Aptitude Tests

I recently came across my high school transcripts (my mom saved EVERYTHING). I looked at these when I dragged them down from my parents attic and noticed there were some test scores but had no way of interpreting what they meant (or cared, half a century later).

I remember the entire Junior (?) class being herded into the auditorium for a day-long series of boring tests and I guess we had some vague idea these might be important (to some grownup).

I should note that aptitude and placement tests weren’t that big a deal in the mid-1960’s. Nothing like the life-or-death weight they’re given today. Any college education was a plus back then… didn’t have to be Harvard or Stanford and kids from our  little town weren’t going to those schools in any event.

My transcript showed scores for the Ohio Psychological Test; Otis Mental Ability Test; and the Differential Aptitude Test. Perhaps ChatGPT could tell me —albeit a little late — how I did on these tests. Continue reading →

“This call is being recorded”

When I started working at my hometown radio station in the early ’70’s, recorded phone calls included a “beep” every 10 or 15 seconds, to let the person on the other end of the call know it was being recorded. Not sure when that stopped but for a long time we made sure we recorded the permission of the person being recorded. As for the audio quality of the calls? Think transmission from Apollo 13.

The most recent update to iOS includes the ability to easily record a phone call… and gives you an automatic transcription of the call. 

Library Books

While I line Jeff Bezo’s slimy pockets purchasing books, my friend John remains a loyal patron of his local library. For those old enough to remember, library books came with a paper pocket in the front and card showing when and how often a book was borrowed (we called them “lending libraries” once upon a time).

“This is what I miss. Bob Talbert read the book in 1988 and Lynn Hogan’s mom picked it up in 1993. It was always interesting to see who had similar reading habits.”

Yes, that is the Privacy Police you hear pounding on your door.