Tom, did you ever read Poul Anderson? One of his books (Goblin Reservation) included a character, an artist, that in the history of the story's era was remembered for having started his career as an artist with realism, but later in his life was credited with painting bizarre, surrealistic fantasies.
In the story, turns out the artist only painted what he witnessed -- he had travelled back in time to an era when intergalactic travellers that were goblins, trolls, fairies, and a dragon had inhabited earth.
Not exactly Descartes, but it was a fun book.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ The absence of accidents does not mean the presence of safety Army General Richard Cody
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"Goblin Reservation" was written by Clifford Simiak. (All together now: "Hurrah for old Bill Shakespeare he never wrote them plays. Just stayed at home, while chasing girls sand dirty rondelays.")
It's easy. Forget the fractions. Use a pointy story stick for all your measurements. This method also works well when restoring old, odd-sized pointy sticks, such as Chippednail and Shortenone antiques.
DOH! [smacks head]. OK, I'm getting old, now I can't even keep things straight from my mis-spent youth. Thanks for the reminder -- Simak was another of my favorite authors.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ The absence of accidents does not mean the presence of safety Army General Richard Cody
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
But aren't Canadian Pointy Sticks metric? Let's see, 25.4 mm per inch ... So a 1:6 softwood pointy stick point on a 10 mm stick diameter - in inches - is (I'm getting a head ache)
Why not make a secret compartment in a Simple Stick that'll hold your Pointy Stick "for transporting" - protecting the point and preventing children from injuring themselves. Or, how about a removable Pointy Stick point which can be kept separate from the stick component of the Pointy Stick when the assembled Pointy Stick is not in use?
And how about a device that would cause the "point" to retract into the "stick" and a large suction cup pop up over the end of the "stick" when the "point" comes within 1/1024th of an inch of an eye ball. And if OSHA can be persuaded to make it mandatory ...
Was the old wall mounted pencil sharpener the first helical wood planer?
Can a Pointy Stick point have a hardness greater than RC13? ( I think that's marble on the Moh's Scale) Will cryo- treatment significantly increase the hardness of high tannin content Point Sticks? What about woods with a high silica content like teak?
Is a Left Tilt Pointy Stick safer to use than a Right Tilt Pointy Stick?
Do you use the "point guard" on your Pointy Stick all the time or does it depend on what type of poking you're going to be doing?
When you're poking, how close to the "point" do you grip your Pointy Stick?
Has anyone experienced a "point back" or "stick back" when "poking", "scratching", "impressing" or "picking"? If so, have you figured out what went wrong and maybe what can be done to prevent it from happening again?
For Teeth Cleaning Pointy Sticks, what's the least gum tissue irritant wood? Are there any woods which should definitely not be used for this application?
Can the Euro 32 mm system be applied to Pointy Sticks?
charlie b Editor (who once again has bitten off way too much . . .) The Pointy Stick Compendium Project (soon to be shortened to TPSCP)
Well spoken Tom (as usual). What you have not taken into account is the fact that the art critics (like all of us) can become blinded to anything that comes from outside their specific profession. Well, maybe not blinded so much as myopic ... which brings us back to your point (errr pointy stick??).
All too often, here on the wreck, we find opinions challenged almost to the point of drawing blood. Happily, some reason prevails, and educated explainations show a workable alternative to the blood, gore, and mayhem often suggested. Glad you provide a great deal of that positive commentary.
Now ... where did I put my glasses?
Rick
It is not necessary to understand things in order to argue about them -- Beaumarchais
On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 04:55:35 GMT, the inscrutable Rick Cook spake:
Simak. I read some of Clifford's novels back in high school but I don't recall which. I'll have to look the old bloke up at the library the next time I'm there.
Drop that "s" on the last line of Uncle Bill's ditty, will ya?
-- Remember: Every silver lining has a cloud. ----
Common problems. I've just filed a patent for a device called StickStop consisting of a teflon coated cowhide stretched over a wooden disk - on the back of which I've attached a handle and a forearm strap.
I expect to be filthy rich after selling only seven of these devices.
I'm having a bit of difficulty convincing the teflon to adhere to the cowhide, so it may be a while before I can fulfill your order. I am, however, encouraging everyone to preorder to minimize the wait and to help pay for solving our production difficulties.
Ah, my mistake, should have been "pointy stick story stick." Although, one could store a pointy story stick with its point stuck in a pointy hole. But that's another story.
That's "Scary Sharp (tm)"! You DO NOT want to get on the wrong side of the Scary Sharp (tm) copyright infringement lawyers. If you think Coca Cola (tm) protects their brand name wait ''til you piss off the Scary Sharp (tm) boys!
Now back on topic - the History of The Pointy Stick chapter:
FOX "News" is reporting that the Southern Fundamentalist Evangelical Judeo-Christian Conference is in the process of "correcting" Genesis based on a new scroll found near The Really Dead Sea. Early translations are suggesting that the actual text reads "On the Seventh Day HE rested, sitting on the steps of HIS front porch - whittling a Pointy Stick. And it was good."
FOX has dispatched Geraldo Rivera, their crack investigative reporter, to the Really Dead Sea area and Hannity (sp?) is oo his way to interview Jerry Falwell. A four hour "Fair and Balanced", "objective", "scientific" special will be aired this weekend on this new Revelation. Stay tuned for date and time.
On a related note, one of the Mars exploration rovers has sent back images of what appears to be a Pointy Stick protruding from the face of an overhanging rock outcrop named The Overhaning Rock Outcrop. The Mars Team is studying the images and waiting for infra red, ultra violet and x-ray images before releasing any more information on this startling find. The ramifications of finding Pointy Sticks on other planets is unimaginable.
Now a word from eight of our sponsors.
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As to the subcategory of Pointy Sticks (tm?) and Impressing Sticks, for most of my life I have used a Complex Composite Pointy Stick for writing. Aside from writing, I also find my CCPS an indispensable aid to woodworking, for making marks, "Impressing" ala 21st century. Almost as indispensable as the pointy "DO" end of the CCPS is the opposite rubbery "UNDO" end. I impressed upon my children, as they grew up, the value of Pointy Sticks, and not to take them for granted, as they don't just grow on trees. I have some questions..Is "Pointy Stick" a more suitable term to use in the phrase "It's better than being poked in the eye with a sharp stick!"? I'm thinking it depends on whether you're talking to swells or riff-raff. Are the 2 types of sticks related, did one evolve from the other? Sam
'tis a good thing you're *not* a painter. Nothing worse than painting a pointy stick and thus ruining it's natural beauty.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ The absence of accidents does not mean the presence of safety Army General Richard Cody
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Are you referring to the greatest enahncement to the impressing pointy stick - the eraser? Did you know that it was originally developed as a safety device to protect the Pointy Stick user from accidental punctures? Some fool who didn't read and understand ALL the Pointy Stick safety instructions tried to use his pointy stick to scrape off some blood stains from a piece he was working on and found that the rubber "point guard" worked far better than the scraping off function of the Pointy Stick.
I'm not certain about them actually being generated by trees but most of the Pointy Stick stock I've found were within or very near the drip line of a tree. I suspect there is some relationship there but won't have time to investigate 'til I get the initial draft of this compendium completed.
Sharp Sticks predated Pointy Sticks. Sharp Sticks are edge tools rather than point tools. A Sharp Stick only requires creating two (2) intersecting planes - the end(s) can be blunt and not suitable for poking. The Pointy Stick on the other hand is 33% more complex in that it requires creating a minimum of THREE (3) planes which all intersect at a single point - "the point" of the Pointy Stick.
I guess this distincion should be included in TSPSCP report.
snipped-for-privacy@all.costs wrote:
My dontist (that's an EXPENSIVE specialist in the dental professions) assures me that between the titanium pins and the chromium cobalt platinum crowns these puppies will hold an edge for at least another 35-40 years, short of chewing on diamonds (or corn nuts)
Re: painting and Pointy Sticks, only a barbarian would consider putting paint on a real Pointy Stick - gnawed paintbrush sticks maybe but not on a real Pointy Stick
It's been a hectic last 6 days and when I skip my naps sleep deprivation starts having its affects/effects (?) Does that explain the origin of this thread?
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