-=> Quoting Henri Derksen to Nancy Backus on 24-Dec-2017 15:56 <=-   
      
    HD> First, for your information, I do not drink beer.   
      
   Neither do I.  :)  Maurice is using the phrase (x bottles of beer) as a   
   countdown to a date...  :)   
      
    HD> Second, English is not my native language.   
       
   I had noticed that.  It's ok, I understand you well enough... :)   
      
    NB>> Thank you... :)  Don't be such a stranger.... write here more   
    NB>> often... :) We could benefit from more people posting in here... :)   
      
    HD> Yes I would like to do that if I can, but my weak health do not let   
    HD> that happen. I am reading FidoNet messages every day at my UniCorn   
    HD> BBS, but answering it, or write new ones myself costs me much energy.   
    HD> Even my friends in Dutch FidoNet have to miss my answers regularly   
    HD> ;-(. I am multiple handicapted and do not work anymore since 1997.   
      
   Oh... I'm sorry to hear that...   
      
    HD> For following interesting meetings I need a "speech to text reporter"   
    HD> with a VeloType keyboard and laptop as I am almost totally deaf.   
    HD> Organising that costs me also much energy I can not use for other   
    HD> lovely hobby's.   
      
   One does have to pick and choose sometimes.... :)   
      
    HD> And sometimes things go wrong and I have to correct   
    HD> that. My last result was repairing my own Miele W733 washing machine   
    HD> from 1988. It took a lot of energy to organise that, but I was very   
    HD> happy to succeed, because the new alternatives are not so good as my   
    HD> old one. Afther that repair I had three machines full of shirts to wash   
    HD> and ironizing.    
      
   Now that was quite the project...  :)  I'm glad it succeeded...  :)   
      
    NB> ... "8-BIT MACHINE - a computer selling for four quarters"   
      
    HD> I started my computer career with an 8 bit Acorn BBC B computer in   
    HD> 1984, after working with computers at my former professional job in   
    HD> 1981. That BBC was very expensive at that time, i.e. DFL 2000,   
    HD> but one of the best things I ever paid money for.   
    HD> After the BBC I switched over to 32 bit Acorn Risc Machines,   
    HD> such as the Archimedes (1988) and RiscPC (1994), still in use even for   
    HD> e-mail. And nowadays I have at least 5 Raspberry Pi computers, 2 x the   
    HD> 1B, 1B+, 2B and 3B.   
      
   You have quite the collection, I see...  :)   I'm still using the   
   pentium II we got back in 1995, that replaced the Heathkit 286 my   
   husband built as our first family computer....   
      
    HD> On the last one, I am running Raspbian Linux and   
    HD> OpenCPN for plotting watercharts and ships for sailing on the Europe   
    HD> inland waters as ECDIS. As a second hobby I help skippers with   
    HD> historical ships with this home build AIS+ECDIS system for them. So I   
    HD> am busy enough here.    
      
   That sounds fascinating.  :)   
      
    HD> No, I do not own an inland ship, only have an old surfboard (1981).   
    HD> My brother has two inland ships, and I help him if I can, especially   
    HD> with the electricity on board. We were already sailing before we were   
    HD> born ;-) Not many people can say that, but our parents were professioal   
    HD> inland cargo sailers in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany in Europe.   
      
   You have sailing in your blood, for sure...  :)  My son has it, too, but   
   I'm not sure where he got it from, except that my grandfather was career   
   Navy... Granddad died when I was only a young teenager, so my son never   
   knew him.  But my son has his Chief Engineer certification for medium   
   sized ships, and plans to progress to the larger ones... He works boat   
   jobs when he can find them.... currently on the Mediterranean...   
      
    HD> On the first Christmasday I am going to my sister and her   
    HD> family, and on the second I am going to my brother and his family.   
      
   I hope you enjoyed both visits...  :)   
      
    HD> We also have to sail the electrical ferry boat my brother works with   
    HD> to the shipyard for underwater inspection.   
    HD> That ferry has sunpanels to charge the 2 x 48 Vdc= 625 Ah batteries.   
    HD> It has a 96 Vdc= 7 kW electro engine. At night it is charged at shore   
    HD> power.   
      
   How interesting... :)   
      
    HD> Will this writing do for your message hunger?   
      
   Thank you very much...  I feel honored that you wrote so much,   
   especially since I know now that it is so difficult for you...    
      
    HD> Greetings from the river Rhine in Arnhem.NL.   
      
   And a Happy New Year... from off the shore of Lake Ontario in upstate   
   NY... (I post from Tiny's BBS in Oshawa ON, CA, but I live in Rochester   
   NY, USA)   
      
   ttyl         neb   
      
   ... Some people make the world more special just by being in it.   
      
   --- EzyBlueWave V3.00 01FB001F   
    * Origin: Tiny's BBS - http://www.tinysbbs.com (1:229/452)