 machines talking to each other by
cutting an RS232 cable in half and joining the wires with a chocolate
block [1], I've been known to paraody a line of Gilbert and Sulivan
'For I have a kludge, and a good kludge too' :-)
[1] One of those plastic screw terminal blocks. Don't laugh, I actually
did this once when I had to get two machines communicating and all I had
was a pair of pliers and a small screwdriver...
-tony
2:06 p.m.
On Wed, 30 Mar 2005 22:31:25 +0100 (BST), Tony Duell
<ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> In Queensland it's pronounced to rhyme with
judge,
chip, of when I've manange to get 2 machines
talking to each other by
cutting an RS232 cable in half and joining the wires with a chocolate
block [1], I've been known to paraody a line of Gilbert and Sulivan
[1] One of those plastic screw terminal blocks.
Don't laugh, I actually
did this once when I had to get two machines communicating and all I had
was a pair of pliers and a small screwdriver...
For testing a chip's output, (keyboard controller, I think), I cut and
soldered the strands of an IDE cable to each of the 25 pins, and then
fanned the other end out on a strip of duct tape. I duct taped the
duct tape (odd thing to say) sticky side up to a bit of pasteboard,
sharpied in some labels, and had filled in a graph paper with all
printables in the ~150 combos pretty quickly.
Oh yeah, now I remember why. Needed something to translate from 8-way
joystick to keyboard presses for an emulator. Since this is now only
remotely on-topic; what would you consider to be your most "artless
hack?" I mean, what klu(d)ge are you most proud of, and yet at the
same time a bit abashed (-fun- to say) to cop to?
-dhbarr.
4:09 p.m.
joystick to keyboard presses for an emulator. Since
this is now only
remotely on-topic; what would you consider to be your most "artless
hack?" I mean, what klu(d)ge are you most proud of, and yet at the
same time a bit abashed (-fun- to say) to cop to?
This is probably on-topic. I did it almost 20 years ago, and it relates
to a classic computer peripheral.
I was given a Commodore 2023 printer (GPIB interface) because the bottom
pin of the printhead was broken. Not having a printer on my PET, I wanted
to get it going, but no way could I afford a new printhead [1]. So I did
a real kludge. I shorted the outputs of the bottom and next-to-bottom
drivers together, disconnecting the coil for the broken pin, so that both
drivers operated the next-to-bottom pin. The result was a
strange-looking, but readable font, and it sure beat copying down
listings from the screen by hand.
[1] It's actually the same as an Epsom printhead -- TX70 (or is it TX80)
I think. I was given a large box of Epsom spares at a radio rally
(basically, I was buying all the ancient computer stuff, and the chap
gave me this rather than carry it home) with a suitable head in it, but
I've never bothered to replace it. More fun to keep the kludge, I guess.
Other kludges would include using a 6B pencil to repair the key contacts
in a TRS-80 M4 keyboard, using 2lb fishing line as the transfer corona
guard in Canon CX and SX printers, the 4 AA cells in a holder to replace
the expensive lithium battery in this PC/AT (no, they don't last as long,
but they're a lot cheaper to replace and easier to get), and more that
I'll remember later.
-tony
5:32 p.m.
New subject: Worst kludge Re: origins of "kludge"
At 04:06 PM 3/30/05 -0600, you wrote:
Since this is now only
remotely on-topic; what would you consider to be your
most "artless
hack?" I mean, what klu(d)ge are you most proud of, and yet at the
same time a bit abashed (-fun- to say) to cop to?
I think my worst kludge was on the VW dune buggy that I built while in
high school. I was running it in a cross country race one day and the
trottle cable broke. In those days I always carried a roll of stainless
steel safety wire (the modern equivelent of baling wire) so I broke out the
safety wire and ran it out the back of the car and tied it to the trottle
on the carburator. I held the roll in one hand and pulled on it to operate
the trottle and drove with the other hand. I forget how I managed the shift
lever!
Joe
7:24 p.m.
New subject: Worst kludge Re: origins of "kludge"
Well, mine was similar in that it involved a car. A 1962 Mercedes
Benz that I was driving across the Sonoran Desert in northern Mexico.
Suddenly the engine quit and all I could see for miles was sand and
some very near starved Brahman cattle. The fuel pump diaphragm had
sprung a major leak and no longer pumped gas.
In the trunk I had some luggage. In the luggage were my wife's shower
cap, some fingernail polish and some dental floss. I cut out a new
diaphragm from the shower cap, glued it to the old diaphragm with
fingernail polish and tied it to the center shaft with several wraps
of dental floss. Then with more fingernail polish I sealed the gasket
between the halves and put it all together.
45 minutes later I was on my way to Mazatlan. When I got there I
started scouring the parts store for a new fuel pump but couldn't find
one. Two weeks later when I got back to the states I had forgotten
about the repair. I drove the car for another TWO (2) years and never
thought about that repair again. I sold the car and to this day I
would love to have been there when the first mechanic took that pump
apart and saw that pretty flowered diaphragm.
On Wed, 30 Mar 2005 20:32:47 -0500, Joe R. <rigdonj at cfl.rr.com> wrote:
At 04:06 PM 3/30/05 -0600, you wrote:
Since this is now only
--
Jim Isbell
"If you are not living on the edge, well then,
you are just taking up too much space."
W5JAI
UltraVan #257
CAL - 27 #221
remotely on-topic; what would you consider to be
your most "artless
hack?" I mean, what klu(d)ge are you most proud of, and yet at the
same time a bit abashed (-fun- to say) to cop to?
I think my worst kludge was on the VW dune buggy that I built while in
high school. I was running it in a cross country race one day and the
trottle cable broke. In those days I always carried a roll of stainless
steel safety wire (the modern equivelent of baling wire) so I broke out the
safety wire and ran it out the back of the car and tied it to the trottle
on the carburator. I held the roll in one hand and pulled on it to operate
the trottle and drove with the other hand. I forget how I managed the shift
lever!
Joe
31 Mar
31 Mar
4:28 a.m.
New subject: Worst kludge Re: origins of "kludge"
My kludge was on a Mac SE 30 I had been given for free, it was my first mac
in the collection. It wouldn't boot, took it apart, problem was obvious,
last stick of RAM wasn't snapped in because one side of the little plastic
clips was broken off. Wanting to see if it worked, I took a Q-tip, snapped
both heads of so it was just long enough to hold the stick upright against
the back of the MB chassis.
This was performed in 1996, it still runs today like that :)
8:39 a.m.
New subject: Worst kludge Re: origins of "kludge"
Maybe this doesn't count as a kludge...
Once I was riding my cycle down to a guy's house to help him get HIS cycle
started. In the alley was some busted pavement and gravel, and going less
than a mile an hour, with my big tool case strapped behind me, I dumped the
bike... ...and broke my foot.
I couldn't walk, put weight on it, or anything. My buddy was storing the
bike at a friend's house, who wasn't home. He'd walked. No car.
Scratched my head, figured it was my right foot, so as long as I made darn
sure I shifted all to way down to first (with my left foot) before I
stopped, I could ride home. I needed my left foot on the ground, so
left-foot (rear wheel) braking was pretty much out of the question, but
once slowed down, I could hold the bike with the front brakes using might
right hand. Once my foot was on the ground, how was I going to shift unless
I was already moving and could balance? By stopping in first and holding
the clutch in at stoplights.
I rode over to Columbia hospital's ER, put the machine on its side stand,
and hopped on one foot to the intake desk, hopped up onto the desk and sat
on it looking down at the admitting clerk. She was not amused. Got X-rays
and taped it up, told to get it casted tomorrow, made it almost all the way
home without forgetting to stop in first gear... arrrg. Had to lay down on
the tank, transferring my left hand to the clutch, reach my right all the
way down to the gear shift, foot shrieking in pain, and drop it into gear.
Couldn't even drive a car with the cast-- but I could ride the KZ! and I
did. All summer.
At 09:24 PM 3/30/2005 -0600, you wrote:
Well, mine was similar in that it involved a car. A
1962 Mercedes
Benz that I was driving across the Sonoran Desert in northern Mexico.
Suddenly the engine quit and all I could see for miles was sand and
some very near starved Brahman cattle. The fuel pump diaphragm had
sprung a major leak and no longer pumped gas.
In the trunk I had some luggage. In the luggage were my wife's shower
cap, some fingernail polish and some dental floss. I cut out a new
diaphragm from the shower cap, glued it to the old diaphragm with
fingernail polish and tied it to the center shaft with several wraps
of dental floss. Then with more fingernail polish I sealed the gasket
between the halves and put it all together.
45 minutes later I was on my way to Mazatlan. When I got there I
started scouring the parts store for a new fuel pump but couldn't find
one. Two weeks later when I got back to the states I had forgotten
about the repair. I drove the car for another TWO (2) years and never
thought about that repair again. I sold the car and to this day I
would love to have been there when the first mechanic took that pump
apart and saw that pretty flowered diaphragm.
On Wed, 30 Mar 2005 20:32:47 -0500, Joe R. <rigdonj at cfl.rr.com> wrote:
Question _your own_ authority.
--... ...-- -.. . -. ----. --.- --.- -...
tpeters at nospam.mixcom.com (remove "nospam") N9QQB (amateur radio)
"HEY YOU" (loud shouting) WEB ADDRESS http//www.mixweb.com/tpeters
43? 7' 17.2" N by 88? 6' 28.9" W, Elevation 815', Grid Square
EN53wc
WAN/LAN/Telcom Analyst, Tech Writer, MCP, CCNA, Registered Linux User 385531
At 04:06 PM 3/30/05 -0600, you wrote:
Since this is now only
--
Jim Isbell
"If you are not living on the edge, well then,
you are just taking up too much space."
W5JAI
UltraVan #257
CAL - 27 #221 remotely on-topic; what would you consider to be
your most "artless
hack?" I mean, what klu(d)ge are you most proud of, and yet at the
same time a bit abashed (-fun- to say) to cop to?
I think my worst kludge was on the VW dune buggy that I built while in
high school. I was running it in a cross country race one day and the
trottle cable broke. In those days I always carried a roll of stainless
steel safety wire (the modern equivelent of baling wire) so I broke out the
safety wire and ran it out the back of the car and tied it to the trottle
on the carburator. I held the roll in one hand and pulled on it to operate
the trottle and drove with the other hand. I forget how I managed the shift
lever!
Joe
3:24 p.m.
New subject: Worst kludge Re: origins of "kludge"
On Wed, 30 Mar 2005 21:24:30 -0600
"Jim Isbell, W5JAI" <jim.isbell at gmail.com> wrote:
I sold the car and to this day I
would love to have been there when the first mechanic took that pump
apart and saw that pretty flowered diaphragm.
I really need to stop skimming posts by reading them from finish to start..
"He used his wife's WHAT?!" ... ok, it was a shower cap, whew.
--
---------------------------------------------
-. William W. Layer .- -. St. Paul, MN USA .-
---------------------------------------------------
-. Cheif bottlewasher, Atma-Sphere Music Systems .-
-. http://www.atma-sphere.com .-
--------------------------------
30 Mar
30 Mar
11:38 p.m.
On 31/03/2005, at 8:06 AM, David H. Barr wrote:
Oh yeah, now I remember why. Needed something to
translate from 8-way
joystick to keyboard presses for an emulator. Since this is now only
remotely on-topic; what would you consider to be your most "artless
hack?" I mean, what klu(d)ge are you most proud of, and yet at the
same time a bit abashed (-fun- to say) to cop to?
A three phase double adapter.
Even more scary was that the voltages on each of the two sockets
differed by 10s of Volts even though they were wired directly together.
Still I managed to run two VAX-8800s with it (temporarily you
understand). In this case, temporarily might be longer than normal
practice might indicate was prudent :-)
Huw Davies | e-mail: Huw.Davies at kerberos.davies.net.au
Melbourne | "If soccer was meant to be played in the
Australia | air, the sky would be painted green"
1 Apr
1 Apr
11:12 a.m.
David H. Barr rote:
remotely on-topic; what would you consider to be your
most "artless
hack?" I mean, what klu(d)ge are you most proud of, and yet at the
same time a bit abashed (-fun- to say) to cop to?
Computer-related: About everything I did to my poor AT&T PC 6300: Sawed a
hole in the front to mount a 3.5" floppy drive; snipped out the old peizo
squawker to connect a 1/8" line-out jack to connect to the stereo; a few other
"modifications".
Non-Computer-related: I fixed a $500+ microscope with chewing gum. Somehow
the lens barrel wouldn't fit into the main housing, so I took a bit of chewing
gum and stuffed it up the housing, then slowly pushed the lens barrel in. It
stuck, and still works 20+ years later (I was 12 at the time).
--
Jim Leonard (trixter at oldskool.org) http://www.oldskool.org/
Want to help an ambitious games project? http://www.mobygames.com/
Or check out some trippy MindCandy at http://www.mindcandydvd.com/
7203
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35 comments
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participants (23)
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allain＠panix.com -
ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk -
bshannon＠tiac.net -
dhbarr＠gmail.com -
ericj＠speakeasy.org -
gordon＠gjcp.net -
gordonjcp＠gjcp.net -
huw.davies＠kerberos.davies.net.au -
javickers＠solutionengineers.com -
jim.isbell＠gmail.com -
julesrichardsonuk＠yahoo.co.uk -
kth＠srv.net -
mike＠ambientdesign.com -
mouse＠Rodents.Montreal.QC.CA -
rigdonj＠cfl.rr.com -
spectre＠floodgap.com -
teoz＠neo.rr.com -
thedm＠sunflower.com -
tomj＠wps.com -
tpeters＠mixcom.com -
trixter＠oldskool.org -
vcf＠siconic.com -
william.layer＠comcast.net