Linotype Makes Me Happy

Anytime I feel overwhelmed by the ceaseless march of technology at work, I take a stroll over to the headquarters of the Washington Post. See, outside their front doors, they have permanently moored a Linotype machine from their old composition room. You can see it huddled in the alcove above.

Envisioning this hulking piece of machinery chugging away in concert with its pipe-smoking operator (in my mind all newspapermen smoke pipes) is a great way to unravel my mind from present-tense worries. The mechanical action of the machine -- setting, casting, redistributing -- seems a distant memory from today's silent, glowing screens.

At work I relish the sparse opportunities to actually do something mechanical with my hands-- anything, really. (Unfortunately, this usually involves something mundane like trying to adjust my chair.) Oh, to actually have that physical connection with what we create. I wonder if I worked as a full-time Linotype operator, all I'd want to do is go home and stare at a glowing screen. Maybe someday I'll find out the answer. Until then, I'll keep making the pilgrimage over to the Post.

See a Linotype in action: