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