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Re: "Aftermath" - September 17, 2021

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 11:51 am
by Joe Ross
SingleMalt wrote: Fri Sep 17, 2021 6:16 pm Image

I see your fancy calculators and raise with a SLIDE RULE!
My most cherished inheritance from Dad was his 6" slide rule. With apologies, I cannot locate it immediately nor post a photo.

Dad was the chief engineer for a large machine tool manufacturer, for many years, until moving on when the company was purchased & sold for parts. He wasn't above pulling out his ever-present slide rule when needed.

I think I've posted this, before, but he had a dedicated cadre of people who'd wait for him to arrive at his grocery store at his set time every Thursday night. Having eight kids, he knew how to stretch a dollar. His groupies would follow him up and down the aisles, purchasing what he'd purchase, if on their lists, knowing that it was the best price. This was the days before unit pricing was posted for every item in a store. Dad would pull out the slide rule to be sure, giving others confidence.

This story was told to me upon meeting the mother of one of my first new friends made in high school. She said, "You're Paul Ross's son? Let me tell you about your dad & why so many women love him..." (!)

He shopped there because a couple of my elder sisters worked there. They'd be embarrassed by his shopping habits, until I passed along the story. They thought the gaggle of shoppers behind him were mocking him.

Fun memories induced by discussions of an "ancient" gozintas & takeaways device.

Re: "Aftermath" - September 17, 2021

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 12:26 pm
by Heddafish
Finally ashore with so nudges. It’s clear that this long week has caused my brain to stall. Thanks for the help new friends. Looking forward to next week!

Re: "Aftermath" - September 17, 2021

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 12:32 pm
by EVJ
JennyByrd wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 8:13 am
BarbaraK wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 8:01 am
JAQT wrote: Sat Sep 18, 2021 10:03 pm
I know that auee89 knows, and I'm pretty sure that Bob, as an RPI grad knows (my son loved RPI), but does anyone else know what "RPN" stands for?

Hint: it's not a typo for "RPI"
Reverse Polish Notation. Be careful asking people about this; you may trigger an hour long explanation about why it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. People who love it feel strongly about it and just don’t get why most of the world never got on board. 🙂
Confession: I am one of those people. RPN is indeed far superior to ‘standard’ calculators - I just bored my teenager at dinner the other night extolling its virtues.
I learn so much on this forum. I love you people😘

Re: "Aftermath" - September 17, 2021

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 12:33 pm
by Heddafish
Finally ashore with some nudges. It’s clear that this long week has caused my brain to stall. Thanks for the help new friends. Looking forward to next week!

Re: "Aftermath" - September 17, 2021

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 12:40 pm
by Bob cruise director
Joe Ross wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 11:51 am
SingleMalt wrote: Fri Sep 17, 2021 6:16 pm Image

I see your fancy calculators and raise with a SLIDE RULE!
My most cherished inheritance from Dad was his 6" slide rule. With apologies, I cannot locate it immediately nor post a photo.

Dad was the chief engineer for a large machine tool manufacturer, for many years, until moving on when the company was purchased & sold for parts. He wasn't above pulling out his ever-present slide rule when needed.

I think I've posted this, before, but he had a dedicated cadre of people who'd wait for him to arrive at his grocery store at his set time every Thursday night. Having eight kids, he knew how to stretch a dollar. His groupies would follow him up and down the aisles, purchasing what he'd purchase, if on their lists, knowing that it was the best price. This was the days before unit pricing was posted for every item in a store. Dad would pull out the slide rule to be sure, giving others confidence.

This story was told to me upon meeting the mother of one of my first new friends made in high school. She said, "You're Paul Ross's son? Let me tell you about your dad & why so many women love him..." (!)

He shopped there because a couple of my elder sisters worked there. They'd be embarrassed by his shopping habits, until I passed along the story. They thought the gaggle of shoppers behind him were mocking him.

Fun memories induced by discussions of an "ancient" gozintas & takeaways device.
But the real question is "did your Dad have a pocket protector"

He sounds like a great guy.

Re: "Aftermath" - September 17, 2021

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 12:45 pm
by Bob cruise director
Good afternoon muggles

I have to get this report out before kickoff. A busy day for the tender drivers and some of the coast guard. We have 2 on the ship and 256 on the shore - 9 below last week's record.

I will be posting the link to the Friday discussion between Matt and Pete Muller a bit later - it is really good.

Getting to the shore since yesterday are

Beth A - who was on the shore yesterday but I was dazzled by her and her twin (Beth T) who got there at the same time.
Omnibus
lbray
sanmilton
eagle1279
Billy M
flamingbear
Jeremy
Cosmo
Mord
katnahat
SewYoung
Ann
Scott L
ReB
khanthedane
martimeryard
Alan A
tonearm
heddafish

Good luck and stay safe.

Re: "Aftermath" - September 17, 2021

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 12:45 pm
by Limerick Savant
Finished it all Friday night and spent the rest of my time composing the verse I will post Monday morning.

The trip ashore this week is pretty easy so long as you use your navigational skills. 😉

And as usual I announced my arrival right after our @Bob cruise director gave his latest report. Do you think we have a chance at another new record?

Re: "Aftermath" - September 17, 2021

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 12:53 pm
by Joe Ross
Bob cruise director wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 12:40 pm
Joe Ross wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 11:51 am My most cherished inheritance from Dad was his 6" slide rule. With apologies, I cannot locate it immediately nor post a photo.

Dad was the chief engineer for a large machine tool manufacturer, for many years, until moving on when the company was purchased & sold for parts. He wasn't above pulling out his ever-present slide rule when needed.

I think I've posted this, before, but he had a dedicated cadre of people who'd wait for him to arrive at his grocery store at his set time every Thursday night. Having eight kids, he knew how to stretch a dollar. His groupies would follow him up and down the aisles, purchasing what he'd purchase, if on their lists, knowing that it was the best price. This was the days before unit pricing was posted for every item in a store. Dad would pull out the slide rule to be sure, giving others confidence.

This story was told to me upon meeting the mother of one of my first new friends made in high school. She said, "You're Paul Ross's son? Let me tell you about your dad & why so many women love him..." (!)

He shopped there because a couple of my elder sisters worked there. They'd be embarrassed by his shopping habits, until I passed along the story. They thought the gaggle of shoppers behind him were mocking him.

Fun memories induced by discussions of an "ancient" gozintas & takeaways device.
But the real question is "did your Dad have a pocket protector"

He sounds like a great guy.
Of course, he had a pocket protector! He'd have the best mechanical pencils, but the worst ballpoint pens, favoring his fountain pen, when forced to write in ink.

He was a good man, like so many others. He'd be embarrassed to be complimented, but it's true.

He'd shop wherever his kids worked, including a pharmacy where my youngest sister worked, several years after two elder sisters did. That is, he was a long-time customer. She helped him with a particular issue and was asked by a co-worker afterward, "How do you know that priest? You seem to know him rather well." "Priest?!? He's my DAD!"

Re: "Aftermath" - September 17, 2021

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 1:24 pm
by LadyBird
Finally got around to finishing the grid (got the meta on Thursday). My puzzle OCD wouldn't allow me to leave those blanks.

Why is it called Reverse POLISH Notation? Never heard of this--but my financial planner husband had.

Re: "Aftermath" - September 17, 2021

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 1:35 pm
by Dplass
JAQT wrote: Sat Sep 18, 2021 10:03 pm
auee89 wrote: Fri Sep 17, 2021 4:03 pm
boharr wrote: Fri Sep 17, 2021 3:18 pm

Wait. You mean they didn't have batteries?
Mine did! This was a big expense in the mid-80's and lasted me all through undergrad and grad school. RPN was the best.
I know that auee89 knows, and I'm pretty sure that Bob, as an RPI grad knows (my son loved RPI), but does anyone else know what "RPN" stands for?

Hint: it's not a typo for "RPI"
Reverse Polish Notation. HP afficionados know it backwards and forwards.

Re: "Aftermath" - September 17, 2021

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 2:07 pm
by cremebrulee
Not sure it was as easy as last week. This week, I had the pieces, but wasn't sure what to do with them. Gave it a long think to see if I could figure it out, but in the end, just submitted a guess. I didn't have the certainty I had last week! Will see tomorrow anyway!

Re: "Aftermath" - September 17, 2021

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 4:08 pm
by Dennis
Well, what do ya know, I am ashore for two in a row. This was fun and partly because Mike Shenk wrote it and he was a math major at Penn State.(We will need to ask him if he had a slide rule.) And our Nittany Lions beat Auburn last night in what has become know as a Penn State White Out game! A good weekend.

Re: "Aftermath" - September 17, 2021

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 4:23 pm
by mikeB
Joe Ross wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 12:53 pm
Bob cruise director wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 12:40 pm
Joe Ross wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 11:51 am My most cherished inheritance from Dad was his 6" slide rule. With apologies, I cannot locate it immediately nor post a photo.

Dad was the chief engineer for a large machine tool manufacturer, for many years, until moving on when the company was purchased & sold for parts. He wasn't above pulling out his ever-present slide rule when needed.

I think I've posted this, before, but he had a dedicated cadre of people who'd wait for him to arrive at his grocery store at his set time every Thursday night. Having eight kids, he knew how to stretch a dollar. His groupies would follow him up and down the aisles, purchasing what he'd purchase, if on their lists, knowing that it was the best price. This was the days before unit pricing was posted for every item in a store. Dad would pull out the slide rule to be sure, giving others confidence.

This story was told to me upon meeting the mother of one of my first new friends made in high school. She said, "You're Paul Ross's son? Let me tell you about your dad & why so many women love him..." (!)

He shopped there because a couple of my elder sisters worked there. They'd be embarrassed by his shopping habits, until I passed along the story. They thought the gaggle of shoppers behind him were mocking him.

Fun memories induced by discussions of an "ancient" gozintas & takeaways device.
But the real question is "did your Dad have a pocket protector"

He sounds like a great guy.
Of course, he had a pocket protector! He'd have the best mechanical pencils, but the worst ballpoint pens, favoring his fountain pen, when forced to write in ink.

He was a good man, like so many others. He'd be embarrassed to be complimented, but it's true.

He'd shop wherever his kids worked, including a pharmacy where my youngest sister worked, several years after two elder sisters did. That is, he was a long-time customer. She helped him with a particular issue and was asked by a co-worker afterward, "How do you know that priest? You seem to know him rather well." "Priest?!? He's my DAD!"
San Diego’s high school math classes in the early sixties had large slide rules mounted above the blackboard for demonstrating the tool’s use. But the slide rule didn’t exactly automate problem solving. More important than learning to manipulate the slide rule and interpret its scales was learning to estimate the order of magnitude of the original problem’s answer. This became second nature in using the “slip stick” to solve a problem. In the age of calculators and spreadsheet apps, I find this ability continues to pay dividends anytime I’m working with numbers. I’m not sure they teach that explicitly anymore, but to me it is a lasting gift of the slide rule days.

Re: "Aftermath" - September 17, 2021

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 4:56 pm
by Limerick Savant
Joe Ross wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 11:51 am
SingleMalt wrote: Fri Sep 17, 2021 6:16 pm Image

I see your fancy calculators and raise with a SLIDE RULE!
My most cherished inheritance from Dad was his 6" slide rule. With apologies, I cannot locate it immediately nor post a photo.

Dad was the chief engineer for a large machine tool manufacturer, for many years, until moving on when the company was purchased & sold for parts. He wasn't above pulling out his ever-present slide rule when needed.

I think I've posted this, before, but he had a dedicated cadre of people who'd wait for him to arrive at his grocery store at his set time every Thursday night. Having eight kids, he knew how to stretch a dollar. His groupies would follow him up and down the aisles, purchasing what he'd purchase, if on their lists, knowing that it was the best price. This was the days before unit pricing was posted for every item in a store. Dad would pull out the slide rule to be sure, giving others confidence.

This story was told to me upon meeting the mother of one of my first new friends made in high school. She said, "You're Paul Ross's son? Let me tell you about your dad & why so many women love him..." (!)

He shopped there because a couple of my elder sisters worked there. They'd be embarrassed by his shopping habits, until I passed along the story. They thought the gaggle of shoppers behind him were mocking him.

Fun memories induced by discussions of an "ancient" gozintas & takeaways device.
Wow! Great story. That picture brings back memories for me of freshman year in the engineering program at U.C. when I purchased my first (and only) slide rule in an easy to read neon yellow. The sheath had a loop on the back so you could wear it on your belt like a sword, ready to do battle with those higher math dragons.

Unfortunately, I became the slain not the slayer, after realizing that my English elective was my favorite class and moving on to the Elysian Fields of English and Pschology. Kept the device for many years though, long past the time that aging eyesight and failing recall would allow its use.

Re: "Aftermath" - September 17, 2021

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 5:14 pm
by Bob cruise director
Here is the link to the zoom talk on Friday with Matt Gaffney and Pete Muller - creator of the Monthly Muller Music Meta. A great time,

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/65hbcx416ct3 ... e7rla?dl=0

There are three files here: 1) the video of the screen, 2) only the audio of the conversations and 3) a text file of the chats as there are a couple of links on there.

ONE NOTE - if you do not have a dropbox account (free or paid), you can only watch the first 15 minutes on line. If you download the entire file, you will be able to see the entire talk

Enjoy and let me know if you have any technical issues

Bob

Re: "Aftermath" - September 17, 2021

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 6:19 pm
by hoover
Well I wandered off after posting success on Thursday, and I come back to find y'all are talking about slide rules. Here's my contribution to the collection, a Sun Hemmi No. 259, the 1954 model, although mine has an HD date code which puts it at April 1957.
Sun Hemmi No. 259 slide rule
Sun Hemmi No. 259 slide rule
Sun Hemmi No. 259 slide rule detail
Sun Hemmi No. 259 slide rule detail

Re: "Aftermath" - September 17, 2021

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 7:36 pm
by Tom Shea
LadyBird wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 1:24 pm Finally got around to finishing the grid (got the meta on Thursday). My puzzle OCD wouldn't allow me to leave those blanks.

Why is it called Reverse POLISH Notation? Never heard of this--but my financial planner husband had.
I believe it is a version of a Polish joke, with the humor of engineers/scientists, which is more than a little misguided..

My history with Polish jokes consisted of sophomoric humor in grade school, even though we had Wiskowski's, Janovsky's, and Sugareski's in school. Then a little in college including RPN, followed by Polish co-workers in Chicago insulting each other.

Then, I was on a flight to Poland 10-15 years ago and sat next to a Physicist on the flight into Poland. When she realized I was American, she asked me why there was so many Polish jokes when Poland had dozens of Nobel Prize winners? It baffled her and I understand why. I was going to a Chemical Engineering conference there and was sitting next to a Physicist.

Re: "Aftermath" - September 17, 2021

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 7:42 pm
by DBMiller
JAQT wrote: Sat Sep 18, 2021 10:03 pm
auee89 wrote: Fri Sep 17, 2021 4:03 pm
boharr wrote: Fri Sep 17, 2021 3:18 pm

Wait. You mean they didn't have batteries?
Mine did! This was a big expense in the mid-80's and lasted me all through undergrad and grad school. RPN was the best.
I know that auee89 knows, and I'm pretty sure that Bob, as an RPI grad knows (my son loved RPI), but does anyone else know what "RPN" stands for?

Hint: it's not a typo for "RPI"
Oh Jeez. Flashback to the FORTH programming language.

Re: "Aftermath" - September 17, 2021

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 7:43 pm
by boharr
Tom Shea wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 7:36 pm
LadyBird wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 1:24 pm Finally got around to finishing the grid (got the meta on Thursday). My puzzle OCD wouldn't allow me to leave those blanks.

Why is it called Reverse POLISH Notation? Never heard of this--but my financial planner husband had.
I believe it is a version of a Polish joke, with the humor of engineers/scientists, which is more than a little misguided..

My history with Polish jokes consisted of sophomoric humor in grade school, even though we had Wiskowski's, Janovsky's, and Sugareski's in school. Then a little in college including RPN, followed by Polish co-workers in Chicago insulting each other.

Then, I was on a flight to Poland 10-15 years ago and sat next to a Physicist on the flight into Poland. When she realized I was American, she asked me why there was so many Polish jokes when Poland had dozens of Nobel Prize winners? It baffled her and I understand why. I was going to a Chemical Engineering conference there and was sitting next to a Physicist.
Wikipedia says: The description "Polish" refers to the nationality of logician Jan Łukasiewicz, who invented Polish notation in 1924.

Re: "Aftermath" - September 17, 2021

Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 7:57 pm
by Tom Shea
boharr wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 7:43 pm
Tom Shea wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 7:36 pm
LadyBird wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 1:24 pm Finally got around to finishing the grid (got the meta on Thursday). My puzzle OCD wouldn't allow me to leave those blanks.

Why is it called Reverse POLISH Notation? Never heard of this--but my financial planner husband had.
I believe it is a version of a Polish joke, with the humor of engineers/scientists, which is more than a little misguided..

My history with Polish jokes consisted of sophomoric humor in grade school, even though we had Wiskowski's, Janovsky's, and Sugareski's in school. Then a little in college including RPN, followed by Polish co-workers in Chicago insulting each other.

Then, I was on a flight to Poland 10-15 years ago and sat next to a Physicist on the flight into Poland. When she realized I was American, she asked me why there was so many Polish jokes when Poland had dozens of Nobel Prize winners? It baffled her and I understand why. I was going to a Chemical Engineering conference there and was sitting next to a Physicist.
Wikipedia says: The description "Polish" refers to the nationality of logician Jan Łukasiewicz, who invented Polish notation in 1924.
Wow! No wonder it took me 12 (non-consecutive) semesters to finish my enjineering dagree.