took a pic of this in a back hallway of the library. It has been bugging me since I started here.

Anybody know WTF it is?

You know those plastic document edge binding things?

That's the doo-hickey that does it.



I don't know how to work it either...

Yep. It´s a binding gizmo. You use it to fit plastic spine thingies to hole-punched documents.

(I hope my use of technical terms hasn´t fazed you at all.)

Seems I´m more highly-qualified than Martin, because I know how to use that infernal machine!

And I'm happier because I've never needed to?

on average, a person has about 11 litres (2.4 imperial gallons) of interstitial fluid



hi everyone! i'm fine thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by Gromit:
Yep. It´s a binding gizmo. You use it to fit plastic spine thingies to hole-punched documents.

(I hope my use of technical terms hasn´t fazed you at all.)

A Cerlox machine, we call it. You punch the holes on the lower part, then mount the coil on the upper spiky things and thread the paper/tabs/covers on.

We have the identical machine at work, and it weighs 50 lbs or something, cast iron maybe? and it makes a big WHUMP when you pull the lever to punch the holes.

More alsoer: Hi M!sty!

quote:

Originally posted by m!sty:
on average, a person has about 11 litres (2.4 imperial gallons) of interstitial fluid

Does it live on a broken bridge in San Francisco or something?

quote:

Originally posted by editengine:


took a pic of this in a back hallway of the library. It has been bugging me since I started here.

Anybody know WTF it is?

It's called a "Comb Bind" and I can show you how to rock it like a pro.

Somewhere in that library there's a hole punch in the same configuration.

Trogdor, can you burn something for me?

Nevermind, thought it was Wyoming, but it's Wyoming Minn.

quote:

Originally posted by m!sty:
on average, a person has about 11 litres (2.4 imperial gallons) of interstitial fluid



hi everyone! i'm fine thanks.

mmmmmmmm....

Misty!

I liked using that binding gizmo, had exactly that model back in the office many years ago. Cut plastic spine, punch stack of paper, open the top comb, insert spine, set paper holes to the spine's teeth... yes, the big CHUNK! while punching the pages was satisfying.

And... Hi m!sty!

I am as competent as, and no more competent than, martin. I know what it is, but not how to use it.

H! M!sty!

Hi M!sty! Welcome back for your nano-second, perhaps.

yeek, M, most sorry for your loss.

As part of the research for a thesis I am writing I came across this collection of essays from 1997.

The first I John Keegan, British historian, writing about the American military. The second essay is a contrasting piece by German political and foreign policy professor Cristoph Bertram. It is funny now, in retrospect, to see how far off Betram may have been about the absolute power of the American military given sufficient political will, for good or bad. As he put it at the time though,

quote:

Calling yourself a superpower may make you feel better, but you still can't get Saddam Hussein out of Baghdad.

http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb...78&RQT=309&VName=HNP

Not sure how stable this URL is but it seems to work well enough for now.

Isn't that 'round about the time George Bush Snr said that removing Saddam would be a stupid idea?

Judging by how destabilizing it was I would say he was right.

Judged by history I think Bush Sr will be recognized as a good foreign policy leader, shame the wrong son went on to be president. Although Jeb was still a republican he was a pretty good leader judging from how he ran Florida.