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EvenBob
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May 28th, 2026 at 5:45:29 PM permalink
The salesman forgot to mention then if you treat it right you might get 2 million miles out of it which some people did. These early Corollas were absolutely incredible cars and at the time nobody knew it. I knew a girl who drove a Honda and we made fun of her constantly. because Honda's made motorcycles not cars. Everybody called it a 'Honda car' because we all laughed at Japanese cars.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/msJqYgaYFZY
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
DRich
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May 28th, 2026 at 6:34:54 PM permalink
Quote: EvenBob

The salesman forgot to mention then if you treat it right you might get 2 million miles out of it which some people did. These early Corollas were absolutely incredible cars and at the time nobody knew it. I knew a girl who drove a Honda and we made fun of her constantly. because Honda's made motorcycles not cars. Everybody called it a 'Honda car' because we all laughed at Japanese cars.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/msJqYgaYFZY
link to original post



I have been driving my Corolla a lot more than I expected. I think I am now at about 2000 miles this year and 1500 of it are back and forth to doctors appointments.
You can't know everything, but you can know anything.
rxwine
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May 29th, 2026 at 6:40:19 AM permalink
Speaking of lightbulbs, I didn't know until yesterday they had regular size lightbulbs with battery backup inside for outages. Says the normal size bulb will last up to 3 hours on its battery. Didn't buy it though.
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DogHand
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May 29th, 2026 at 10:40:27 AM permalink
rxwine,

Does the battery recharge when power is restored? If not, I'd hate to have to disassemble the lightbulb to replace the battery 😄

Dog Hand
rxwine
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May 29th, 2026 at 11:48:16 AM permalink
Quote: DogHand

rxwine,

Does the battery recharge when power is restored? If not, I'd hate to have to disassemble the lightbulb to replace the battery 😄

Dog Hand
link to original post



I was actually wondering if the battery will last as long as the life of light.
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gordonm888
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May 30th, 2026 at 6:29:22 AM permalink
Quote: DRich



Are you permitted to speak on the projects you worked on at Livermore. My best friend from college worked there as a computer scientist working on distributed systems for nuclear simulations.
link to original post



I worked on an advanced uranium enrichment process called Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation. We vaporized metallic uranium and then passed a laser beam thorough the vapor that selectively ionized the U-235 isotope; the ions were then removed from the vapor by electric fields. I became the lead designer of the process for a few years.
So many better men, a few of them friends, are dead. And a thousand thousand slimy things live on, and so do I.
DRich
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May 30th, 2026 at 11:41:07 AM permalink
Quote: gordonm888

Quote: DRich



Are you permitted to speak on the projects you worked on at Livermore. My best friend from college worked there as a computer scientist working on distributed systems for nuclear simulations.
link to original post



I worked on an advanced uranium enrichment process called Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation. We vaporized metallic uranium and then passed a laser beam thorough the vapor that selectively ionized the U-235 isotope; the ions were then removed from the vapor by electric fields. I became the lead designer of the process for a few years.
link to original post



Thank you, that sounds both fascinating and exactly like a project that I would expect LLNL to be working on.
You can't know everything, but you can know anything.
odiousgambit
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May 30th, 2026 at 4:48:06 PM permalink
Quote: gordonm888

Quote: DRich



Are you permitted to speak on the projects you worked on at Livermore. My best friend from college worked there as a computer scientist working on distributed systems for nuclear simulations.
link to original post



I worked on an advanced uranium enrichment process called Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation. We vaporized metallic uranium and then passed a laser beam thorough the vapor that selectively ionized the U-235 isotope; the ions were then removed from the vapor by electric fields. I became the lead designer of the process for a few years.
link to original post

how does it selectively pick the isotopes you want? Or does this still involve a centrifuge?
the next time Dame Fortune toys with your heart, your soul and your wallet, raise your glass and praise her thus: “Thanks for nothing, you cold-hearted, evil, damnable, nefarious, low-life, malicious monster from Hell!”   She is, after all, stone deaf. ... Arnold Snyder
gordonm888
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May 31st, 2026 at 5:15:22 AM permalink
Quote: odiousgambit

Quote: gordonm888

Quote: DRich



Are you permitted to speak on the projects you worked on at Livermore. My best friend from college worked there as a computer scientist working on distributed systems for nuclear simulations.
link to original post



I worked on an advanced uranium enrichment process called Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation. We vaporized metallic uranium and then passed a laser beam thorough the vapor that selectively ionized the U-235 isotope; the ions were then removed from the vapor by electric fields. I became the lead designer of the process for a few years.
link to original post

how does it selectively pick the isotopes you want? Or does this still involve a centrifuge?
link to original post



The isotopes of Uranium, U-235 and U-238, have different nuclear masses and their resonances for absorption of photons (by their electrons) are at slightly different frequencies. You must be able to tune the frequency of the lasers precisely enough that the U-235 atoms absorb the light and knock off an electron without doing the same to the U-238 atoms. Once the U-235 atoms have lost an electron they have become ions with a positive electrical charge and can be swept sideways out of the flowing uranium vapor by electric fields where they deposit on "collector plates." The uranium on the collector plates is enriched in U-235 and the flowing vapor of uranium becomes depleted in Uranium 235 and is collected elsewhere.

There's lots of complicated technical details that are sensitive and that I am restricted from discussing but that is the fundamental concept.
So many better men, a few of them friends, are dead. And a thousand thousand slimy things live on, and so do I.
rxwine
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May 31st, 2026 at 5:31:39 AM permalink
Sounds like an activity which goes on, on the range.
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odiousgambit
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May 31st, 2026 at 6:33:21 AM permalink
Quote: gordonm888

There's lots of complicated technical details that are sensitive and that I am restricted from discussing but that is the fundamental concept.
link to original post

I have to imagine that just about any knowledge of U was classified at one time. The googlebot says it was the 1940s before it was known that "early defense research determined that Uranium-235 is fissile [and] the more common isotope, Uranium-238 ... is non-fissile"
Note "defense research" ... they weren't blabbing about it
the next time Dame Fortune toys with your heart, your soul and your wallet, raise your glass and praise her thus: “Thanks for nothing, you cold-hearted, evil, damnable, nefarious, low-life, malicious monster from Hell!”   She is, after all, stone deaf. ... Arnold Snyder
AutomaticMonkey
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May 31st, 2026 at 10:20:17 AM permalink
Quote: gordonm888

Quote: odiousgambit

Quote: gordonm888

Quote: DRich



Are you permitted to speak on the projects you worked on at Livermore. My best friend from college worked there as a computer scientist working on distributed systems for nuclear simulations.
link to original post



I worked on an advanced uranium enrichment process called Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation. We vaporized metallic uranium and then passed a laser beam thorough the vapor that selectively ionized the U-235 isotope; the ions were then removed from the vapor by electric fields. I became the lead designer of the process for a few years.
link to original post

how does it selectively pick the isotopes you want? Or does this still involve a centrifuge?
link to original post



The isotopes of Uranium, U-235 and U-238, have different nuclear masses and their resonances for absorption of photons (by their electrons) are at slightly different frequencies. You must be able to tune the frequency of the lasers precisely enough that the U-235 atoms absorb the light and knock off an electron without doing the same to the U-238 atoms. Once the U-235 atoms have lost an electron they have become ions with a positive electrical charge and can be swept sideways out of the flowing uranium vapor by electric fields where they deposit on "collector plates." The uranium on the collector plates is enriched in U-235 and the flowing vapor of uranium becomes depleted in Uranium 235 and is collected elsewhere.

There's lots of complicated technical details that are sensitive and that I am restricted from discussing but that is the fundamental concept.
link to original post



Very cool. I was involved in something that rhymes with that, separation of lanthanides in solution. They all ionize at different wavelengths and you can make them precipitate out of solution one at a time.

But doing it on the isotopic level- wow- that must be one heck of a monochromatic beam where 3 neutrons makes the difference if it ionizes or not! Beams like that are used for a few types of spectroscopy but that's at metrological rather than chemical processing power levels.
DogHand
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May 31st, 2026 at 10:30:46 AM permalink
Quote: AutomaticMonkey

Quote: gordonm888

Quote: odiousgambit

Quote: gordonm888

Quote: DRich



Are you permitted to speak on the projects you worked on at Livermore. My best friend from college worked there as a computer scientist working on distributed systems for nuclear simulations.
link to original post



I worked on an advanced uranium enrichment process called Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation. We vaporized metallic uranium and then passed a laser beam thorough the vapor that selectively ionized the U-235 isotope; the ions were then removed from the vapor by electric fields. I became the lead designer of the process for a few years.
link to original post

how does it selectively pick the isotopes you want? Or does this still involve a centrifuge?
link to original post



The isotopes of Uranium, U-235 and U-238, have different nuclear masses and their resonances for absorption of photons (by their electrons) are at slightly different frequencies. You must be able to tune the frequency of the lasers precisely enough that the U-235 atoms absorb the light and knock off an electron without doing the same to the U-238 atoms. Once the U-235 atoms have lost an electron they have become ions with a positive electrical charge and can be swept sideways out of the flowing uranium vapor by electric fields where they deposit on "collector plates." The uranium on the collector plates is enriched in U-235 and the flowing vapor of uranium becomes depleted in Uranium 235 and is collected elsewhere.

There's lots of complicated technical details that are sensitive and that I am restricted from discussing but that is the fundamental concept.
link to original post



Very cool. I was involved in something that rhymes with that, separation of lanthanides in solution. They all ionize at different wavelengths and you can make them precipitate out of solution one at a time.

But doing it on the isotopic level- wow- that must be one heck of a monochromatic beam where 3 neutrons makes the difference if it ionizes or not! Beams like that are used for a few types of spectroscopy but that's at metrological rather than chemical processing power levels.
link to original post


According to that bastion of all human knowledge, Wikipedia:

"Modern systems typically use the 238U absorption peak of 502.74 nanometers which shifts to 502.73 nm in 235U."

Dog Hand
EvenBob
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May 31st, 2026 at 12:24:49 PM permalink
Quote: gordonm888

Quote: odiousgambit

Quote: gordonm888

Quote: DRich



Are you permitted to speak on the projects you worked on at Livermore. My best friend from college worked there as a computer scientist working on distributed systems for nuclear simulations.
link to original post



I worked on an advanced uranium enrichment process called Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation. We vaporized metallic uranium and then passed a laser beam thorough the vapor that selectively ionized the U-235 isotope; the ions were then removed from the vapor by electric fields. I became the lead designer of the process for a few years.
link to original post

how does it selectively pick the isotopes you want? Or does this still involve a centrifuge?
link to original post



The isotopes of Uranium, U-235 and U-238, have different nuclear masses and their resonances for absorption of photons (by their electrons) are at slightly different frequencies. You must be able to tune the frequency of the lasers precisely enough that the U-235 atoms absorb the light and knock off an electron without doing the same to the U-238 atoms. Once the U-235 atoms have lost an electron they have become ions with a positive electrical charge and can be swept sideways out of the flowing uranium vapor by electric fields where they deposit on "collector plates." The uranium on the collector plates is enriched in U-235 and the flowing vapor of uranium becomes depleted in Uranium 235 and is collected elsewhere.

There's lots of complicated technical details that are sensitive and that I am restricted from discussing but that is the fundamental concept.
link to original post



Compare this to the other moderators resume which apparently involves driving around the country eating at every fast food restaurant he goes by. I heard he was a corn broom salesman but I've never been able to confirm it
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
DRich
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May 31st, 2026 at 12:37:14 PM permalink
Quote: EvenBob



Compare this to the other moderators resume which apparently involves driving around the country eating at every fast food restaurant he goes by. I heard he was a corn broom salesman but I've never been able to confirm it



Speaking of corn broom salesman, if you have never been to the Corn Palace in Mitchell South Dakota you are missing out.



Me at the Corn Palace

You can't know everything, but you can know anything.
Dieter
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May 31st, 2026 at 2:27:11 PM permalink
Quote: EvenBob


Compare this to the other moderators resume which apparently involves driving around the country eating at every fast food restaurant he goes by. I heard he was a corn broom salesman but I've never been able to confirm it
link to original post



What I waste time on now (between nuking spammers) is not what I used to do.
In fairness, I understand another moderator spends time tutoring math and acting in low budget movies... again, not how he used to spend his days.

... And I have skipped one or two fast food joints. Gotta save something to look forward to.
May the cards fall in your favor.
EvenBob
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June 1st, 2026 at 5:09:42 AM permalink
Quote: DRich

Quote: EvenBob



Compare this to the other moderators resume which apparently involves driving around the country eating at every fast food restaurant he goes by. I heard he was a corn broom salesman but I've never been able to confirm it



Speaking of corn broom salesman, if you have never been to the Corn Palace in Mitchell South Dakota you are missing out.



Me at the Corn Palace


link to original post



Corny stuff
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
gordonm888
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June 1st, 2026 at 7:14:12 AM permalink
Quote: EvenBob


Compare this to the other moderators resume which apparently involves driving around the country eating at every fast food restaurant he goes by. I heard he was a corn broom salesman but I've never been able to confirm it
link to original post



Dieter is a great guy; he is more technically adept than I am at interpreting IP addresses and spotting weird telltales of AIBots. He works longer hours than Wizard and I at the moderator job. He has a weird sense of humor which grows on you. He is a decent person (not all forum members are); sincerely tries to be fair and moderate in his moderation. When I'm uncertain how to respond to a situation I go to him for advice and always follow it. I'm lucky to have him as a fellow moderator.
So many better men, a few of them friends, are dead. And a thousand thousand slimy things live on, and so do I.
EvenBob
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June 1st, 2026 at 11:52:54 AM permalink
Quote: gordonm888

Quote: EvenBob


Compare this to the other moderators resume which apparently involves driving around the country eating at every fast food restaurant he goes by. I heard he was a corn broom salesman but I've never been able to confirm it
link to original post



Dieter is a great guy; he is more technically adept than I am at interpreting IP addresses and spotting weird telltales of AIBots. He works longer hours than Wizard and I at the moderator job. He has a weird sense of humor which grows on you. He is a decent person (not all forum members are); sincerely tries to be fair and moderate in his moderation. When I'm uncertain how to respond to a situation I go to him for advice and always follow it. I'm lucky to have him as a fellow moderator.
link to original post

\]

Corn broom salesmen have a lot of extra time on their hands. Considering corn brooms went out of style in the 1950s He refuses to say what he really does for a living so I get to make up what I think he does. I'm sure my fantasies are much more entertaining than the reality.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
AutomaticMonkey
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June 1st, 2026 at 3:23:21 PM permalink
Quote: EvenBob

Quote: gordonm888

Quote: EvenBob


Compare this to the other moderators resume which apparently involves driving around the country eating at every fast food restaurant he goes by. I heard he was a corn broom salesman but I've never been able to confirm it
link to original post



Dieter is a great guy; he is more technically adept than I am at interpreting IP addresses and spotting weird telltales of AIBots. He works longer hours than Wizard and I at the moderator job. He has a weird sense of humor which grows on you. He is a decent person (not all forum members are); sincerely tries to be fair and moderate in his moderation. When I'm uncertain how to respond to a situation I go to him for advice and always follow it. I'm lucky to have him as a fellow moderator.
link to original post

\]

Corn broom salesmen have a lot of extra time on their hands. Considering corn brooms went out of style in the 1950s He refuses to say what he really does for a living so I get to make up what I think he does. I'm sure my fantasies are much more entertaining than the reality.
link to original post



OK I know what Dieter actually does. He might have contractual obligations preventing him from revealing it, but I didn't sign the contract so I will.

He's the host of an English-language talk & entertainment show in Germany called Sprockets.

billryan
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June 1st, 2026 at 3:31:28 PM permalink
I'm reminded of an old joke from the mid-1960s.

How do you keep a ------ in suspense?
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
Dieter
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June 1st, 2026 at 3:43:32 PM permalink
There are certain things I'm not supposed to discuss, but...

I am wearing a black shirt.
I am as happy as a little girl.
May the cards fall in your favor.
EvenBob
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June 1st, 2026 at 5:20:01 PM permalink
Quote: Dieter

There are certain things I'm not supposed to discuss, but...

I am wearing a black shirt.
I am as happy as a little girl.
link to original post



A mafia guy on drugs?
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
Joeman
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June 2nd, 2026 at 4:39:50 AM permalink
Quote: Dieter

There are certain things I'm not supposed to discuss, but...

I am wearing a black shirt.
I am as happy as a little girl.
link to original post

Is now the time when we dance? ;)
"Dealer has 'rock'... Pay 'paper!'"
billryan
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June 2nd, 2026 at 5:30:47 AM permalink
I met a guy in Laughlin who was a full-time traveling square-dance caller, though he used a different term. I was not aware that there was a square dance circuit.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
DRich
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June 2nd, 2026 at 10:01:55 AM permalink
Quote: billryan

I met a guy in Laughlin who was a full-time traveling square-dance caller, though he used a different term. I was not aware that there was a square dance circuit.
link to original post



I am sure that you have heard of Bob Dancer from the video poker forums.
You can't know everything, but you can know anything.
billryan
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June 2nd, 2026 at 12:46:57 PM permalink
Quote: DRich

Quote: billryan

I met a guy in Laughlin who was a full-time traveling square-dance caller, though he used a different term. I was not aware that there was a square dance circuit.
link to original post



I am sure that you have heard of Bob Dancer from the video poker forums.
link to original post



I know Bob from Vegas, mostly from South Point. He actually invited me to attend some dance lessons, but I declined. This guy was the pseudo-DJ, not a dancer.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
AZDuffman
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June 3rd, 2026 at 3:15:55 AM permalink
This could also go under I love YouTube but I think it fits here better. They have these for Kmart and some others as well, they are interesting to watch if you lived thru a rise and fall.

All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
rxwine
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June 3rd, 2026 at 9:45:58 AM permalink
My girlfriend (at the time) brother had his own small video store during the Blockbuster era. He did alright, but then he had a backroom where he also rented porn videos.
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DRich
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June 3rd, 2026 at 10:38:37 AM permalink
Quote: rxwine

My girlfriend (at the time) brother had his own small video store during the Blockbuster era. He did alright, but then he had a backroom where he also rented porn videos.
link to original post



I remember a lot of the independent video stores had a small porn section. I han't really thought about this before, but are porn magazines still published? Penthouse, Hustler, Playboy, etc?
You can't know everything, but you can know anything.
Dieter
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June 3rd, 2026 at 10:40:06 AM permalink
Quote: rxwine

My girlfriend (at the time) brother had his own small video store during the Blockbuster era. He did alright, but then he had a backroom where he also rented porn videos.
link to original post



The porn shop around the corner from my first apartment had a similar deal. The front lobby was full of "non-adult" mainstream videos, and they rented them for dirt cheap - something like 1/3rd the price of the national chains.

They were clearly making their money on the back room - videos, novelties, apparel, and a wide assortment of contemporary smoking accessories (intended for use with tobacco only).
May the cards fall in your favor.
gordonm888
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June 3rd, 2026 at 10:54:28 AM permalink
Quote: DRich

Quote: rxwine

My girlfriend (at the time) brother had his own small video store during the Blockbuster era. He did alright, but then he had a backroom where he also rented porn videos.
link to original post



I remember a lot of the independent video stores had a small porn section. I han't really thought about this before, but are porn magazines still published? Penthouse, Hustler, Playboy, etc?
link to original post




Playboy ceased publication in March 2020 (COVID month) but resumed publication with an Annual issue in 2025 (which still sounds like they're almost completely dead.)
So many better men, a few of them friends, are dead. And a thousand thousand slimy things live on, and so do I.
EvenBob
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June 3rd, 2026 at 11:38:12 AM permalink
Quote: Dieter

Quote: rxwine

My girlfriend (at the time) brother had his own small video store during the Blockbuster era. He did alright, but then he had a backroom where he also rented porn videos.
link to original post



The porn shop around the corner from my first apartment had a similar deal. The front lobby was full of "non-adult" mainstream videos, and they rented them for dirt cheap - something like 1/3rd the price of the national chains.

They were clearly making their money on the back room - videos, novelties, apparel, and a wide assortment of contemporary smoking accessories (intended for use with tobacco only).
link to original post



I knew the guy who owned the video store in my area and he said all his profit came from the backroom. He said the regular video rentals paid his rent and his employees and everything else and the porn videos were pure profit. There was never almost any time of day when there wasn't somebody in the backroom renting videos. This was long before the Internet and it was the only place to get them. It was mostly men but there were a lot of women that went in there together and they laughed and giggled looking at the boxes but they always rented something. I don't remember ever seeing a woman back there by herself that would be just weird.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
Dieter
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June 3rd, 2026 at 12:19:41 PM permalink
Quote: EvenBob

Quote: Dieter

Quote: rxwine

My girlfriend (at the time) brother had his own small video store during the Blockbuster era. He did alright, but then he had a backroom where he also rented porn videos.
link to original post



The porn shop around the corner from my first apartment had a similar deal. The front lobby was full of "non-adult" mainstream videos, and they rented them for dirt cheap - something like 1/3rd the price of the national chains.

They were clearly making their money on the back room - videos, novelties, apparel, and a wide assortment of contemporary smoking accessories (intended for use with tobacco only).
link to original post



I knew the guy who owned the video store in my area and he said all his profit came from the backroom. He said the regular video rentals paid his rent and his employees and everything else and the porn videos were pure profit. There was never almost any time of day when there wasn't somebody in the backroom renting videos. This was long before the Internet and it was the only place to get them. It was mostly men but there were a lot of women that went in there together and they laughed and giggled looking at the boxes but they always rented something. I don't remember ever seeing a woman back there by herself that would be just weird.
link to original post



This place was a usual pilgrimage for bachelorette party favors and the "Joe is turning 18, let's get him a magazine" excursions. Many of these outings included a participant that wasn't quite 18 by strict reckoning, or otherwise didn't have satisfactory ID. The front room was open without age restriction, but to go in the back, the clerk carded everyone. (There had been numerous busts in the past.)

Still, once you had a membership card, front room videos rented for something stupid like $1 a week, tax included, and they had a decent selection of classic films. Other shops were charging $5 for a weekend.

Other places were definitely less expensive for the back room content. One place didn't have a back room, just a binder listing titles. Pick a video number, pay the $7 for a week, get the plain brown wrapper, and bring it back on time or expect embarassing reminder calls. (They were $3 for a weekend on the "front room" titles.)
May the cards fall in your favor.
billryan
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June 3rd, 2026 at 1:58:35 PM permalink
In the late 1980s, NYC passed a new regulation about X-rated videos and shops. It was something to the effect that less than 5% of a store's merchandise could be X-rated. My comic distributor was sitting on a warehouse full of unsold comics, and a deal was struck with the powers that ran the porn shops. Soon, in addition to sex toys and porn, all the shops had a tabletop wth thousands of incredibly overpriced comic books. The law was struck down, and suddenly, hundreds of thousands of comics flooded the city's wholesale shops.
Last edited by: billryan on Jun 3, 2026
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
AutomaticMonkey
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Joined: Sep 30, 2024
June 3rd, 2026 at 3:42:46 PM permalink
There were some people who had a problem with Blockbuster's no-porn policy, "Censorship! Censorship! Moral Majority!" and such bleats, perhaps without considering most of their clerks were high school kids (back when teens had afterschool and summer jobs) and could not have any contact with porn.

Those nasty paperback hank books that were everywhere back in the 70s and 80s, even at legit retailers, now have collectible value.
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