Tuesday, December 7, 2010

#13) In Memoriam - Oscar Emanuel Sanden

On October 24th, Oscar Sanden died of leukemia at his home in Stow, Massachusetts. He was married to his wife Lila for 56 years. Before he retired as a Captain in the US Navy, he commanded a destroyer. Then, in 1984, he joined Librascope Engineering, where he retired a little past his fifth year anniversary.

Those who worked with Oscar, included Roy Bartlome, Ray Hand, Harold Klein, Lori Beckler, Sharon Ouellette, Carl Johnson, Harry Kuruma, Gail Rosander, Julia Simmons, Rosemary Zacharias, Zeke Mataga, Barbara Cummins, Judy MacFarlane, and Georgine Archer. Oscar was 78 years old.

Monday, November 15, 2010

#12) 2010 Reunion's "Back to the Future" Time Machine Sold For $95,000 Plus!

A reproduction of the iconic DeLorean Time Machine from the movie "Back to the Future" sold at auction shortly after it was on display at Librascope's 2010 Reunion that was held at the Castaways in Burbank, CA. Note the L107MA casting in the rear section. Auction fees of $17,000.00, plus fees and sales tax were in addition to the $95,000 bid. A detailed description of the car can be found at: http://www.icollector.com/The-most-technically-accurate-reproduction-of-the-iconic-DeLorean-Time-Machine-from-Back-to-the-Futu_i9891584

#11) W.W.II Librascope Balance Computer sold for $312.00 on e-Bay!

Bidding has ended on this item. Bidding increased by almost $200 in the closing seconds!


Item number: 260690001921




WWII “Librascope Balance Computor for Boeing B-17”


Item Ended

WWII “Librascope Balance Computor for Boeing B-17”

Item condition:Used
Ended:Nov 15, 201014:09:14 PST
Winning bid:
US $312.00 [ 24 bids ]
Shipping:
Varies based on location and shipping method
Seller:

Friday, November 12, 2010

#10) W.W.II "Librascope Balance Computer for Boeing B-17" on e-Bay - HURRY if you are interested.

This unusual piece of equipment was donated to the Oregon Air & Space Museum, and has been deemed surplus and thus is being offered for sale. The current bid is only $10.49, but bids close this Monday (November 15, 2010) at 14:09:14 PST. The owner's description, from the e-Bay web-site, follows:

Mounted in a simulated black leather covered case, the device measures 16” x 11” x 3”.  Manufactured by “Librascope Incorporated, Burbank, California, U.S.A. (Does Lockheed come to mind?... for it was one of the companies Boeing authorized to build B-17s.)... and bears patent number 2179822.  It is completely mechanical (no electricity required), the “balancing” exercises being applied by turning the dials.  These in turn move systems of interconnected lever-arms and cables, ultimately arriving at two principal measurements... (1) “Total Weight” in pounds, and (2) “Center of Gravity Position” as a percent of Mean Wing Chord.  There are dials to insert such info as gallons of oil, fuel in gallons, bombs in pounds, etc.  Other dials can be turned to record the weights of personnel, gear, equipment, etc.... in the nose, control area (cockpit & adj. area), entrance, rear gunner area and tail section.  Finally there are large screws at the LL and LR corners... these being for “weight adjustment” and “balance adjustment.  I have tilted the “computor” (sic) panel forward so I could view the works, and they all seem to be fully inter-connected and in working order.  Testing the dials, each causes one of the two main indicators to swing... seemingly effortlessly... that in itself, if you saw the works hidden behind the panel, is amazing.  On top of that, this is the first either I or the curator of the museum have ever run into!

More details are available at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/WWII-Librascope-Balance-Computor-Boeing-B-17-/260690001921

Please post a comment here if you win! 



Friday, November 5, 2010

#9) Blogs explained, or “What the heck is a Blog?

Wikipedia's definition of a blog states, "A blog (a contraction of the term "weblog") is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order."  A blog can be published about virtually any topic, and shaped into whatever the author wants it to be.

Today, there are millions of blogs on the Internet, many of which are tracked and classified by a web-site called Technorati. To learn much more about the “Blogosphere”, Technorati has published a very interesting article titled: State-of-the-Blogosphere-2010-Introduction.

Commercially available blog software programs (e.g., Blogger) usually offer a variety of optional design features to choose from, including "widgets". Widgets are individual special purpose programs that the blog designer (e.g., me) can select and add to enhance the usefulness of their blog. For example, this Librascope Memories - News Blog includes widgets for taking custom (anonymous) surveys, provisions for searching a Blog,  a widget for subscribing to a Blog via an RSS feed reader (e.g., Google Reader), a Blog “Page View” counter, “Labels” for cataloging each post, provisions for archiving posts from previous months, and others. Note, the Librascope Memories web-site also has a Blog page, but the only "widgets" it has are provisions for viewer's comments and an RSS reader.

Viewer participation is very important for a successful blog. This can be in the form of posting comments about the blog’s posts, grading the blog posts (“like”/”dislike”), frequently returning to read the new posts, and participating in anonymous surveys posted on the blog.

Monday, November 1, 2010

#8) Butch Kempski's JBPDS Photo Album on Picasa (172 Photos)

Butch Kempski recently e-mailed me this invitation to view the JBPDS Photo Album he photographed on February 24, 1999.
Thanks for sharing Butch!

You are invited to view Butch Kempski's photo album: JBPDS
JBPDS
Feb 24, 1999
by Butch Kempski
Message from Butch Kempski:
We were still Librascope when JBPDS was active, but I haven't seen any pictures on any of the web sites. Hope some of these pictures make it. Hope to make one of the reunions someday.

Butch Kempski
If you are having problems viewing this email, copy and paste the following into your browser:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=113568022104930822271&target=ALBUM&id=5531238792104194321&authkey=Gv1sRgCMGzjLmBy52wtQE&feat=email
To share your photos or receive notification when your friends share photos, get your own free Picasa Web Albums account.

#7) Libravet Writes a Computer Book

The following e-Mail was recently received from Wes Stupar:

Hi Carl,

The new blog site looks great! It occurred to me that it might be good to tell about my book there. I recently wrote a book that tells about the origins of computers as experienced by me. There is a lot of history of Librascope in it.

Here is a description of the book:

This 50 page book will give you the origins of computers in the age of modern technology. It was written by one who grew up with computers.

What is a Computer? was written with two purposes in mind: first, to expose computers for what they are in order to remove myths that intimidate those who would use them, and second, to give to the world a history of computers from personal observation.

The reader will also find history of technology based upon personal observations of the author who is old enough to have been there.

If you want to order the book for just $10.00, please email Computer Applications at
compaps@roadrunner.com
,
and we will tell you how.

I will offer the book to Libravets at the special discount price of $8. I do not have a shopping cart on my website (www.compaps.com), but if they email me, I’ll send the book, and they can send me a check.

Wes Stupar

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

#6) Time Out!

Just a note to let you know we (Posters) are taking a short time out, so there probably won't be any new posts to this Blog for a few more days. After that, we will report on the hugely successful 2010 Reunion, plus some other news items.

Meanwhile, it's encouraging to see that our new Blog has had over 700 "Page Views" since last Friday (only 4 days ago)!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

#5) Are you on Facebook?

Are you on Facebook? If so, you can share any posting on this Librascope Memories - News Blog on your Facebook page, by simply clicking on the "Share to Facebook" icon located in the lower right hand corner of the post to be shared. This posting, for example, might be a good one to share on your Facebook page!

Currently, there are at least 35 Libravets on our mailing list that belong to Facebook. Recently, a Librascope Memories Group was started by Ray Hand, and new members are welcome to join! It's a good way to reconnect with the Libravets you once worked with. Those searching for the Group should look for the Librascope logo shown here.

#4) Libravets and Librascope are both on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site. It is mainly used for professional networking, and it is open to both retirees and those still working. LinkedIn has over 75 million registered users world-wide, and there are many special interest groups available to join. It is a great way to reconnect and stay in touch, plus it is free to join.

Currently, there are at least 85 Libravets on our mailing list that belong to LinkedIn. In addition, there is a special Librascope Group that currently has 55 members, and many more are welcome to join. Look for the Librascope logo when you join. Carl Sorensen is the Group's Administrator.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

#3) "Librascope Memories" Search Demonstration at the 2010 Reunion.

Ray Hand will have a laptop computer set up at this Saturday's Reunion to demonstrate the powerful search features provided on the Librascope Memories web-site. For example, provide Ray with any Libravet's name, and he will show you how to simultaneously search all 301 Librazettes for that name. In a few seconds, the computer will list every issue that that name occurs in. Next, the computer will find exactly where in each issue that that name appears. After this demonstration, you will be able to perform identical searches on your PC or Mac at home. Similarly, the same procedure can be used to search for other subjects, such as Polaris, or VECP.

#2) "Back to the Future" DeLorean Time Machine will be at the 2010 Reunion!

Three representatives of the Ontario (Canada) DeLorean Owners Club (ODOC), will be displaying a DeLorean "Back to the Future" Time Machine replica between 11am and 1pm Saturday at the 2010 Reunion. The original DeLorean Time Machine employed a Librascope L107MA memory housing, which was a machined aluminum casting. Unfortunately, the ODOC has been unable to locate any of these old castings for their cars, so their members have had to use molded plastic replicas. As a result, they are hoping that someone at our Reunion will be able to help them locate a source for these old castings. If anyone can offer a suggestion, please contact Ken Kapalowski at ken@odoc.ca.

An L107MA casting, like used in the movie, can be seen at the bottom of this Time Machine photograph:

#1) 2010 Reunion reservations exceed 100. Three days to go.

Georgine Archer reports that as of today (October 20th), over 100 people have signed up for the 2010 Libravet Reunion this coming Saturday (October 23rd). Most Libravets attending are from California, but a few are traveling from out of state, including Howard Humphrey (OR), Carl Krohn (NV), Ken & Sue Mandeville (OR), and Mary Styffe (NH). You may still view the invitation at http://tinyurl.com/Libravet-2010-Reunion, but time is very short to make a reservation.