Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

The Velveteen Ocelot

(115,520 posts)
29. And they were sloooowww.
Sat Mar 31, 2018, 04:05 PM
Mar 2018

I remember the one in our college library. It was quite large. You'd put your book or document on it, put down the cover, drop a nickel in the slot, push the button and wait. It would start to hum and you could see a line of light moving very, very slowly under the cover. In due time the copy would appear. It would be warm and smell like some petrochemical product, and the paper would turn black if it was exposed to heat (it might have been Thermofax rather than Xerox). The process was much too slow to make large numbers of copies.

I learned to run a mimeograph machine WhiteTara Mar 2018 #1
Yes. Gestetner mimeograph and spirit duplicators... there were no copy machines WheelWalker Mar 2018 #3
Xerox machines were fairly common by '69, but they were usually in copy centers. FarCenter Mar 2018 #7
And they were sloooowww. The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2018 #29
Yes, for a large number of copies, it was still preferable to cut a mimeograph stencil FarCenter Mar 2018 #62
25 cents a copy. LakeArenal Mar 2018 #61
I worked for Met Life WhiteTara Mar 2018 #22
Purple ink and that smell on the paper kimbutgar Mar 2018 #32
Not mimeograph but DITTO copies... k8conant Mar 2018 #55
Yep. I guess volstork Mar 2018 #85
I remember dittos. That smell and the blue ink. PatrickforO Mar 2018 #75
Purple was the most common in my world Brother Buzz Mar 2018 #86
The only good thing about test time.... paleotn Mar 2018 #44
Remember the blue books? LakeArenal Mar 2018 #64
That I do.... paleotn Mar 2018 #68
They still had those when I was in college (this century) crazycatlady Mar 2018 #91
In 1969 had a car, computer, phone, money, TV, radio, home, and mouth. FarCenter Mar 2018 #2
I had a Think-A-Tron in 1961 Xipe Totec Mar 2018 #36
I want one. Really. BigmanPigman Mar 2018 #46
The computer wasn't really mine, but I was one of a few people with access to a CDC 1700 FarCenter Mar 2018 #59
My first computer at work was a Sperry Univac 1108 Xipe Totec Mar 2018 #81
The first program I wrote was for an IBM 1620 in Fortran FarCenter Mar 2018 #83
FORTRAN-II, I presume. nt Xipe Totec Mar 2018 #100
No, I believe it was FORTRAN still for the 1620. It was a pretty limited machine. nt FarCenter Mar 2018 #112
My Sympathies. FORTRAN-IV was bad enough Xipe Totec Apr 2018 #115
Yes, FORTRAN didn't originally have subroutines FarCenter Apr 2018 #116
I really DO NOT REMEMBER THIS AT ALL bluestarone Mar 2018 #99
We have become a police state Tavarious Jackson Mar 2018 #4
*Martial* law. Not "marshall." The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2018 #30
One of mine is council instead of counsel in complaints, or briefs. bench scientist Mar 2018 #48
I believe Agent Orange made that mistake in one of his tweets. The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2018 #51
You can't fire one if you can't hire one. dchill Mar 2018 #102
there were plenty of cars, phones and TVs in 1969 Skittles Mar 2018 #5
It's not like there was public transportation to Yasgur's farm FarCenter Mar 2018 #9
Your point? shenmue Mar 2018 #12
Is there now? JustABozoOnThisBus Mar 2018 #40
But somehow about 10 times as many people went there as were actually there FarCenter Mar 2018 #65
or just plain lying Skittles Mar 2018 #106
One of my team chiefs in Berlin had the opportunity to go, and didn't jmowreader Mar 2018 #111
For the first two... safeinOhio Mar 2018 #17
AND we levitated the Pentagon. :) samnsara Mar 2018 #6
Hey, gimme a hit of that! nt JustABozoOnThisBus Mar 2018 #41
I was there for that. I think it might have glowed a little :) n/t Tom Rinaldo Mar 2018 #95
My family had TV in 1949, and cable in 1966... Dennis Donovan Mar 2018 #8
we didn't live at our Mom's house jodymarie aimee Mar 2018 #14
We had music. We had underground newspapers and comics. wasupaloopa Mar 2018 #10
we need more really great protest songs!! samnsara Mar 2018 #31
Do you notice they don't play those oldies on the radio? Marthe48 Mar 2018 #50
Even in a Red State, I still hear Anti-War CCR like Fortunate Son on FM pretty often. mr_lebowski Mar 2018 #88
Phil Ochs is long gone... k8conant Mar 2018 #58
It's life's illusions I recall, I really don't know life at all FarCenter Mar 2018 #80
I am going to see Joni Mitchel and Steven Stills in May wasupaloopa Mar 2018 #110
Enjoy! Marthe48 Apr 2018 #120
I still do. raven mad Mar 2018 #104
You didn't stop the war shenmue Mar 2018 #11
thank you for saying that rurallib Mar 2018 #43
Didn't you have Joy, Fun and Seasons in the Sun? JDC Mar 2018 #13
We didn't stop the war in 1969. We resisted it. It continued. Nixon was reelected in 1972 Tom Rinaldo Mar 2018 #15
all my jeans were embroidered by me WhiteTara Mar 2018 #25
Exactly. Scruffy1 Mar 2018 #77
I beg to differ... llmart Mar 2018 #16
Lucky you jodymarie aimee Mar 2018 #20
50 cents? Oh come on. Tipperary Mar 2018 #24
folks made $1.20 an hr then...our parents made $6Grand a year...yes 50cents a day for eats and happy jodymarie aimee Mar 2018 #49
I was making over 3 dollars an hour, myself. Not living at home. Shrike47 Mar 2018 #84
I remember precisely paying 52 for a burger and milk at McDonald's in 1974... k8conant Mar 2018 #60
I have clear memories of the budget book I kept. llmart Mar 2018 #73
In the '60s I kept a ledger of every cent I spent in college and the first years working FarCenter Mar 2018 #74
I still do. llmart Mar 2018 #94
I had one of those! dhol82 Mar 2018 #105
I still do have a savings account. llmart Mar 2018 #108
Yup, costs were significantly less relative to salaries back in the day dhol82 Mar 2018 #109
I kept one my 1st yr in college (1958-59) Chipper Chat Mar 2018 #113
That would be about $11,600 in current dollars. FarCenter Mar 2018 #114
Around '64 a classmate lived on MacDonald's which were IIRC 15 cents for the standard gut bomb. FarCenter Mar 2018 #76
I remember them being 15 cents back in 64 LeftInTX Mar 2018 #101
Uh huh. Walked uphill both ways in a blizzard to school, too, I bet. WhiskeyGrinder Mar 2018 #18
In 1969 I had a lot of friends that were POWs safeinOhio Mar 2018 #19
What planet were you living on in 1969? PoindexterOglethorpe Mar 2018 #21
People did have cars. Tv, and money. Plus people were probably more likely to personally interact JI7 Mar 2018 #23
you are describing our parents jodymarie aimee Mar 2018 #52
What does that have to do with anything ? JI7 Mar 2018 #53
Because the discussion is about the protesters, not 'the public at large' ... duh ... mr_lebowski Mar 2018 #89
I remember watching protests on TV. The difference is we didn't have 24 hr. cable. pnwmom Mar 2018 #96
We boomers are soon bad. murielm99 Mar 2018 #26
In 1969 I was in 7th grade Freddie Mar 2018 #27
i recently came across a 1968 article in the Seattle Times.... samnsara Mar 2018 #28
It's one of the great mysteries of life to me -- RandomAccess Mar 2018 #33
You mean before the event...? regnaD kciN Mar 2018 #42
Yes, so that that many people showed up RandomAccess Mar 2018 #54
There were large ads for it in the Village Voice, EVO, and other alternative papers. SeattleVet Mar 2018 #72
Thanks! RandomAccess Mar 2018 #87
It wasn't the first loyalsister Apr 2018 #117
We didn't really stop a war. There were years of protests -- 50,000 deaths of American soldiers -- pnwmom Mar 2018 #34
For all the wretched excesses, 1969 was a more positive time than 2018. Paladin Mar 2018 #35
The war would have been over around then - OhZone Mar 2018 #37
Is this a reference to something in the news I missed? About 1969? deurbano Mar 2018 #38
While I'd like to say "we stopped a war"... regnaD kciN Mar 2018 #39
I think we backed off too soon. PatrickforO Mar 2018 #79
We also put a man on the moon. fierywoman Mar 2018 #45
We had a TV... paleotn Mar 2018 #47
68 was the year I registered as a Democrat in order to vote for Gene McCarthy FarCenter Mar 2018 #56
Nixon was elected NOT Reelected in 1968---I campaigned for Gene McCarthy k8conant Mar 2018 #63
I stand corrected. Even worse. The Democratic Party screwed up big time in '68 FarCenter Mar 2018 #71
Indeed! The Convention in Chicago was a strong indicator of that. k8conant Mar 2018 #82
People had cars in 1969. A lot of people went to Woodstock in cars. ??? Honeycombe8 Mar 2018 #57
The North Vietnamese kinda helped MrScorpio Mar 2018 #66
I think the OP's first line is describing 1929. k8conant Mar 2018 #67
A bit hyperbolic. What is your point? slumcamper Mar 2018 #69
I took it to mean that it was *possible* to create and sustain a movement The Velveteen Ocelot Mar 2018 #92
I think he was just reminiscing RandomAccess Mar 2018 #93
Vintage VW Buses? Princess phones? Lots of concerts..... LakeArenal Mar 2018 #70
In 1969 gladium et scutum Mar 2018 #78
Oh! You forgot -- RandomAccess Mar 2018 #90
This is from 1968. We did have TV and it did cover protests. pnwmom Mar 2018 #97
One of the things we didn't have is a video tape machine. Stuart G Mar 2018 #98
HUH??? We had cars, phones, TVs Raine Mar 2018 #103
I was 1A in the draft, but my number never came up... Sancho Mar 2018 #107
There were cars, phones and TVs, though if you were in college treestar Apr 2018 #118
Different World Then colsohlibgal Apr 2018 #119
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»1969 we had no cars, no c...»Reply #29