[geeks] [rescue] Things I'd like to find good homes for...

[Sandwich Maker]

[transitioning thread to geeks, if it continues]

" From: Liam Proven <lproven at gmail.com>
" 
" On Wed, 2 Sep 2020 at 15:55, Sandwich Maker <adh at an.bradford.ma.us> wrote:
" >
" > yes, we can.  it's a simple duckduckgo query
" > zipcode 01845
" 
" Well, yes, I could Google it or whatever too, but I meant by eye.
" 
" My old UK postcode was CR4 3SB. I know anything with CR- is the
" general Croydon area. I also know IM?? is the Isle of Man, and
" SW/SE/NW/NE are the quadrants of London. L?? is Liverpool, because I
" was born there. Most of the rest I'd have to guess or simply would
" have no idea.

well, zips in the conus start here in ma with 01001 and seem to zigzag
up and down the country before ending in washington state in the
99000s, but i don't know the algorithm or even if there was one, save
code ranges allocated by state and population.

" There is only one Zip code that I know, and asking around a few years
" ago, I discovered it is the *only* Zip code that basically every
" non-North-American I could find knew. We all know it because we
" sometimes have to use it, because sometimes web forms demand a Zip
" code but don't validate it, and we don't know any others and we don't
" even know the number of digits or if there is any particular format to
" them.

5 basic digits + 4 optional.  i've gotten mail with just my 5+4 and
street number.

not all numbers are allocated, though ranges may be reserved.  when i
moved here, the whole city was 01830.  it hasn't grown but hardly, but
now there's also 01832 and 01835, but thanks to history - and our PO
being a hub for the region - i can still get mail with the 'wrong' zip.

ps. when my 5 basic changed, my 4 opt didn't.

more than you wanted to know, i'm sure.

" So we all use the same one.
" 
" 9 0 2 1 0.
" 
" So thanks to a TV series I never saw in my life, I know a single Zip
" code and it's just occasionally been useful info to me.

likewise, though my go-to is the faster-to-type aforementioned 01001.

" > obtrivia: one of my mother's college roommates was from prague, an
" > interesting person i got to meet when the iron curtain came down.
" 
" It's a beautiful city. I've lived here 3 years now and bought an
" apartment here. Before that I lived for 3 years in Brno, the 2nd city
" of the country, far smaller and less pretty, but far friendlier. This
" is a very beautiful country, with low unemployment, a very low cost
" of living, lots of jobs for foreigners in its thriving tech sector,
" and quick rail links to Germany, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and points
" east and west... but not so much to Poland because for reasons I don't
" understand, the Czech and Polish train companies don't like each other
" and refuse to cooperate.

ancient political antagonisms, perhaps...

your description of prague is as my mother and her roommate described
it.  if i had the travel bug it'd be high on my list.

" The language is terrifying, though. 6 years of study and I am a total
" beginner, barely past pidgin level. When much younger, I learned basic
" tourist German in 3 days of hard work, and basic tourist Norwegian in
" a couple of months, over a decade later. I can also get by in French
" and Spanish. Over half a decade of Czech and I can't read a newspaper
" headline.

english speakers may have a bit of a leg up in learning germanic and
romance languages since it's a bit of a mixture of both.  slavic
languages are something else though.  you might have similar trials
with welsh or irish too, never mind persian or hindi.

my brother had to learn japanese and mandarin in his asian-studies
major.  he said japanese was *hard* but chinese, while strange,
wasn't.

" I think it's one reason the place is so unspoiled.
" 
" But hey, it's still under $2 for a pint of beer and it's the best
" lager in the world. :-)

i'm still amused at the commercial effrontery of the largest brewer in
the us apparently serious in suing budovice - their founder's hometown
- over trademark interference...

" Lots of fascinating retro computers, too. I covet one of these:
" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didaktik#Didaktik_Kompakt
" 
" Possibly the first ZX Spectrum compatible with a built-in 3.5" floppy drive.

that takes me back...  my first exposure to micros was helping carl
helmers build his first micro, 8008 based.  he quickly moved on to
6800s, then the offer to found byte mag...
________________________________________________________________________
Andrew Hay                                  the genius nature
internet rambler                            is to see what all have seen
adh at an.bradford.ma.us                       and think what none thought