Fish Sticks

[Frank Cox]

An internet tech was here this morning installing my new fiber service to replace the vdsl that I had (yay) and shortly after he left I noticed that he had left his fish sticks behind.

I phoned the customer support number to tell them this and the woman who answered the phone thought I was telling her that he had left his lunch behind.

She was pretty flustered until I explained that it's a tool, not food. Probably wondering why he would have brought his lunch into the customer's premises.

Anyway, he just came back to pick them up so that's one more issue solved.

[Leo Enticknap]

OK, you've piqued my curiosity. What is a fish stick? Is it what I would call a fish tape - a semi-rigid medium used to pull wire through a conduit?

Reminds me of an incident when I was working at a theater in London in the early '90s. Anyone who worked on Sundays was entitled to a free lunch at the in-house restaurant. The chief and I were both working that Sunday, so we went to lunch in between shows. As we lined up for our food, the lady behind the counter announced that the day's special was "breaded goujons of halibut." Chief: "You mean fish fingers?"

[Frank Cox]

Fish tape is a long wire that you push through conduit or down a wall or whatever.

Fish sticks are a set of sticks about four feet long (each) that screw together as you push them through the wall or ceiling. So fish sticks serves a similar purpose to fish tape but it's more rigid.
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...and since when did a fish have fingers, anyway?

[Ryan Gallagher]

Fish stick in electrical jargon, gaff or gaff-hook in nautical spaces (or on theatrical stages, our roots run deep with them sailors).

[Randy Stankey]

Fish sticks are good but I'd rather have a cheeseburger...
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[Ryan Gallagher]

Or maybe a donut. ;-)

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[Ryan Gallagher]

Not sweet enough for you? Perhaps a ‘Sunday’

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This is a sewn loop, but ours are tied and of 3-strand rope. They are used to make the clue that holds the set of lines the sandbags attach to in a hemp house (via a prusik) Supposedly called sundays cause they could also be used to secure lines on Sunday after the final show of the week.

In searching for a good image I learned: Out on the ocean “Rope Yarn Sunday” was also a traditional navy term, cause it was commonly a personal day and sailors would use that time to mend fabric and uniforms using yarn created from rope fibers. Later on Wednesdays, and later a half day renamed “Field Day”.

[Randy Stankey]

That's actually a Prusik knot. James Bond used it in the movie "For Your Eyes Only" by taking off his shoelaces to shinny up a rope, hanging off the side of a mountain.

We always called it a "James Bond knot."

[Ryan Gallagher]

That's actually a Prusik knot. James Bond used it in the movie "For Your Eyes Only" by taking off his shoelaces to shinny up a rope, hanging off the side of a mountain.

We always called it a "James Bond knot."

Correct, but the loop used to make it is called a "Sunday" in the theatre world. ;-) It is the oldest of old school knots for ascending a rope too. That feature is also used to reposition the "clue" on the lift lines. When the sunday IS the clue anyway... mechanical metal clues were also common, and not as easy to reposition.

Here is a great book if anyone wants to learn more about the old ways:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/15...KIKX0DER&psc=1

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[Marcel Birgelen]

Meanwhile, are you enjoying your new and shiny fiber connection?

[Frank Cox]

I feel so high-tech....

The interesting thing here is that the whole of the residential area of town got their fiber connections about three years ago. It's been "coming any day now" for the downtown business area for all of that time, and now they've finally got around to installing it.

I would have thought they would do the businesses first, but apparently not.

[Mike Blakesley]

Our town has been in the process of switching to 1 gb fiber. They did our house in July, the store a couple weeks after that, and the theatre...is still waiting. I'm not sure what the holdup is here, either. I'm curious how long it'll take to download a movie when we get switched over.

[Ryan Gallagher]

Our town has been in the process of switching to 1 gb fiber. They did our house in July, the store a couple weeks after that, and the theatre...is still waiting. I'm not sure what the holdup is here, either. I'm curious how long it'll take to download a movie when we get switched over.

at 1G or better the bottleneck usually becomes on the distributor’s end. But I don’t use deluxe e services, they may fair better than most.

[Randy Stankey]

A bit of marlingspike geekery, here...

The prusik knot is similar to another sliding knot called the kleimheist. The prusik is tied by making a cow hitch with a loop of cord except making three turns around the larger rope before pulling the working end tight. A kleimhist is made by wrapping the loop three times around the larger rope, spiraling downward, then pulling the lower loop up and through the upper.

A kleimhist is actually the stronger of the two knots and can hold more weight but it is only good for sliding in one direction. (Usually sliding up and locking when pulled down.) The prusik can slide in both directions, locking when pulled. The kleimheist can also be tied with webbing whereas the prusik only works with cord that is less than 1/3 the diameter of the vertical, climbing rope.

Also, with a kleimheist, you can tie it around a beener and that makes a handle you can hold with your hand. Leave the lower loop long enough to make a foot stirrup. If you make two of them, you can, basically, climb a rope almost as if you are climbing a ladder.

[Jim Cassedy]

Meanwhile, are you enjoying your new and shiny fiber connection?

When 1gb fiber got put into my San Francisco neighborhood, it was 'almost' a life changing
experience for me. I would have friends come over and ask if they could download a movie
or a game while at my place. ( I have 'unlimited' service so that wasn't a problem. ) If I ever
had to move again, making sure that fiber service was available would be pretty high up on
my priority list while apartment hunting. My service provider is in the process of upgrading
to 10gb/s home service that they're already offering in some parts of The CIty here. I'd
consider upgrading, but I'd have to replace all of my wi-fi acess points and extenders,
to handle the extra bandwidth, and I'm not even sure any of my current computers can
work at that speed. I know none of my current laptops or tablets could handle it. So
although it's tempting, and the extra expense doesn't scare me away, I just don't see
any real benefit for me at this time go higher than my 1gb service.