I know a few news sites have low bandwidth versions, which are arguable way better than the auto-play video and ads plastered across their “normal” sites.
> But part of the nostalgia of sitting there listening to the rumble of the little hard drive is gone.
I remember this being a key troubleshooting step. Listen/feel for the hum of the hard drive OR the telltale click clack, grinding, etc that foretold doom.
A neat project you (and others) might want to check out: https://kiwix.org/
Lots of various sources that you can download locally to have available offline. They're even providing some pre-loaded devices in areas where there may not be reliable or any internet access.
That history of the bank of Vernal was fascinating, thank you for sharing. Parcel post offered for packages of up to 50 pounds + price charged to post parcels from Salt Lake City to Vernal being less than half the cost charged by private carriers ==> lots of freight to Vernal starts getting sent by post! Then, bank director wanting pressed bricks for the front the new bank building in Vernal + closest pressed brick manufacturer to Vernal being in Salt Lake City + post still the cheapest freight option to Vernal ==> 37.5 tons of pressed bricks packed into 50 pound crates and posted!
The story of the bank built from bricks sent through the mail reminds me of the time I completed a move from Austin to Boston by packing all my possessions into rubber tubs and sending them by parcel post.
The delivery date was a range, and I wasn't there on the day of the first attempted delivery. When I called the post office about it, their response (in a thick Boston accent) was, "oh, so you're the tub guy, huh?"
All in all, it was a really convenient way to execute a cross-country move, assuming you don't have a lot of stuff!
Back in that brief window when Amazon was bribing USPS to deliver on Sundays and I could get 50-75lbs of bird seed for $12 shipped I had lots of fascinating Sunday mornings watching postal service workers swear at me and heave bags at my front door.
Or a TON of checked bags. Ran in to a guy in the airport once checking 10 bags. He bought the cheapest suitcase sets he could find, packed what he could, and sold the rest.
When I moved internationally, I found out about the ‘M-Bag’ service. The post office gives you real mail sacks (hefty, expensive seeming things!), which you can directly fill with books and printer matter (and nothing else!). They’re then tagged after sealing the drawstring, and shipped internationally!
I’m sure the USPS wants those sacks back, but the post office in the UK, where I had them sent, was just perplexed by them and told me to keep them.
A couple examples:
https://lite.cnn.com/
https://text.npr.org/
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