Up Front by Emma Hart

Read Post

Up Front: To the Letter

32 Responses

First ←Older Page 1 2 Newer→ Last

  • nzlemming, in reply to Chris Waugh,

    Sorry, curiosity has gotten the better of me – that and the mention of opium dens and a street name that could easily be either Chinese or English. Wellington or Jiaxing?

    Wellington. It was pretty much Wellington's Chinatown up until the 60's, I believe. See this google search for some references.

    Waikanae • Since Nov 2006 • 2937 posts Report Reply

  • Joe Wylie, in reply to nzlemming,

    It was pretty much Wellington’s Chinatown up until the 60’s

    Haining Street was where the unfortunate Joe Kum Yung met his end at the hand of the white supremacist Lionel Terry.

    flat earth • Since Jan 2007 • 4593 posts Report Reply

  • nzlemming, in reply to Joe Wylie,

    Haining Street was where the unfortunate Joe Kum Yung met his end at the hand of the white supremacist Lionel Terry.

    Yes.

    Waikanae • Since Nov 2006 • 2937 posts Report Reply

  • Bart Janssen,

    Our building is about to be renovated. I say "about to" bearing in mind that it has been planned for at least 20 years. As a result we are being decanted (project management speak for moved) out of our labs and offices to a new lab and office space while the building is being renovated and then sometime later back in again into brand new labs and open plan offices.

    In the process of both moves we've been told many times we won't need so much shelving and storage because everything will be electronic. But my shelves have boxes of primary data from my thesis 25 years old. My oldest lab books are up there with my awful handwriting and cryptic abbreviations.

    And while in my heart I know very well I will never do anything of significance to any historian, the idea of throwing that stuff out ... I can't. Yes I know nobody, least of all me, will ever read those lab books but what if someone wanted to ...?

    The reality is that things will get thrown out ... but not those lab books, I just can't. They are scientific letters from me to me, even if I never read them.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report Reply

  • nzlemming, in reply to Bart Janssen,

    Scan 'em to a hard drive in an open format. Slowly working through 40 odd years of photographs "Just in case".

    Waikanae • Since Nov 2006 • 2937 posts Report Reply

  • nzlemming,

    I mean, it's nice having the physical artifact, but it's the information I want.

    Waikanae • Since Nov 2006 • 2937 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart, in reply to nzlemming,

    I mean, it’s nice having the physical artifact, but it’s the information I want.

    Both is nice, physical and electronic. One of the seemingly-oddest things I ever did was copy out a long, fraught conversation that had happened over DM onto a piece of paper, with a pen, at three in the morning, so I'd have it forever.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

First ←Older Page 1 2 Newer→ Last

Post your response…

Please sign in using your Public Address credentials…

Login

You may also create an account or retrieve your password.