The question "How do you use your typewriter(s)?" pops up for me fairly frequently. Often it's collectors who love the machines and only think of using them for writing the "Great American Novel". However there are a variety of tasks one could use them for besides conversation pieces or functional art in the home. Below are some various recent uses I've made of my typewriter collection:
  • I've got writing projects sitting in two different machines.
  • I use one on my primary desk and another on the table behind it for typing up notes on index cards, recipes, my commonplace "book", letters, and other personal correspondence.
  • I use a few of my portables on the porch in the mornings/evenings for journaling.
  • One machine in the hallway is for burning ideas, jokes, poetry and an occasional bit of typewriter art.
  • I often have one in the trunk of the car for typing on the go or the impromptu busking session.
  • One machine near the kitchen is always gamed up for adding to the ever-growing shopping list.
  • I'll often get one out for scoring baseball games. (See also other baseball scoring experiments.)
  • Participating in One Typed Page and One Typed Quote
  • Typing up notes in zoom calls. I've got a camera mount over a Royal KMG that has its own Zoom account so people can watch the notes typed in real time.
  • Labels for folders, index card dividers, and sticky labels.
  • Addressing envelopes.
  • Writing out checks.
  • Typecasting
  • Hiding a flask or two of bourbon (large standards, and especially the Fold-A-Matic Remingtons are great for this)
  • Supplementing the nose of my bourbon and whisky collection.
At the end of the day though, unless you're Paul Sheldon, typewriters are unitaskers and are designed to do one thing well: put text on paper. All the rest are just variations on the theme. 😁đŸ€Ș☠

Looking for other ideas? I've indexed a number of times people have asked this question and some of the answers I've run across.

Looking for the opposite of this list? Try: How do you use your typewriter? [Wrong Answers Only Edition] This is where you'll find the quirky off-label use cases like "boat anchor", "doorstop", "paper weight", etc. that the non-typewriter afficionados will be sure to appreciate throwing about. 
#Typewriters #FAQ #typewriter collecting #typewriter use cases #uses this
gRegor Morrill gregorlove.com

Want to watch: Holy Rollers: The True Story of Card Counting Christians

via “Blackjack”, episode #466 of This American Life podcast
#to-watch
Jonathan LaCour cleverdevil.io
kottke.org Rogue One: The Andor Cut David Kaylor is re-editing Rogue One into what he calls “The Andor Cut”; the trailer seems pretty compelling and...

A Rogue One fan edit by David Kaylor is on the way. It tells the story from Cassian Andor’s perspective, better aligning it with the Disney+ series. Andor is, IMO, the best Star Wars content since The Empire Strikes back.

Kaylor has plenty of experience creating successful fan edits:

The remixed Rogue One will be out on May 25, available in 4K with 5.1 surround sound. Kaylor has previously produced cuts of all three original trilogy Star Wars movies, Star Wars: Episode III - The Siege of Mandalore & Revenge of the Sith (a combo of the third prequel and part of the 7th season of Clone Wars).

Optimistic about this one!
Acquired at Goodwill Southern California for $20.28 including tax on 2026-05-06. Needs a full clean, oil, and adjust, but not in generally bad shape. Two or three mechanical issues to sort out, but it's got some new ink and a quick wipe down/dusting has helped immensely.  I'm in love with the Art Deco chrome styling. This was manufactured sometime between January and June 1947. Typewritten sample of a 1947 Underwood SS standard typewriter with layouts of the upper and lower case slugs as well as the machine details and the pangram "the quick red fox jumps over the lazy dog."
#Acquisition #Social Stream #Typewriters #typewriter collection #Underwood SS #Underwood typewriters
Jonathan LaCour cleverdevil.io

My son is doing a project on the history of programming languages and I’ve never felt more like a “well, actually” guy in my life. My brain is permanently broken because of being a programmer. Every little detail that’s slightly inaccurate makes me twinge. 😂
Jonathan LaCour cleverdevil.io

Daredevil finale was so so good. Heavy-handed, but it’s a superhero show on Disney+. I’ll give them credit, they managed to land the whole duality of good and evil thing. The cameos, new heroes and villains, dramatic reveals, all of it — worked!
Jonathan LaCour cleverdevil.io

Last week I learned that you can buy 1:14.5 scale RC models of KOMATSU heavy machinery. They weigh about 40 lbs and cost about five grand. I used to think the most Dad shit ever was model trains, but now I want a tiny construction site in my front yard. I mean look at these things!
Had some Cuzcatlan brand Cola Champagne (aka kola shanpan) at a Salvadoran restaurant the other day. Is it me, or is this the same formulation as Scottish Irn-Bru?  A glass bottle of Cuzcatlan brand cola champagne in a lovely orange color next to a glass of ice at a resturant
#Food #Social Stream #Cuzcatlan cola champagne #Irn-Bru #soda
Jonathan LaCour cleverdevil.io

On my second flight of the day headed back west. This flight is gnarly — 5 hours long and I’m in a window seat. It’s an exit row in “comfort,” I just don’t like being trapped. On the plus side, I’m running a “ralph loop” dev cycle using Claude Code Remote Control while reading “The Well of Ascension.”
Jonathan LaCour cleverdevil.io

These “I tricked into giving me instructions for building an explosive and all it took was 90 minutes of gaslighting” stories are silly. You know where else you can find this information? Every search engine ever, in far less than 90 minutes. Performative clickbait.
Tantek Çelik tantek.com
Citrus Club on Haight Street has closed for good. :(

I walked by earlier this evening to order some takeout and all the signage was gone and a large metal gate was lowered.


A notice of application for ownership change was posted including a license for “On sale beer & wine eating place”.

Looks like it was sold sometime in the past two weeks.

New name: Grind and Unwind https://grindunwindsf.com/

#CitrusClubSF is no more.

I have been eating here and getting take out for a long time. Lots of memories with so many friends. Citrus Club was my favorite neighborhood noodle place. They had numerous vegan and vegetarian dishes. My favorite dishes were the BBQ tofu spring rolls, and marmalade coconut shrimp without the shrimp, substituting both fresh and fried tofu. From the menu: “sweet peas, onions & lemomngrass. Tossed in our coconut sauce w/Jade(spinach)noodles.”

When I walked by on the return home, the front door was open, the inside was lit but looked emptied, and there was music playing.

đŸŽ¶ Ain't no sunshine when she's gone đŸŽ¶

#CitrusClub #Haight #HaightStreet #HaightAshbury #SanFrancisco #smallBusiness #closed
#CitrusClubSF #CitrusClub #Haight #HaightStreet #HaightAshbury #SanFrancisco #smallBusiness #closed
fluffy beesbuzz.biz

oh jeeze oh man

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#blogging #life updates #fatigue #choir
Tantek Çelik tantek.com

May the Focus Be With You!

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Jonathan LaCour cleverdevil.io

đŸ“± Current iPhone Home Screen

I have posted these periodically, but I’m long overdue for an update, so here it is!
Jonathan LaCour cleverdevil.io
kottke.org New Banksy: Blinded by Nationalism The artist Banksy has installed (without a permit, one assumes) a new statue in London that depicts a man in a...

Relevant, thoughtful, and public — the hallmarks of Banksy’s artwork.
Jonathan LaCour cleverdevil.io

In Chicago on business. The company has an office 5 minutes from O’Hare that is perfect for meetings where people are coming from all over the country. The only downside is that there is basically nothing fun nearby. Fly thousands of miles to be confined to a 5 mile radius.
Jonathan LaCour cleverdevil.io
UBI Guide The Angine de Poitrine Argument for UBI Why Angine de Poitrine's viral microtonal math rock KEXP session, Ireland's permanent basic income for artists, and...

Fascinating article that makes a creative case for Universal Basic Income, of which I am a proponent. The author’s argument uses a three-pointed, triangular series of points that are incredibly distinct, but still come together as a coherent whole.

The first argument pertains to Albert Einstein, who famously worked as a patent clerk when he rewrote physics in the span of a single year. He was afforded time to think thanks to the job having very few demands.

if universal basic income enables even one more Einstein to become Einstein over the course of the next century, it will have paid for itself a thousand times over.

The second argument comes from a series of UBI trials in Ireland and New York, which confirmed the (in my view) obvious.

When you give everyone in a community a floor of income, entrepreneurship skyrockets. New businesses get started. People take risks they wouldn’t have otherwise taken. This isn’t surprising. Starting a business is terrifying when the downside is losing your house. It’s a lot less terrifying when the downside is falling back on a basic income.

The final argument involves a “microtonal math rock band” from Quebec, and I’ll save the beautiful crescendo for the linked post. It’s worth a read!

via Jason Kottke
Jonathan LaCour cleverdevil.io

Screw everything about that race. Charles gets screwed by shit pit stop execution, shit pit stop timing, and shit luck at the end with damage. #F1
Aaron Parecki aaronparecki.com
Plaid Pantry

at Plaid Pantry

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anomalily.world
Aaron Parecki aaronparecki.com
Plaid Pantry

at Plaid Pantry

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anomalily.world