what did you do today? (2008-2015) (closed)

[kcowan]

We made another Goodwill run this afternoon. Considering how much the two of us have donated in the past month, and considering how many others are doing the same thing, we wonder how Goodwill can possibly handle the huge quantity of donations they receive...

Probably a boon to the many budding freegans in the area.

 

[Rustward]

I had the same TI-55 in college. Bought in 1977 too, to replace my first calculator, which was a Novus made by National Semiconductor. The TI-55 had shortcuts for rectangular-to-polar conversion and back, which were useful for complex number arithmetic, which again was much handy for numerical solutions to network or transmission line problem calculations.

Alan, being an RF guy in college, probably still remembers this kind of problems given on a quizz.

A load of impedance 75-50j Ohm at a frequency of 10MHz is driven with a coax of 50 Ohm impedance and a dielectric constant of 2. Design a single shorted stub to tune the SWR to 1:1.​

By the way, SWR above stands for Standing Wave Ratio, and not something you enter into FIRECalc.

I would still have this calculator, even if it is now obsolete, if it weren't stolen in a house burglary.

The TI's escaped me in the early-to-mid 70's, as I was unable to afford one of the TI caculators.

I was eventually able to afford an HP-35 with its RPN (Reverse Polish Notation) from 1975 or '76 -- don't remember. I thought RPN was pretty cool, but only after I got used to it (the reverse polish notation), and yeah, cooler. Still have the calculator and it worked the last time I plugged it in (and don't remember when that was, but it may have been in this century), the battery has been toast for a looong time.

The HP-35 sure beat the hell out of carrying a CRC math tables book to class every other day. Does anybody remember CRC Math Tables Books?

 

[TromboneAl]

Yes, the RPN definitely has snob appeal.

 

[Meadbh]

Got some friends together and attended the local Diwali Mela (Hindu festival of light) celebrations at the Convention Centre. 5000 people, mostly Indo-Canadian, but some yarmulkes, hijabs and other traditions too (including Caucasians like me). A wonderful evening of great Indian food, hendi painting, beautiful saris and silks (men included) and a two hour music and dancing extravaganza. The place was a sea of colour and rhythm. I don't have any pictures, sorry!

Admission was free, but visitors were asked to bring a donation to the local food bank. Definitely an annual event for me from now on! And next year, I will have my hands painted!

 

[Lsbcal]

...(snip)...
The HP-35 sure beat the hell out of carrying a CRC math tables book to class every other day. Does anybody remember CRC Math Tables Books?

I must have thrown that CRC math tables book out decades ago, but yes I remember it vaguely . I seem to recall the HP-35 was pretty pricey back then. Wasn't it something like $400?

Currently I have an HP 12C (love that RPN) financial calculator. Used to work for HP.

 

[NW-Bound]

The Novus I had prior to the TI-55 used RPN. Still have it somewhere in the house as a keepsake, as its LED display had many segments going dead.

Just the other day, as a lark, picked up a spanking new little calculator with scientific functions, the works but without programmability, for $1 at a dollar store.

 

[GregLee]

I had the same TI-55 in college.

I had an SR-52, which let you make programs stored on magnetic cards to define new functions -- one of my first programming experiences. Lots of fun.

 

[Koolau]

The HP-35 sure beat the hell out of carrying a CRC math tables book to class every other day. Does anybody remember CRC Math Tables Books?

I recall many trips to the Chem library to use the full CRC handbook. Wanted one in the worst way to save all the hassle. As I recall I got a chance to buy a new one for (IIRC) $4 ca. 1967 - a big discount (what, maybe $12 full price?). I couldn't afford it. Summer job was $1.25/hour and tuition was about $150/semester. Big money!!

Could usually make do with a slide rule, but once in a while, I just liked to get lost in all the CRC tables. (Sick? You decide.)

Years after graduation and several years under my belt at Megacorp, I was at a garage sale and found a pristine copy of a 1969 CRC handbook - for $.25. I almost cried. By that time, anything I wanted was available on Sci. Calcs. or wo*k computers. Still, I had to own one. I have it today - someplace.

Thanks for the nostalgia.

 

[kcowan]

Got some friends together and attended the local Diwali Mela (Hindu festival of light) celebrations at the Convention Centre. 5000 people, mostly Indo-Canadian, but some yarmulkes, hijabs and other traditions too (including Caucasians like me). A wonderful evening of great Indian food, hendi painting, beautiful saris and silks (men included) and a two hour music and dancing extravaganza. The place was a sea of colour and rhythm. I don't have any pictures, sorry!!!

We had a similar experience when invited to an Indian wedding a few years ago. The ladies were beatiful in their saris.

 

[Leonidas]

Saturday was the day for high school marching band area competitions across Texas for 5A high schools (there are 23 regions in Texas, each representing several hundred high schools).

This is not the marching band you remember from your high school days. These kids compete flat out at damn near a sprint. Here's DS #2's performance from about a month ago. It's only 1/2 of the final program, and a lot of it changed since then:

YouTube - Clements High School Band

For comparison, here's the same school's band performance from 1988

 

[Lsbcal]

...(snip)...
Years after graduation and several years under my belt at Megacorp, I was at a garage sale and found a pristine copy of a 1969 CRC handbook - for $.25. I almost cried.
...

When we find ourselves crying over a CRC handbook it will be time to ask ourselves about the deeper meaning .

 

[NW-Bound]

When ya'all talked about CRC Math Handbook, did ya mean DIS one, a volume of 1152 pages, or something else, eh? Eh?

Of course, there were other CRC Handbooks on Physics and Chemistry, but I only had this Math one, a Revised 4th edition.

 

[Khan]

Today I made a large pot of vegetable rice soup. Shall consume before too long.

 

[Koolau]

When ya'all talked about CRC Math Handbook, did ya mean DIS one, a volume of 1152 pages, or something else, eh? Eh?

Of course, there were other CRC Handbooks on Physics and Chemistry, but I only had this Math one, a Revised 4th edition.

I had the Chemistry and Physics one. I think it was a few hundred pages more. In addition to stuff like log tables, it had literally thousands of (IUPAC) named chemicals with molecular weights, BPs, MPs, densities, index of refraction, etc. etc. Fun stuff - if you're into it as I was back then.

Reminds me of a story. A lab mate of mine and I were studying at his apartment. His room mate (a humanities major) was working on some lit assignment. As we worked a problem together, my lab mate asked absent mindedly "Whats the weight of bromine?" His room mate looked up and asked "You mean the atom or the molecule?"

Maybe you had to be there.


"QUOTE" "When we find ourselves crying over a CRC handbook it will be time to ask ourselves about the deeper meaning ."

Yeah, I wax nostalgic because chemistry was my first love. Somewhere along the line a bunch of folks (a.k.a. Megacorp) conspired to take the fun out of it. Or maybe I just got old.

 

[kumquat]

Removed the wheelchair ramp I built for a friend two weeks ago. She went into palliative care a week ago. I suggested to her DH that we leave it for a while as "you never know". He said "we'll never need it if it's there, otherwise, maybe". He helped (although he is useless with tools). We didn't salvage much lumber, I think he just wanted to destroy something. Can't blame him.

 

[NW-Bound]

I can't help you with all that chemical compound stuff, but much of the stuff in my CRC Math, which is more than just tables of transcendental functions, can now be found on the Web, or by using Mathematica. Such wonderful modern tools, yet engineering productivity is not getting any better. Oh wait, people now have more time to surf the Web and chat in forums, Facebook and Twitter, which did not exist back then.

 

[Ronstar]

I can't help you with all that chemical compound stuff, but much of the stuff in my CRC Math, which is more than just tables of transcendental functions, can now be found on the Web, or by using Mathematica. Such wonderful modern tools, yet engineering productivity is not getting any better. Oh wait, people now have more time to surf the Web and chat in forums, Facebook and Twitter, which did not exist back then.

Oops! I didn't know productivity was supposed to improve with all this technology. I was thinking about the old TI calculators last week. It now takes me less than an hour or two of PC computing to produce what used to take all day with primitive calculators in the mid 70's. But as you noted, I use my increased spare time online doing 'research'

 

[Gumby]

I recently had an opportunity to discuss log tables with some younger people in my office. None of them knew what they were, and when I explained it, why such a thing was necessary; John Napier gets no love today. They also did not know what a slide rule was.

 

[kcowan]

John Napier gets no love today. They also did not know what a slide rule was.

I wonder if they care how bridges were constructed?

 

[Emeritus]

I recently had an opportunity to discuss log tables with some younger people in my office. None of them knew what they were, and when I explained it, why such a thing was necessary; John Napier gets no love today. They also did not know what a slide rule was.

I suspect at one time the was a crabbed old professor denouncing the young people and their slide rules who did not know how to do the calculation with a quill pen and foolscap.

 

[martyb]

Worked. .. In fact, I'm still here/there. 2 yrs, 2 months, 22 days.....

 

[REWahoo]

Drove the bus and parked it here for the next couple of nights.

 

[freebird5825]

I cleaned off and added some new stick-on letters to my mailbox.
[stage whisper....come on, take the pitch, take the pitch... ]

I am waiting for a phone call from a former colleague who is here in town for some technology meetings. I last saw her in January in Tampa after a 10 year absence. It will be GREAT to see her again.

 

[Moemg]

I cleaned off and added some new stick-on letters to my mailbox.
[stage whisper....come on, take the pitch, take the pitch... ]

I am waiting for a phone call from a former colleague who is here in town for some technology meetings. I last saw her in January in Tampa after a 10 year absence. It will be GREAT to see her again.

I'll go for it what or who did you add ? Betting heavily on the Bostonian !

 

[freebird5825]

I'll go for it what or who did you add ?

Hints:
1. Massachusettes is known for its Portuguese American population.
2. I recently purchased a Portuguese cookbook.
3. I am not a Yankees fan, so there will be peaceful baseball watching.