Member occupations, or lack of....

[fredintoon]

Hi Pete, old boy,
solar panels are OK provided they're kept of roofs where they belong and don't forget those ugly great white painted iron dandelions twirling away on each and every skyline in Canada. Alas for the lack of a decent large scale electricity storage system for when it gets dark or the wind don't blow.
And alas for Concorde, it's a dead bird. When we designed it aviation kerosene was 17 cents a gallon. By the time it flew it was 17 cents a cupful.
100 passengers flying through the sub-stratosphere in luxury at Mach 2.2 is history. 500 passengers sardined into a subsonic widebody is the fuel-efficient modern way to fly.
and yes, I'm still riding although not as far as I used to. This weekend I trailered my XS650/Velorex rig to the Handhills Rally and did an ~ 60KM group ride on Saturday and another on Sunday.

 

[Bob Kelly III]

there's been about 4 guys I know of that came up with Zero Point Energy things and each one the government came in and took every thing they had on grounds of national security...... so Our Government Has the technology to power the entire nation without using ANYTHING
but they won't do it till the fossil fuels run out.... there's just too much money in it ! ..... like everything else ...it's the bottom line that matters not the people !
......
Bob.........

 

[fredintoon]

there's been about 4 guys I know of that came up with Zero Point Energy things and each one the government came in and took every thing they had on grounds of national security...... so Our Government Has the technology to power the entire nation without using ANYTHING
but they won't do it till the fossil fuels run out.... there's just too much money in it ! ..... like everything else ...it's the bottom line that matters not the people !
......
Bob.........

Hi Bob,
Yeah, right, they got that stuff stored in the same secret warehouse they keep the Pogue carburettors in.
Robert Heinlein said it best. TANSTAAFL. (There ain't no such thing as a free lunch)
Energy has to come from somewhere and even if it's free in the sense that it don't cost money
(Sun, wind, tides, geothermal, water-flow etc) the hardware to turn that stuff into electricity has to be built and paid for.

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

The talks about DEC PDP-11s brought back some memories.
When I left the motorcycle business in '78, I applied for a draftsman position in the next big wave, computers and electronics. The interview went similar to FredinToon's experience.

Do you have any drafting experience?
- Yes, about 3 years.

Do you know anything about electronics?
Do you know what a printed circuit board is?
- Yes, I hand built this one in 1966.


Do you know anything about computers?
- Yes, I built one of my own design in 1967. It identified airplanes.
- And, I have a Z-80 system on which I've been writing code.

We have a new section, part of engineering, that we'd like you to apply.

Computer Aided Design on DEC PDP-15
My lab was very similar to this:


And, that year, started producing designs like this:

 

[Bob Kelly III]

Howdy Fred !
but it does come from somewhere Fred ! the energy is all around us in free space ! in the quantum fields I guess !!!!
but your right about that ...it has to be built and paid for ..... but right now soon as someone builds one the government grabs it ! LOL
.... Hell.... I designed a battery charger that will take an almost dead battery and charge it with no external energy added just by using a automotive relay ! ....... and if I can do that there are a bunch of people out there smarter than I am ! LOL
T.henery Moray did it way back when, but took the secret to the grave with him, but others have done it sense....several times
all it takes is a wire tuned to the earths resonant field that induces electron flow in the wire and you have free power 24/7
granted it's hard to make a wire tuned to the earths resonant field seeings as the earth is something like 25,000 miles in diameter
so a 1/2 wave dipole is going to be really REALLY REALLY LONG.... but there are ways to use coils to shorten that dramatically
......but all you need do is simply tune in to that resonant beat of the earth and you'll have all the power you can use !
build one Fred I know you can ! if nothing else but to prove me wrong ! you may be surprised that it actually works ! LOL
.... to each their own !
Bob.......

 

[queenslegs]

Do you know anything about electronics?
Do you know what a printed circuit board is?
- Yes, I hand built this one in 1966.

- And, I have a Z-80 system on which I've been writing code.

Oh ya, taping pcb layouts 4x up with blue and red tape, rotate right with carry, CP/M. Those were heady days my friend.

 

[jonesey]

I did my mechanical apprenticeship working for GKN (Guest Keen and Nettlefolds) in the early 70's, we specialized in cold forming of copper and aluminium, made the rollers for Rank Zerox Photo copiers and electronic components in them days. All export then too. We had a Factory in Welshpool mid Wales. Got made redundant and with Engineering work in short supply worked for a Quarrying company on their crushing plant. The U.K. at that time was difficult, had a young family too. So using my somewhat limited mining experience opted to emigrate to the South African Coal mines. Worked for them for 7 years then joined the Power Generation industry as a commissioning Technician on the turbine plant. My background in Hydraulics certainly helped. Been in this job for 33 years with 2 years to go before pension.

 

[Word Man]

Hi Pete, old boy,
solar panels are OK provided they're kept of roofs where they belong and don't forget those ugly great white painted iron dandelions twirling away on each and every skyline in Canada. Alas for the lack of a decent large scale electricity storage system for when it gets dark or the wind don't blow.
And alas for Concorde, it's a dead bird. When we designed it aviation kerosene was 17 cents a gallon. By the time it flew it was 17 cents a cupful.
100 passengers flying through the sub-stratosphere in luxury at Mach 2.2 is history. 500 passengers sardined into a subsonic widebody is the fuel-efficient modern way to fly.
and yes, I'm still riding although not as far as I used to. This weekend I trailered my XS650/Velorex rig to the Handhills Rally and did an ~ 60KM group ride on Saturday and another on Sunday.

Hi Bob,
Yeah, right, they got that stuff stored in the same secret warehouse they keep the Pogue carburettors in.
Robert Heinlein said it best. TANSTAAFL. (There ain't no such thing as a free lunch)
Energy has to come from somewhere and even if it's free in the sense that it don't cost money
(Sun, wind, tides, geothermal, water-flow etc) the hardware to turn that stuff into electricity has to be built and paid for.

The future of electricity is in Thorium Molten Salt reactors. They produce almost no waste, can burn the waste of our current reactors, and cannot melt down. If we could just get the NRC to work with the scientists and companies wishing to build the things.

 

[Mailman]

The talks about DEC PDP-11s brought back some memories.
When I left the motorcycle business in '78, I applied for a draftsman position in the next big wave, computers and electronics. The interview went similar to FredinToon's experience.

Do you have any drafting experience?
- Yes, about 3 years.

Do you know anything about electronics?
Do you know what a printed circuit board is?
- Yes, I hand built this one in 1966.
View attachment 102055

Do you know anything about computers?
- Yes, I built one of my own design in 1967. It identified airplanes.
- And, I have a Z-80 system on which I've been writing code.

We have a new section, part of engineering, that we'd like you to apply.

Computer Aided Design on DEC PDP-15
My lab was very similar to this:
View attachment 102056

And, that year, started producing designs like this:
View attachment 102057

2M you never fail to amaze me. You are an enigma to me. If I live long enough I might just maybe get a handle on your life. Just curious, has anyone ever actually seen your ears?

 

[old boy]

Hi Pete, old boy,
solar panels are OK provided they're kept of roofs where they belong and don't forget those ugly great white painted iron dandelions twirling away on each and every skyline in Canada. Alas for the lack of a decent large scale electricity storage system for when it gets dark or the wind don't blow.
And alas for Concorde, it's a dead bird. When we designed it aviation kerosene was 17 cents a gallon. By the time it flew it was 17 cents a cupful.
100 passengers flying through the sub-stratosphere in luxury at Mach 2.2 is history. 500 passengers sardined into a subsonic widebody is the fuel-efficient modern way to fly.
and yes, I'm still riding although not as far as I used to. This weekend I trailered my XS650/Velorex rig to the Handhills Rally and did an ~ 60KM group ride on Saturday and another on Sunday.

Glad to hear that Fred,must be motorcycling keeps you young.

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Oh ya, taping pcb layouts 4x up with blue and red tape, rotate right with carry, CP/M. Those were heady days my friend.

Hey, queenslegs. It's great to find folks with similar backrounds.

Haha, "rotate right with carry".
Not a normal part of streetspeak.

You ever find yourself deeply immersed in something, then somebody interrupts you, and you hear this little voice:

"Push stack"...

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Haha, Mailman. Odd, I've head that "enigma" label before.

...Just curious, has anyone ever actually seen your ears?

Silly humans...

 

[resto]

Hey, queenslegs. It's great to find folks with similar backrounds.

Haha, "rotate right with carry".
Not a normal part of streetspeak.

You ever find yourself deeply immersed in something, then somebody interrupts you, and you hear this little voice:

"Push stack"...

My favorite instruction was "NOP", good for killing time........

Kept my old Z80 project, learned a ton from it. It didn't have a proper Hex keypad, so I had to convert the code to Octal (base 8) before I could enter it.
Must have had a lot of spare time back them, and Radio Shack actually sold logic components.

 

[Endee]

I work in Viral Safety/Viral Clearance.
I graduated East Stroudsburg University in '10 and moved to Lancaster, PA where I started working on a vaccine potency project. I worked for a large pharma company that made the chicken pox and shingles vaccine. I made sure the potencies were as listed on the vile. That project ended after 3 years, and I did various other science stuff until 2 weeks ago, when I accepted a job back in Viral Safety/Viral Clearance. I'm kind of excited to be going back to where I started. I liked that job the best.
I have another 35 years before I get to retire...(hopefully)
I have to work on my bike quietly so I don't wake up my kids or my neighbors infant. All in my 8x10 shed.
I still enjoy it though.

 

[queenslegs]

I work in Viral Safety/Viral Clearance.
shingles vaccine. I made sure the potencies were as listed on the vile.

Damn Endee, given the lads round here you should be able to peddle a ton of that shingles vaccine. Momma and I will take a shot!

 

[queenslegs]

Circa 1981, Z80 CPU, Z80 CTC, 2K static ram, 2K eprom, 12 bit A/D, std bus, pull ups, bypass caps for christ's sake. Wire wrapped by yours truly. The noobs I have working for me now don't even know what hex is. In interviews I'd ask them "what's 36 decimal in hex?" Blank stare.. oh never mind. Cut and paste code monkeys is what they are. If they didn't have stack overflow they wouldn't know what to do. They don't even know what stack overflow means lol. Guess we're just old dinosaurs.

 

[Mailman]

Guess we're just old dinosaurs.
View attachment 102326 View attachment 102327

Yeah but a smart old dinosaur! What line of work are you in Queenslegs?

 

[queenslegs]

Started out in the 70's as an Industrial Electrical apprentice, worked underground in the nickel mines of Northern Ontario (awesome job)
Did an Electrical Engineering undergrad and a Masters
Worked many years in avionics design, commercial, a little DC-10 but mostly Boeing 767/757. Fun stuff but getting a design through qualification was a real pia. You could put 6 months into design/prototype and test, then another 6 months in qual. Failure mode analysis for every friggin component. Those Boeing boys were pretty sticky on the paperwork. I guess that's a good thing, fewer "incidents" that way. Wrote an easter egg into 767 control system, back then we had these little led single line 7 segment displays. If you pressed the correct sequence of buttons it'd scroll my daughter's name across the display J E N N A. Was just down the street when some idiots decided to blow the front off the Litton Systems building (there were doing cruise missile guidance systems).
Moved from commercial into Geophysical exploration aircraft, magnetometers, IP, data logging. Fixed wing and helicopters. Far fewer regulations on what you could and could not put on the airplane. That std bus board above was my design which went into a side looking aperture radar (SLAR) device which was used over Canadian arctic waters scanning for icebergs

I'm sure they do all that crap now with Google maps imaging lol.

Took some time off thinking I'd become a musician. All that got me was broke, an ex wife and some really really bad habits if you know what I mean. (Been clean and sober 6 years come November)

Started collecting ex wives like gggGary collects xs's

Got back into the aircraft gig, this time agricultural aircraft (crop dusters) These have almost no regulations! Tons of power to fly fast and low! Lots of navigation/control and data logging stuff. @ 0:09 you can see a decal on the 602 says Ag-Nav GPS. That was us!. We had some pretty slick GPS equipment to keep the pilot on course to maximize fluid usage. No overspray, no underspray. Had some good times in some pretty far away places. Watch the pilot pop over the hydro lines in the 3:00 to 4:20 segment. The spray on/off is all controlled by our system. On the cowling up front is a light bar with puts and keeps the pilot on course. The spray pattern is all pre loaded into the system along with GIS shape files for the spray area . Not your windshield mount GPS, this was all sub meter fast stuff. Did some pretty cool work in northern mexico along the border with the USDA fruit fly eradication program. You wouldn't believe it!

Did some industrial real time embedded data collection stuff and now staying close to home doing conversions from legacy apps to web apps (kinda sucks to tell you the truth) Is what it is and with the trail of mayhem behind me I probably won't ever get to retire. (It blows having to buy 1/2 your house back, and back..... ) Generous Motors is opening a new engineering facility just south of me to do all of their real time autonomous vehicle development. Hoping to get on there but I think there's some ageism going on here!!!!
That's it boys, pants are down!

 

[Mailman]

Queenslegs, that's been quite a journey and a very interesting life. I have been quite surprised by level of technical expertise represented on this forum, yourself certainly included. I think I always had this image of a bunch of blue collar gear heads being involved in this sport. The more I think about it, I think the challenge of keeping , what is essentially an antique motorcycle operating, is something that would appeal to the technically inclined.
The work you did with the crop dusters resonated with me. I have lived on the edges of Phoenix Since 1960,
Phoenix was always ringed with agricultural farms and crop dusters were always in the air. Crop dusting was always a less than exact science. In the old days there would be flag men on the ground that kept track of where the plane just sprayed and would then move down and raise a flag in the air to direct the crop duster where to spray next. These poor guys would often get sprayed with pesticides, I knew a man killed in just that manner.
Thanks for sharing your story. And BTW The musician in you still shows , the " Right now I'm listening to" thread has your stamp all over it.

 

[MaxPete]

QL - did you ever work with Sander in Ottawa? I was on the team that designed an airborne gravimeter with them some years back.

Pete