Bob Dylan used an Olympia SG1. That has to mean something. It was one of William Burroughs’ machines, albeit not the one that turned into a bug. The typewriter is featured in the second season of the TV series Fargo. One man jams another man’s tie into the paper feed to get him to spill…

Over the last two days, I’ve been working on three typewriters: a 3-bank Underwood portable, a Corona 3, and a flat-top Standard Corona. Working on typewriters becomes a form of therapy. It involves patience and careful tinkering; it also is very relaxing. Teaching involves a lot of mental work. Working with my hands is a…

Sometimes an act of destruction is an act of creation. I picked up this 1949 Remington Rand from a Goodwill years ago. It’s never worked. Too much time in a hostile environment. Too much rust in its belly. I am using it to revive two Remington Rand Streamliners. I used its platen for my Streamliner….

I’m practicing using my Nikon D5300 before going hiking this summer. The Florida weather was ideal today. The wind was invigorating; the sun was soft. What these photos don’t capture are all of the sounds of the Everglades: the peeping and grunting alligators, the songs of birdlife, and the pulsing rhythm of frogs and insects….

A happy worker is a good worker, and I think some of our happiness derives from tailoring our work habitats to our personal liking. Ever since I adopted the use of typewriters to grade student papers and conduct other work, I have derived a level of pleasure in my labor. I read papers on my…

Institutions of higher education continuously laud the benefits of using technology in teaching without choosing, or investing in, the tech that actually would help students. For example, colleges and universities frequently use D2L or Blackboard software that isn’t user friendly. I compose assignments that students rarely closely read. One obstacle has to do with software…