#158) The Names of Many Libravets Are Now On Mars!

Thanks to JPL and Lockheed Martin, the "Mars InSight Lander" landed successfully yesterday on the surface of Mars! In addition to all its scientific instrumentation, it carried the engraved names of the many Librascope Memories - News Blog readers who signed up last year. See Blog Post #152 dated October 10, 2017. 

A brief 2+ minute JPL video describing the purpose of the mission is available at https://www.space.com/40067-mars-insight-lander.html. Note, the video will start immediately following a brief 30 second commercial. Also note that there are provisions for displaying the video full screen on your computer.

#152) Want NASA to Leave Your Name On Mars?

Perhaps for public relations purposes, NASA has set up a website where you can easily sign up to have your name placed on a tiny microchip and sent to Mars next year. It will fly aboard the InSight spacecraft built by Lockheed Martin. In addition, if you also sign up for NASA’s “frequent flyer” program, they will credit your account for the 33.9 million miles travelled to Mars, including any future flights you may sign up for.

The next mission to Mars; i.e., the InSight Mars Lander, will launch in May, 2018 and land on Mars in November next year. Its mission is to study the interior of Mars and listen for Mars quakes.

The InSight lander is being built at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver. In the attached photo, a spacecraft specialist in a clean room, affixes a dime-size chip onto the lander deck. This chip will carry all the names submitted online by the public from all over the world.

Applicants who opt to include their email address will become a “Frequent Flyer”. NASA will then automatically keep track of all the missions you participate in. They will also store copies of all your boarding passes, and notify you whenever new flight opportunities become available.

To put your name on the “passenger list”, simply Click Here and type it in. Note, press #4 at the top of this NASA website to learn more about Mars and the InSight.

IMPORTANT - The last day to submit your name is Wednesday, November 1, 2017. To date, about two million “passengers” have signed up.

#121) Twenty-three (23) attend recent "Has Beens" luncheon

After over a years hiatus, twenty-three (23) Libravet Has-Beens and a couple spouses gathered March 31st for lunch at the Hill Street Cafe in Burbank. As always, it was a great opportunity for Libravets to discuss old-times, current events, and personal stories.

Those attending, top to bottom and left to right, were:

Photo #1) Ray and Sharon Hand, Gloria and Carl Sorensen, and Don Barton.
Photo #2) Georgine Archer,  Ed Niekamp, and Paul Bazan.
Photo #3) A. J. Pankratz, Roy Bartlome, Earl Valdez, Bill Tilden, and Ralph Simon.
Photo #4} Gus Montes, Paul Bodeau, Steve Shepard, and Harvey Geminder.
Photo #5) Bill Chin, Jim Jaeger, and Chuck Gooley.
Photo #6) Emery Fekety, Dan Sibley, and Don Tubbs.

#118) Three "New" Librascope Videos Are Now On YouTube

Following are three new Librascope videos that I recently posted on YouTube. The first two were filmed in 1997, but have never been published before. The first video is of a very humorous roast of Sam Ward, who served as Librascope President shortly after Lockheed Martin acquired Librascope. The second video is a film of my "surprise" retirement luncheon. I wasn't roasted, but the speakers were very entertaining. The third film is a video slideshow of the Libravets who were honored for their 15+ years of service during the 1980's. The Libravet's photos were copied from the 1980's Librazettes. Finally, I have included a previously published German video of the LGP-30 in operation.

To view these four videos, simply click on the links provided below. Your Comments are welcome.

Sam Ward's Librascope Farewell Ceremony Roast - 1997

http://youtu.be/Z726Z9YXBXg?t=0s

Carl Sorensen hosts a "roast" of Sam Ward, Librascope President and Carl's boss, in recognition of Sam's departure for an opportunity with SAIC in San Diego. Speakers (in order) were Carl Sorensen, Tom Taggart (Manassas, VA), Randy Klebe, Steve Lebit, Tom Cuda, Steve Wallace, Sam Ward, and Bob Lang.

The ceremony ends with the presentation of some "special" gifts.

Retirement Ceremony for Carl Sorensen, a Libravet since 1958.

http://youtu.be/7OV3NJs1bQs?t=6s

On September 15, 1997, a luncheon ceremony was held honoring Carl Sorensen's retirement from Librascope Division, Lockheed Martin. Speakers, in order of appearance, were Craig Gifford (Librascope President), Tom Cuda (Engineering), Ed Arnold (Business Development), Jim Brantley (Union), Ray Hand (Information Systems), Steve Lebit (HR Benefits), and Carl Sorensen (Operations and Resource Management).

Libravets Honored During the 1980’s

http://youtu.be/IQtlOsCQ9AA?t=0s

A Video Slideshow of the Libravets Who Were Honored For Their Years of Librascope Service During the 1980’s.

Note, if you see an advertisement near the bottom of the screen, you can remove it by simply clicking on the X in the upper right hand corner of the ad. The copyrighted background music required this advertisement.

Warming Up The LGP-30

http://youtu.be/7WaYYNUCWMY?t=0s

The LGP 30 is a computer made of valves, diodes and a drum memory. This machine is from 1958. It is located at the museum of the computer science faculty of the University of Stuttgart, Germany. The computer is in a fully functional state.

In this clip, the machine is shown starting up and doing some work, just to get a feeling for what that kind of machine looked and felt like.

#77) Two New Photo Albums Published on LM

In case you haven't checked the Librascope Memories (LM) website recently, two new 1990's vintage photo albums were published there earlier this month.

1995 Service Awards Luncheon Collage

The first album contains 18 candid photos that were taken at the 1995 Service Awards Luncheon hosted by Ed Arnold, Librascope President, at the Cinnabar in Glendale. The service awards were for those senior Libravets who had recently celebrated a major award anniversary with Librascope. Carl Sorensen, VP of Quality and Resource Management, presided over the ceremony. Other attendees included Don Barton, Ralph Simon, Stacy Lavender, Tom Charbonneau, Tom Cuda, Ray Hand, Larry Anderson, Margie Boudinot, Joseph Collin, and Peter Chang.

BSY-2 Collage

The second photo album is an assortment of BSY-2 pictures. During the early 1990's, Librascope was in full production of the BSY-2 Fire Control System Program for the U.S. Navy. During this time there were many visits by the Navy to attend periodic program reviews, and tour the manufacturing facility where they could inspect the systems being built for the Navy's new Seawolf attack submarine program.

Both of these photo albums may be accessed from the Photos section on www.librascopememories.com. Click here to go directly to the Photos section, and simply click on the album you wish to view.

#70) Help Support Librascope Memories With a Free Dropbox

If you are an active computer user, you've probably heard about Dropbox, a simple but reliable computer data storage company that has grown to over 50 million users since 2008. Librascope Memories has been a very satisfied user since 2009. The product works on nearly all platforms, including Windows, Mac OS-X, and most smartphones.

Dropbox offers its users both free and paid accounts that provide up to 200 GB of storage, and there is no limit on individual file size. The first 2 GB is free to new subscribers, but additional free storage is given to current users who sign up new users. Librascope Memories uses several GB of storage, which currently requires that we have an expensive paid account. Future additions to the Librascope Memories website will require that we have even more storage. However, if enough Libravets sign up for a new free account via the special link provided below, we'll have enough free storage to support our website far in to the future.

When you sign up for a free account by clicking the special link below, you'll receive 2 GB of free storage immediately after you complete the installation of Dropbox. In addition, I'll receive 1 GB of additional free storage. Note, after you complete your installation, you too can receive additional free storage by signing up your friends and relatives.

To get started, you must click this special Dropbox link: http://db.tt/3LOdTmT

Note, after you click on the above URL, you'll see a new link at the bottom of the sign up page which will quickly and simply explain Dropbox in more detail.

#44) A Couple Interesting Tid-Bits.

1) Since we posted the "Lost Libravets" page at http://goo.gl/siDji we've located 16 individuals that were missing from our current master e-Mail list of nearly 500 Libravets. The "newly found" are highlighted in orange. Please take a look at this newly updated list and see if you know any of the Libravets that are still missing.

2) This month will mark the 1 year anniversary of this News Blog. Since October 20, 2010 we have had nearly 12,000 hits (visitors), or nearly 1,000 per month! Visitors have come from several countries, including China, Iran, Sweden, Canada, Russia, and more.

3) Nearly 100 Libravets have subscribed to our Blog mailing list recently, with many more to come. Remember, it's free and easy to subscribe, and only subscribers automatically receive e-mail copies of postings the same day they are made. See Blog Post #41 below for instructions on how to subscribe.

#43) Janice (Tempesta) Sandiford's Husband Passes.

Judy MacFarland reports that Joe Sandiford, husband of  Janice (Tempesta) Sandiford, passed away September 13, 2011 of Cancer, shortly after his 85th birthday. Janice worked at Librascope for 13 years, and now resides in Carlsbad, CA.

#41) How to Subscribe to this News Blog (if you don't already)

Why should I subscribe? If you are interested in current events related to Libravets, and would like to automatically receive a copy of all future posts to the Librascope Memories - News Blog on the same day they are made, you should subscribe now.

Occasionally, I send out e-mails to all the Libravets on our large mailing list, but I hesitate to do this very often. By subscribing to the Blog posts, you won’t miss any Libravet news and you’ll receive it ASAP. Since October, 2010, we’ve averaged about four posts per month.

What does a subscription cost? It’s free.

Can I easily cancel my subscription in the future? Yes, there is an unsubscribe link at the bottom of every e-mail you’ll receive.

How do I subscribe? Simply follow these 3 steps: To Print these instructions, first click here.

1.  Go to the upper right hand side of the news blog just below the red background, and enter your e-mail address in the “SUBSCRIBE TO THESE NEWS BLOG POSTS BY E-MAIL” block. Click on Submit. The Blog’s web-site is located at http://librascopememories.blogspot.com/.

2. After clicking on Submit, you will immediately be taken to an “Email Subscription Request” web-site page designed by FeedBurner to help prevent spam. To verify your request, type in a copy of the “distorted” (CAPTCHA) text displayed in the box, and click on Complete Subscription Request. If your first attempt is not successful, you will be given a new chance. Normally, more than one attempt is required, so repeat this process until your request is accepted.

IMPORTANT - to subscribe to this Blog, you MUST complete one more step....

3. Shortly after you successfully complete step 2, you will receive a verification Email from FeedBurner Email Subscriptions in your Inbox. You MUST respond to this Email by opening it, and clicking on the blue hyper-link provided inside the message. You should then be taken to a FeedBurner web-site acknowledging your successful request. 

Congratulations, you are now subscribed.

Note, if the above Email never arrives, it is probably in your Email program’s spam filter or you may have mis-typed your e-mail address in step 1. Unfortunately, some Libravets have never completed this final step, and thereby failed to subscribe without understanding why.

Thanks for subscribing,
Carl

#29) Major Update to the Librascope Memories Web-Site.

The companion web-site to this Blog has been updated to include over 100 new documents and photos. The last update was made seven months ago. Updates include additions to almost every section, including Sea Stories (2), Product Literature (32), Brochures (4), Advertisements (18), News Items (5), and Videos (1). Additional photos include the following: People (21), Places (6), Products (12), and two Photo Albums with 60 photos of the 2010 Reunion.

To view the updated Librascope Memories web-site, click here.

#28) 20+ Libravet "Has Beens" Gather for Luncheon.

A little over twenty local Libravets gathered Wednesday for a "Has Beens" luncheon in Burbank. As always, it was a good opportunity to renew friendships, reminisce, and update each other on recent activities. The Has Beens' luncheons have been held locally since the mid 1990's, and are usually held two or three times a year. To add your name to the mailing list, contact Ralph Simon at ralph3222@aol.com.

#26) Help - Anyone Remember Herman Schultheis (1949 - 1955)?

Following is my response to an e-mail request for information about a fellow Libravet. If you can provide any additional information, please contact John Canemaker at NYU.  Mr. Canemaker is an animation historian and the author of ten books on the subject. He is also the winner of both an Academy Award and an Emmy for his work. Currently he is writing a book about Mr. Schultheis' work at the Disney studio in the Special Process/Effects and Camera Lab. You may view a short, but excellent, video about one of his Disney books by clicking here.

Hi John,

I did a search of the 300+ Librazettes (Librascope's company newsletter) on our web-site, and found a very interesting two-page article in the July, 1953 issue about Herman Schultheis' trip to Mexico. There are also five other Librazettes, including the March - April, 1956 issue which has a sad story about his strange disappearance in 1955.

I'll post your e-mail on our Librascope Memories - News Blog, and we'll see if any of our Libravet readers remember Herman.

Hope this helps you.

Carl

----- Original Message -----

From: "John Canemaker" <john.canemaker@nyu.edu>

To: <soren.cng@gmail.com>

Sent: Sunday, May 08, 2011 7:30 PM

Subject: Seeking Libravets for Research Information

8 May 2011 

Dear Carl Sorensen,
I am doing research on an engineer named Herman Schultheis, who worked for Librascope from 1949 - 1955. Your website Librascope Memories has proven very informative and I hope you will be able to help me further. I am seeking to contact any former Librascope employees who may have known or worked with Mr. Schultheis or have memories of him.  I hope you might help me contact the Libravet community.
Thank you for your interest.
John Canemaker
120 West 70 Street
9-D
New York, N.Y. 10023
212/874-7462
john.canemaker@nyu.edu

#25) Next "Has Beens" Lunch is Wednesday May 18, 2011

To: All Librascope "Has Beens" - aka Libravets,
 

You are all invited to the next "Has Beens" Luncheon which will be held on Wednesday May 18, at the Hill Street Cafe in Burbank. The restaurant is located at 3301 N. Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank, CA 91504. We have a reservation for 11:45 AM and a prearranged menu for $15.00 per person. The price includes a choice of entree, soft drink beverage, tax, and gratuities. You are on your own for bar drinks.

Please RSVP to me (Ralph) by Monday May 16th. I need a head count for the restaurant. 

All Libravets are welcome, so please pass this invitation on. My e-mail address list for Libravets is limited, and may not be up to date. 

Ralph Simon
ralph3222@aol.com

http://www.hillstreetcafeonline.com/

#18) New! 366 Libravet Photo-Movie Now On-Line.

From 1980 through 1989, there were 366 Libravet service award photos published in the Librazettes. Those 366 photos were recently cropped, collected, and put into a slide-show movie format with background music. The resulting 24 minute photo-movie was then published, and is now available for viewing on the Internet. The name of the web-site is Carl’s Gallery, which may be new to some viewers.

Each photo has the Libravet’s name, year the photo was published, and the years of Librascope service being awarded. Service awards were made every 5 years, but unfortunately some Libravets were camera shy when their time came. Consequently, some Libravets had two photos taken during this 10 year period, while others had only one or none. You will note that a few Libravets received awards for 40 years of service!

To view this new photo-movie click here. Next, scroll down to the Movie section on the web-site, and select the “Libravets 1980 - 1989” movie. While you are on the web-site, you will note that there are several other Librascope photo albums and movies that may have been updated since you last saw them.

My thanks to Ray Hand for preparing the 366 photos. To view an index of all the names in alphabetical order click here.

Enjoy,

Carl