alt.fan.tolkien

On 2020-06-14 13:15:08 +0000, Stan Brown said: > > If it were physically possible, I'd have a battery-operated > generator. (For those who don't know, in southern California the > power company shuts off power in times of high wind, because > otherwise their **uninsulated** transmission lines touch each other, > spark, and cause wildfires. The shutoffs can last for days, so either > you accept that you'll lose a fridgeful of food once or twice a year, > or you buy a generator for backup power.) When did you move to SoCal Stan? Far cry from Upstate NY! I recall getting Finger Lake winery advice from you for my honeymoon back in 2003! Tehachapi always makes me think of that Little Feat song "Willin'". -- Bill O'Meally

On Thu, 4 Jun 2020 19:53:49 -0400, Bill O'Meally wrote: > > And you can bet he used a (non-motorized) push mower! Can you imagine > his dismay in his suburban existence at the noise of lawn equipment and > their 'infernal combustion engines'? :-) i had to buy a new lawn mower recently, and not a battery-powered one from Home Depot. It's just as powerful as a gasoline-powered one, but among its many advantages is that it's a LOT less noisy. > As for Mabel Tolkien, he went as far to view his mother as a being > martyr to the Catholic faith. That always seemed kind of over the top to me. -- Stan Brown, Tehachapi, California, USA https://BrownMath.com/ https://OakRoadSystems.com/ Tolkien FAQs: http://Tolkien.slimy.com (Steuard Jensen) Tolkien letters FAQ: https://preview.tinyurl.com/pr6sa7u FAQ of the Rings: https://oakroadsystems.com/genl/ringfaq.htm Encyclopedia of Arda: http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/default.htm

Paul S Person schrieb: > No doubt it reflects my age and education, but, in that case, "will" > would be what you want -- for second and third person -- and "shall" > would be a command to do what you ordered. When I started learning English in the late 1970s, I learned that the future tense of the first person singular was "I shall". The books we were using were probably a bit dated, the text still had something about flying with BOAC.

On Thu, 4 Jun 2020 19:53:49 -0400, Bill O'Meally wrote: >On 2020-06-04 23:37:18 +0000, Stan Brown said: > >>> >> >> That wouldn't have been nearly as dramatic! JRRT did like to play the >> martyr on occasion, or maybe it's nearer the truth to say that he >> sometimes exaggerated real misfortunes so that they seemed worse than >> they were. IDHTBIFOM, but for example I think he talked about his >> mother having been "persecuted" by the rest of the family, after his >> father's death, because she stayed Roman Catholic. >> >> This is not of the same order, of course, but I could see him >> claiming four lawns for "poetical exaggeration". > >And you can bet he used a (non-motorized) push mower! Can you imagine >his dismay in his suburban existence at the noise of lawn equipment and >their 'infernal combustion engines'? :-) Sadly, he lived before the advent -- or, at least, the wide availability -- of electric mowers. I'm on my second (books are not the only things I am rough on). For those unfamiliar with the concept, the type I have: 1) Requires a hefty (and long) extension cord. And a GFCI, for safety. 2) Does not move the mower -- it is a push mower -- but does rotate the blade, which makes it much easier to use than a manual. Since they are electric, using them in the rain is /not/ encouraged. Indeed, using them when the lawn is wet is not encouraged. And, if any children show up, instructions are to shut down until their parents have taken them away -- apparently, they have a tendency to dart in suddenly to see how it works, leading to lost fingers. This, of course, is a Bad Thing. Other varieties include: 1) Battery-powered. This is a rechargeable battery, of course. 2) Riding mower. This is also battery-powered, and (AFAIK) it actually /does/ move itself. Reviews of these things point out some problems: 1) For a corded mower: "that d*mned" cord. I am on my third; I managed to use the mower to cut the first two (carelessness, inadvertence, the result is the same). It isn't that hard to wrangle the cord -- but it does require a great deal of attention. 2) For a battery-powered mower: "high center of gravity". The battery is quite heavy and sits on top, which apparently affects turning ability. And, of course, even rechargeable batteries have their problems: they have to be charged; when they run out, the mower stops; and it adds a few /more/ things that can need repair or replacement. -- "I begin to envy Petronius." "I have envied him long since."

On Wed, 22 Apr 2020 00:00:17 +0000 (UTC), Louis Epstein wrote: >The present monarch of Great Britain has now reached the age of ninety-four, >never reached by Eomer (or Thain Isumbras III,or the Masters of Buckland >Marmadoc and Saradoc Brandybuck)...only Aldor the Old among the Kings of >the Mark remains as having reached a greater age. > >Shall she surpass him? Interesting question. But would not "Will she surpass him?" have been better? Or is this some Brit/American English thing? -- "I begin to envy Petronius." "I have envied him long since."

On 2020-06-05 13:45:46 +0000, Stan Brown said: > On Thu, 4 Jun 2020 19:53:49 -0400, Bill O'Meally wrote: >> >> And you can bet he used a (non-motorized) push mower! Can you imagine >> his dismay in his suburban existence at the noise of lawn equipment and >> their 'infernal combustion engines'? :-) > > i had to buy a new lawn mower recently, and not a battery-powered one > from Home Depot. It's just as powerful as a gasoline-powered one, but > among its many advantages is that it's a LOT less noisy. 'Not' a battery powered one? You mean a *manual* push mower? I got one once and did not find it to work very well, and it took lots of effort even when I was 20 years younger! Tolkien was just a couple years younger than me now when he wrote those letters. Could have just been a poor quality model. > >> As for Mabel Tolkien, he went as far to view his mother as a being >> martyr to the Catholic faith. > > That always seemed kind of over the top to me. Though it did cement his faith. That and his relationship with Father Francis Morgan. -- Bill O'Meally

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On 6/5/2020 10:10 AM, Bill O'Meally wrote: > On 2020-06-05 13:45:46 +0000, Stan Brown said: > >> On Thu, 4 Jun 2020 19:53:49 -0400, Bill O'Meally wrote: >>> >>> And you can bet he used a (non-motorized) push mower!  Can you imagine >>> his dismay in his suburban existence at the noise of lawn equipment and >>> their 'infernal combustion engines'? :-) >> >> i had to buy a new lawn mower recently, and not a battery-powered one >> from Home Depot. It's just as powerful as a gasoline-powered one, but >> among its many advantages is that it's a LOT less noisy. > > 'Not' a battery powered one?  You mean a *manual* push mower?  I got one > once and did not find it to work very well, and it took lots of effort > even when I was 20 years younger!  Tolkien was just a couple years > younger than me now when he wrote those letters.  Could have just been a > poor quality model. I had a manual push mower once. I worked well for a short while, then pieces began to fall off. I was unable to find a good quality replacement. This was before Internet - I could probably find many choices today. But at that time I switched to electric - corded, as battery mowers were in their infancy then. It has run well for more than 20 years, and I learned to manage the cord well enough to like using the thing. When it eventually breaks down I will likely switch to a battery mower. Actually, I have an old scythe, which I mowed grass with a few times to find out what it was like. I would need to practice with it more than I did to become skilled with it. I wonder if Tolkien handled one of those when he was in the country? -- Glenn Holliday holliday@acm.org

On Sun, 31 May 2020 16:45:56 -0400, Bill O'Meally wrote: > "... saw the Lewises and C.W. (White Horse) for 1/2 hour; mowed three > lawns... Grr! The fourth lawn will have to wait." ibid, #63, p. 74. The ordinariness of it all makes me smile. It's too easy to put men like this on a pedestal above common drudgery. Do you suppose "C.W." is Charles Williams?

On Fri, 5 Jun 2020 06:45:46 -0700, Stan Brown wrote: > i had to buy a new lawn mower recently, and not a battery-powered one > from Home Depot. It's just as powerful as a gasoline-powered one, > but among its many advantages is that it's a LOT less noisy. Sorry for the typo, which created confusion. I should have written " ... GOT a battery-powered one ...". This one, in fact: https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-20-in-40-Volt-Brushless-Lithium- Ion-Cordless-Battery-Walk-Behind-Push-Lawn-Mower-6-0-Ah-Battery- Charger-Included-RY401110-Y/311084745 Yes, it's necessary to push the mower, but it's so light that that's really not a burden. And the handle is adjustable so a backache is less likely. I haven't noticed any problem with high center of gravity or difficulty in turning. I wouldn't have bought a corded mower on a bet, but the rechargeable battery is great. And it's interchangeable with the battery on my weed whacker, so if I run out of juice in the middle of a work session I can just swap batteries and keep going. -- Stan Brown, Tehachapi, California, USA https://BrownMath.com/ https://OakRoadSystems.com/ Tolkien FAQs: http://Tolkien.slimy.com (Steuard Jensen) Tolkien letters FAQ: https://preview.tinyurl.com/pr6sa7u FAQ of the Rings: https://oakroadsystems.com/genl/ringfaq.htm Encyclopedia of Arda: http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/default.htm