| 29 OCT 2012 at 2:37am |
MarkGuild Master
Posts : 3839
Joined: 10 OCT 2002
Location: US, Georgia
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Pygmy_Marmoset (28 OCT 2012 8:22pm)
First I wanted to ask Len, if you had electricity growing up?
Yes, please, Len, do tell.
[...]
Of course Len had electricity growing up. His kids had invented it years before.
Please proofread your posts carefully to see if you any words out.
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| 29 OCT 2012 at 11:57am |
SupportAdministrator
Posts : 111
Joined: 24 DEC 2011
Location: US
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Mark (29 OCT 2012 2:37am)
Of course Len had electricity growing up. His kids had invented it years before.
He...wha?
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| 29 OCT 2012 at 7:30pm |
Len GreenJourneyman
Posts : 861
Joined: 31 JAN 2012
Location: IL
Status : Online | Originally Posted By Mark (29 OCT 2012 2:37am)
Originally Posted By Pygmy_Marmoset (28 OCT 2012 8:22pm)
First I wanted to ask Len, if you had electricity growing up?
Yes, please, Len, do tell.
[...]
Of course Len had electricity growing up. His kids had invented it years before.
Thanks for the unsolicited commercial Dave !
Very nice !!
And very funny !!!
But you got it slightly wrong - better luck next time !!!!
My 3 children *didn't* invent electricity.
It was my 2 great grandchildren who invented nuclear fission - the 4 year old girl at this moment battling hurricane Sandy in New Jersey whereas the 4 month old boy is sleeping quietly in Haifa, Israel !!!!!
----------------------------------------------------
The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Awaits alike th' inevitable hour:-
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
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| 29 OCT 2012 at 7:50pm |
Len GreenJourneyman
Posts : 861
Joined: 31 JAN 2012
Location: IL
Status : Online | COPIED FROM THE OTHER THREAD HERE ON THIS SAME SUBJECT !!
Sir Dave
"Pygmy_Marmoset, if you have a lot of questions for Len, why not just PM him and have a nice one-on-one discussion. The above is just a bad idea and I'm surprised that Len didn't abstain."
(1) I did not solicit this idea in any way shape or form whatsoever and I was as surprised as everybody else here !
(2) I haven't the faintest idea of who Pigmy Marmoset is – I do not even know whether s(he) is a male or a female, whatever, etc.
.
(3) You say his/her thread is a "bad idea" !
EXACTLY WHY ?:
(4) You say that you are surprised that I did not "abstain" (refute it) !
Why should I ?
I see nothing intrinsically wrong wit it.
On the contrary, I supported the idea since it might encourage the intelligent folk on JA (i.e. everybody here) to engage in some discussions of a serious sociological nature and not just "FLUFF".
I also happen to think that exchange of ideas, pros & cons, even if some are controversial, in strict DEBATE is a VERY good thing in general and in particular for JA – providing that people do not resort to slinging mud at personalities like myself or *any* others – which has already started and is actually banned as trolling in JA's rules.
(5)As I have already written, the controversial issues and others similar are NOT either political or religious but have been hijacked by either one &/or the other. And there are more of course such as same sex marriage; sex before marriage (and sometimes instead of); the rapid increase in divorce rates (e.g. apparently 60% of marriages end in divorce in Sweden); etc., etc.
I am neither a political animal nor a religious one. So I would like to know *** ARE THESE SUBJECTS (and many more !) WHICH AFFECT ALL OUR LIVES (some more than others) CONSIDERED POLITICAL OR RELIGIOUS ON JA SIMPLY BY VITUE OF THEIR BEING CONTROVERSIAL ?? ***
If so it would be a good idea to incorporate into the JA rules that not only Politics & Religion are banned, but also ALL SOCIALOGICAL CONTROVERSIES.
Then we shall all know where we stand !!!
(6) I CERTAINLY will NOT indulge in ANY private PM's although I understand that many members do that !! I dislike PM's intensely. During nearly 29 years I have used PM's considerably less than a dozen times only – and ONLY in the specific cases where I don't allow my *private* email address (essential for savegames for example) to be slashed openly on the Net to all members and the world at large !.
I have NEVER used a PM for chatting or gossiping or even information.
I have nothing to conceal and if I want to say anything I see no reason why it can't be posted openly on the Forum.
************ Finally – I have contributed a fairly small amount to the JA webzine over the years including recently – some walkthroughs , articles, reviews etc.
****** I have another unique walkthrough nearly finished which I believe will be welcomed – due to be posted in about a fortnight or so and another one in 2 or 3 months, the latter for a game that hasn't yet been released (I'm alpha & beta testing it at present)
***** They will as usual have Len Green in their headings !! – maybe they ought to be boycotted also as "NOT A GOOD IDEA" ?
----------------------------------------------------
The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Awaits alike th' inevitable hour:-
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
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| 29 OCT 2012 at 8:03pm |
Pygmy_MarmosetIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 81
Joined: 18 JUL 2010
Status : Offline | Len, I wouldn't take Sir Dave's strange "bad idea" comment too seriously.
As for point 5. I agree with you regarding JA's rather draconian policy forbidding political and religious discussion, but as this is still the JA forum I have no intention of asking you those kinds of questions in this thread unless they change their policy.
What about the TV question? Do you remember the exact moment you saw a TV for the first time?
Last edited by Support : 30 OCT 2012 12:20pm
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| 29 OCT 2012 at 8:28pm |
Len GreenJourneyman
Posts : 861
Joined: 31 JAN 2012
Location: IL
Status : Online | I won't get involved in a PERSONAL squabble with Sir Dave.
He has his opinion as he has every right to do so.
I do not agree with his opinion - and that is all there is to it !!!
It is VERY late here now - but I'll answer both your questions tomorrow - i. e. Electricity & TV
.
All the best ! Len
----------------------------------------------------
The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Awaits alike th' inevitable hour:-
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
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| 29 OCT 2012 at 8:33pm |
SirDaveGuild Master
Posts : 4952
Joined: 17 OCT 2002
Location: US
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Len Green (29 OCT 2012 7:30pm)
Originally Posted By Mark (29 OCT 2012 2:37am)
Originally Posted By Pygmy_Marmoset (28 OCT 2012 8:22pm)
First I wanted to ask Len, if you had electricity growing up?
Yes, please, Len, do tell.
[...]
Of course Len had electricity growing up. His kids had invented it years before.
Thanks for the unsolicited commercial Dave !
Very nice !!
And very funny !!!
But you got it slightly wrong - better luck next time !!!!
My 3 children *didn't* invent electricity.
It was my 2 great grandchildren who invented nuclear fission - the 4 year old girl at this moment battling hurricane Sandy in New Jersey whereas the 4 month old boy is sleeping quietly in Haifa, Israel !!!!!
Len, check the poster you quoted. It isn't 'Dave'.
The future ain't what it used to be!
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| 29 OCT 2012 at 9:31pm |
Pygmy_MarmosetIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 81
Joined: 18 JUL 2010
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By SirDave (29 OCT 2012 8:36pm)
Since I'm apparently abusing and/or abstaining from it, what is alohol?
That's something called a "typo." Sorry it confused you so much.
Originally Posted By SirDave (29 OCT 2012 8:33pm)
Len, check the poster you quoted. It isn't 'Dave'.
Len has visual problems, I believe macular degeneration, so try not to nitpick at him.
Originally Posted By Len Green (29 OCT 2012 8:28pm)
I won't get involved in a PERSONAL squabble with Sir Dave.
He has his opinion as he has every right to do so.
I do not agree with his opinion - and that is all there is to it !!!
It is VERY late here now - but I'll answer both your questions tomorrow - i. e. Electricity & TV
.
All the best ! Len
Awesome, I can't wait to read your answers.
And for you SirDave, let me make it clear I'm not holding any grudges towards you and I extend to you my friendship. I hope you wil enjoy and participate in the "Ask Len" thread along with everyone else.
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| 30 OCT 2012 at 4:18am |
Len GreenJourneyman
Posts : 861
Joined: 31 JAN 2012
Location: IL
Status : Online | Originally Posted By SirDave (29 OCT 2012 8:33pm)
Originally Posted By Len Green (29 OCT 2012 7:30pm)
Originally Posted By Mark (29 OCT 2012 2:37am)
Originally Posted By Pygmy_Marmoset (28 OCT 2012 8:22pm)
First I wanted to ask Len, if you had electricity growing up?
Yes, please, Len, do tell.
[...]
Of course Len had electricity growing up. His kids had invented it years before.
Thanks for the unsolicited commercial Dave !
Very nice !!
And very funny !!!
But you got it slightly wrong - better luck next time !!!!
My 3 children *didn't* invent electricity.
It was my 2 great grandchildren who invented nuclear fission - the 4 year old girl at this moment battling hurricane Sandy in New Jersey whereas the 4 month old boy is sleeping quietly in Haifa, Israel !!!!!
Len, check the poster you quoted. It isn't 'Dave'.
Sincere abject apologies Sir Dave and thanks for correcting me.
As mentioned frequently - I am rather ancient and got confused !
It was Mark of course !
SORRY
----------------------------------------------------
The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Awaits alike th' inevitable hour:-
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
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| 30 OCT 2012 at 7:05am |
Len GreenJourneyman
Posts : 861
Joined: 31 JAN 2012
Location: IL
Status : Online | ELECTRICITY – Not a foolish or trivial query !
My parents moved from the squalid East End of London to the newer and more salubrious Cricklewood in North- West London, when I was about 3 y.o.
I don't remember properly but as far as I can remember we always had household electricity there !!
However I DO remember when I was just a very few years older visiting my grandparents in the very poor East London where they had NO electricity, and lighting was done using gas mantles (I think those were the right pair of words).
It might interest you to know that in the early 1930's there were still areas in London supplied with Direct Current (DC) whilst most had switched to Alternating Current (AC)
You probably know more than I do re the 'history' of the DISTRIBUTION of electricity !
AFAIK, it started in the USA from roughly 1880 ! 2 of the best known pioneers were the more famous Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse. They created what is known as the "Current-Wars" which I believe were quite acrimonies.
Edison advocated and spread DC (Direct Current) whereas Westinghouse promulgated AC (Alternating Current).
Edison demonstrated how lethal AC (at very high voltages) can be by killing some small animals, and I thing that he had quite a hand in inventing & developing the electric chair.
But in the long run, Westinghouse won the battle proving that only AC can economically delver electricity over distances and IO think AC is now used exclusively probably throughout the world.
I won't go into any technical details except to say the victory boiled down to one item – the transformer (step-up & step-down) !!!
TV REMINISCESES TO FOLLOW SOME TIME !!
----------------------------------------------------
The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Awaits alike th' inevitable hour:-
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
|
| 31 OCT 2012 at 4:40pm |
Len GreenJourneyman
Posts : 861
Joined: 31 JAN 2012
Location: IL
Status : Online | Originally Posted By Pygmy_Marmoset (28 OCT 2012 8:22pm)
Welcome to the official "Ask Len" thread.
As someone who is 87 years old, Len has a lot of accumulated wisdom. The purpose of this thread is for us youngsters to ask Len questions and benefit from our elder's wisdom. Whether they be historical questions, advice questions, or just random questions, you can ask Len here.
I'll start off. First I wanted to ask Len, if you had electricity growing up?
Also, do you remember when you saw your first television, what did you think of it at the time? How was society before they had television, and did television make things better or worse?
TELEVISION (lengthy) REMINISCENCES !
I think that the very first very primitive steps in TV broadcasting were made both in UK & USA in 1928.
I was only 3 years then (in London, England) so I was too young to understand.
I believe that television had made a lot of progress by 1939 when I was 14 years old. Then WW-II erupted and all TV broadcasts were completely stopped "for the duration" as the phrase went in those far-off days !!
I think that there were only a few tens of thousands TV sets in Great Britain shortly after the war so it had no impact on me,
In 1949 when I was 24 I emigrated permanently to Israel *and until then I had NEVER seen any TV* although I think that it had become moderately popular in the UK and I believe much more so in America.
AND THEN STARTED AN EPISODE THAT DRAGGED ON FOR NEARLY 2 DECADES".
When we arrived in Israel the country was only a year old and life was VERY primitive (relative to the developed countries).
The so called British Mandate had left the fledgling Israel with a good basic infrastructure (roads, one railway, port, military posts, etc.
*But very little else !* There was next to no food, no decent industries, no well organized bureaucracy, etc. ( I have so many fascinating memories of that period – I suppose that in a minor way it was rather similar to the Founding Fathers & Pioneers in America. (Today, 64 years later it is very similar to any of the most Developed Countries – including the fact that it has moved more & more from the political Left/Secular to the Right/Religious !).
And fairly shortly afterwards, people wanted television like the rest of the 'civilized' world.
BUT ……….
The first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion was excellent, uniting a country made up of immigrants from very many diverse countries speaking almost every language under the sun, including a large number of holocaust survivors many of them broken in body mind and spirit !
But together with his undoubted brilliance "BG" as he was often called was a VERY strait-laced MARTINET, supported I suppose by many of his Ministers.
He refused to allow TV broadcasts in Israel. His dictatorial rationale was that it would frizzle up peoples' minds and turn them into couch potatoes and zombies instead of working hard to get the country on its feet, etc. (He also banned a visit by the Beatles in the early 1960's for perverting the minds of the young !!!!???!!!!). He was a very strong Socialist and probably a Marxist although not a friend of the USSR as were many of his colleagues nearly who came from Russia Poland Lithuania etc making a strong Left Wing Democratic Government here with great powers for the workers, Unions, Kibbutzim, etc.
As you can imagine, year by year people imported TV sets and managed to tune into Egypt and particularly Jordan TV.
In 1966 they had to yield to pragmatism and overwhelming public opinion if they wanted to be voted in again. And so 'Educational TV broadcasts were started'. THESE WERE ONLY IN BLACK AND WHITE.
AND NOW THE **REAL** FUN & GAMES STARTED !!
Slowly more and more people acquired the pretty expensive colour TV sets. But the then Prime Minister Golda Meir (also strong Labour party) would not allow Israel to broadcast in colour. Her ideology proclaimed that colour was superficial, unnecessary and frivolous – but maybe more basically that the expensive colour sets would increase the gap between rich & poor !
In 1974 Jordan & Egypt started colour broadcasting and those in Israel with colour sets & elaborate aerials watched them although the reception was not always too good !!
In the meantime Israel imported many very good American & British TV series ALL in colour ………..
NOW HOLD IT …….
The authorities wiped out the colour somehow and persisted ***in transmitting the shows in black and white – often distorting the actual pictures***.
But Israel is an inventive country and very soon a **colour replacer** was invented and sold to almost all owners of colour sets. I think it involved some hassle and I understand that the pictures were not too marvelous but the Government persisted in their idiotic bureaucratic way until I think 1983 when they eventually, and I think reluctantly, gave way to public pressure and stopped all black & white broadcasting and switched to colour exclusively - both for the Govt.- controlled single station and the several commercial stations which were eventually allowed.
SORRY FOR THE *TOO LENGTHY* HISTORY – but it affects my personal acquaintance with TV.
****** In 1963 I was chosen to represent Israel as a UNESCO educational expert for 2 years in Liberia, and later also for another 2 years in Nigeria until the terrible Biafra civil war !
Liberia was an extremely poor country, yet somehow they had colour TV for the 'aristocratic' **elite** and that included me as a UN 'official'.
And so, since there was NO TV in Israel at the time, not even black & white which only started 3 years later as mentioned above – PARADOXICALLY this was the first time I (and family) watched television proper and in full proper colour too ! – I was a ripe old 38 at the time.
Boy did we enjoy it !!!
I can't remember exactly but I think it ran only American series and I still remember well "The Flintstones", "Bonanza",“One Step Beyond”, “The fFying Doctor", and memorably I also remember the Kennedy assassination in full colour !!
"The Untouchables" (1st time I had ever heard of Eliot Ness – whose 'heroic' character was very exaggerated as I learnt later ), and several more I can't recall at present !
So there in a very long-winded way is
"my *earliest life* with TV" Much more of course in later and recent years !!!
----------------------------------------------------
The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Awaits alike th' inevitable hour:-
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
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| 1 NOV 2012 at 1:15am |
Pygmy_MarmosetIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 81
Joined: 18 JUL 2010
Status : Offline | Thanks for this awesome reply Len, this is by far the most interesting thing I've read on the internet in a long while. I'm glad I started this thread and anyone who isn't reading this is missing out.
Nowadays everyone takes TV for granted, and it is facinating to think of a time when it was rare, and countries banned all TV. To think that Israel decolored a color broadcast and then people used a "color replacer" to readd the color. This seems comical but there's also something fantastic about it, just the idea that people would have "color replacers" for their TVs.
Do you think there's any validity to what Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion said about TV making people stupid and lazy? And when you finally did get access to television in 1963, the first time you saw it did you just sit there watching it all day? As when I first got the internet I remember I was on it for like 36 hours straight, I'm wondering if a man seeing TV for the first time would similarly become addicted on the spot.
Last edited by Pygmy_Marmoset : 1 NOV 2012 1:21am
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| 1 NOV 2012 at 4:33pm |
CarolineJA+ Overseer
Posts : 16552
Joined: 28 JAN 2007
Location: AU
Status : Offline | Awesome? There are so many awesome aspects to this thread.......
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| 1 NOV 2012 at 5:29pm |
Terry PenrodGrand Inquisitor
Posts : 6694
Joined: 16 OCT 2004
Location: US, Texas
Status : Offline | .
Originally Posted By Caroline (1 NOV 2012 4:33pm)
Awesome? There are so many awesome aspects to this thread.......
Web-forum ventriloquism is pretty awesome, isn't it?
Cheers, Terry
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| 1 NOV 2012 at 5:50pm |
Pygmy_MarmosetIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 81
Joined: 18 JUL 2010
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Caroline (1 NOV 2012 4:33pm)
Awesome? There are so many awesome aspects to this thread.......
That is a word us Americans use.
And yes, the thread is pretty awesome. As in, it is very fun reading about the history of these things from someone who was actually there.
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| 1 NOV 2012 at 7:29pm |
Len GreenJourneyman
Posts : 861
Joined: 31 JAN 2012
Location: IL
Status : Online | Originally Posted By Terry Penrod (1 NOV 2012 5:29pm)
.
Originally Posted By Caroline (1 NOV 2012 4:33pm)
Awesome? There are so many awesome aspects to this thread.......
Web-forum ventriloquism is pretty awesome, isn't it?
Cheers, Terry
**VERY SORRY** TERRY – But I haven't got a clue as to what you mean, not even the faintest idea - too subtle for my simple (& straightforward) mind !!
D0 you feel like explaining ???
CAROLINE – "Awesome is as awesome does" – whatever that phrase may mean – but anyhow it's of ZERO importance at the VERY best !!
PIGME – No ! IMO Ben Gurion and later Golda Meir were NOT "RIGHT".
I don't think that impeding Ppogress is good – unless it is something obviously dangerous or harmful to others (or oneself).
I think that it was absurd for the government to 'scientifically' wash out the colour from ALL colour TV broadcasts thereby spoiling the contrasts in the pictures and causing other distortions.
It was even more absurd to persist in the practice for MANY years when it was known & obvious to EVERYBODY that all those who had colour sets simply found a (cumbersome) device to resurrecti all the colour. As far as the rest of the population was concerned, probably the majority, they could ONLY receive the colour broadcasts in black & white on their (cheaper) b/w sets anyhow !!
I have plenty more on the influences of the 'revolutionary' inventions of the printing press, radio, and after TV the home computer (and games), Internet, and now the various forms of social networking – IN THE UNLIKELY EVENT THAT ANYBODY HERE IS INTERESTED !!!
----------------------------------------------------
The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Awaits alike th' inevitable hour:-
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
Last edited by Len Green : 1 NOV 2012 7:58pm
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| 1 NOV 2012 at 9:36pm |
Pygmy_MarmosetIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 81
Joined: 18 JUL 2010
Status : Offline | I was confused by Terry's web-forum ventriloquism comment as well. I can only assume he thinks I'm you asking questions to myself?
If so, easy way to prove that wrong, just have the admins check me and Len's IP addresses.
I have actually been surprised by the icyness and snarkyness the "Ask Len" thread has been met with by certain people, like Caroline for example. I can only assume there is some kind of forum feud that has been going on over the years which I am unaware of.
In any case, just ignore them Len, don't let them stress you out as it could be bad for your heart.
I actually did have another question about the influence of media technology, in particular the internet and pornography. As you know Len, it is very easy for adolescents and teenagers growing up today to get access to any type of porn they want via the internet. Often this porn is more extreme than the typical "vanilla porn" that was produced in the 1970s. Today it is all about extreme hardcore porn. I wanted to ask you what effect you think this "access to unlimiited free hardcore porn" is going to have on the younger generation? Do you think it will be a destructive influence or do you not see it as a problem?
Last edited by Pygmy_Marmoset : 1 NOV 2012 9:37pm
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| 2 NOV 2012 at 11:44am |
SupportAdministrator
Posts : 111
Joined: 24 DEC 2011
Location: US
Status : Offline | We've sent a message before asking about the posts on the forums. This topic isn't really child friendly and we do have families that visit the site. For this reason we're closing it down and ask please don't post more things of this nature.
Last edited by Elliot : 2 NOV 2012 11:58am
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