What Did You Get for Christmas?

[BobG]

I normally don't care what I get for Christmas, but this year's was a very unexpected surprise.

I got a Pickett N4-ES Vector Hyperbolic Dual Base Slide Rule.

This is listed as having 34 scales, but that's a little deceiving. It has a 30 inch cube root scale (that's 3 scales), a 20 inch square root scale (2 scales), and an 80 inch log-log scale and the log base 10 scale. It has a 20" hyperbolic sine and tangent scales, plus the normal 20" tangent, sine, and small angle sine scales, C (one each side), D (one each side), CF, DF, CF/M, and DF/M scales, plus the reciprical CI, CIF and DI scales. It's aluminum with a plastic lined leather case in Pickett's famous eye-saver yellow.

Mine's a little unusual in that it only has 33 scales. It's missing the Ln scale from 0 to 2.3 and it's also missing the 1959 copyright notice. I think this one was a very early version.

One of the most sophisticated slide rules ever made and my wife picked it up at a thrift store for $16. The only restoration it needed was cleaning off the glue from a price tag that had been stuck directly on the slide rule.

 

[Cyrus]

I got my Book from the UPS lady for my winter-term class (Machine Design), I got a nice sweat shirt, which I'm wearing right now (Funny how I used to hate getting clothes, now I WANT to get clothes), and I got my grades in which were all good with one exception which was REALLY BAD. ;-)

 

[rachmaninoff]

Tickets to a physics conference in subtropical Florida! And yet another season of The Simpsons on DVD. Also a book on manifolds.

 

[tribdog]

all I got was laid

 

[scott1]

I did get a book about time travel but then I traveled back into time and explained to them time travel is impossible.

 

[JasonRox]

all I got was laid

I get that all year round.

 

[z-component]

all I got was laid

Wow, Santa's getting more creative.

 

[The_Professional]

a box of chocolates, 2 shirts, a $30 gift card. And oh, a couple of kisses...

 

[hypatia]

Some Dewalt self starting drill bits, two pairs of gold earings, a M&M 1/38 die cast car and some fancies from Victoria Secrets.

 

[matthyaouw]

I got an illness, woo!
I spent half the day sleeping, ate hardly any xmas dinner, and missed my friends birthday party.

I did get an owl pellet disection kit though. How cool is that?

 

[brewnog]

Like matthyizzaouw, I also got an illness. I think it was self-inflicted, I don't really remember.

Other than the obligatory poisoning, I got "Is it just me, or is everything ****e?", some stuff to make me smell less bad, and some electronic drumsticks with authentic sounds. Lovely.

 

[zanazzi78]

I got some new eye pieces and a filter set for my telescope, socks! and one of http://www.sony.co.uk/view/ShowProd...ageType=Overview&category=PAW+Network+Walkman
(oh and i gave my self a hangover too )

 

[matthyaouw]

Like matthyizzaouw, I also got an illness. I think it was self-inflicted, I don't really remember.
Other than the obligatory poisoning, I got "Is it just me, or is everything ****e?", some stuff to make me smell less bad, and some electronic drumsticks with authentic sounds. Lovely.

I've had my eye on those drum stick things for a while. Are they any good?

 

[brewnog]

I've had my eye on those drum stick things for a while. Are they any good?

As musical instruments, no, they're rubbish!

As tools for making noise and pissing off the family, they're fantastic.

 

[FredGarvin]

Bob,
Have you ever seen this guy?

http://www.slideruleguy.com/

I was given an old Pratt & Whitney turbine slide rule bought from him. I talked to him for a bit. Very nice and has a lot of stuff. The new Pickett you got, is it that great green color? I love those for some reason.

 

[Moonbear]

I got the flannel sheets I asked for, and a 3 1/2 qt pot (I really wanted the 2 qt one, but this will do), and a cashmere, sleeveless, turtleneck sweater. Only my sister could find something like that. What season am I supposed to wear it in? It's very soft, but really, when do you wear a sleeveless, turtleneck, cashmere sweater? I got a big container of espresso beans too. Oh, and "snowman soup" from my nephew (it's a packet of hot chocolate mix, two marshmallows and a candy cane to stir it with ).

 

[Physics_wiz]

I got my Book from the UPS lady for my winter-term class (Machine Design)

I'm taking that in the spring too

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I got socks, shirts, and underwear. My birthday is coming up in about a week and a half, I wonder if I'll get more.
I still have packages of socks from last year that I haven't opened lol.
And they're always white socks. I can't wear white socks five days out of the week because of work lol.

 

[BobG]

Bob,
Have you ever seen this guy?

http://www.slideruleguy.com/

I was given an old Pratt & Whitney turbine slide rule bought from him. I talked to him for a bit. Very nice and has a lot of stuff. The new Pickett you got, is it that great green color? I love those for some reason.

I've probably run across him in Yahoo's International Slide Rule Group (but I haven't posted there in a while). I think I've probably bid against him on E-Bay, as well.

No, mine is yellow.

 

[marlon]

I got a 450 euro Brittish Shorthair. Here name is Gioia and you can look at here picture in the member's photo thread

regards
marlon

 

[Mk]

I got two boxes of Godiva chocolates. Mmmm! Delicious!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

The cats brought me some dead things.

 

[Mk]

I prefer to eat dead things.

 

[rachmaninoff]

Doesn't everyone.

 

[recon]

I got a TI-89 Titanium from Canada. Graphing calculators are only available at one shop in Brunei, and they only have one (rather inferior) model available! Now I'm the only kid in my town with a programmable calculator... MUAHAHAHA!

Almost everyone at my school uses this model of Casio:
http://paranoffice.com/templates/skin/images/program_basic/product/20040614150915_1.jpg

 

[DM]

Almost everyone at my school uses this model of Casio

You mean the legendary fx-83WA Casio calculator model. I also have a graphic calculator but choose to use the Casio model, it is very practical, handy to handle at all times and obviously very cheap to buy. The problem with my SHARP EL-9650 graphic calculator is that it's somewhat cumbersome (at least mine is) to handle. But I must confess that I'm rather more preoccupied with handling it and in the process braking it than carrying it with me. I mostly only use it at home.

 

[matthyaouw]

As musical instruments, no, they're rubbish!
As tools for making noise and pissing off the family, they're fantastic.

They sound perfect

 

[BobG]

For those of you virtually incapacitated by jealousy over my Pickett N4-ES slide rule, take heart. You can share the experience, even if you don't own the actual slide rule. Try Derek Ross's Virtual Slide Rule. Click on the cursor (the glass with the hairline marker) and drag it where you need it. Click on the slide (the middle section from CF to C) and drag it where you need it.

He has other Picketts modeled as well at Derek's Virtual Slide Rule Gallery. He even has some demo examples and some instructions on how to use a slide rule. (For the Italians at this site, there's an Italian version of this page, as well.)

Edit: Notice the corrosion on Derek's slide rule (he made his virtual slide rule from photograph's of his slide rule). I'm surprised he wasn't able to clean it up better. It's time consuming, but none of my slide rules still have that gunk on the metal. Sometimes I guess they're just too far gone. I have an Albert Nestler 23R that I haven't been able to fully restore, because I'm afraid the fix might destroy the slide rule completely (there's a metal brace to bridge the gap for the slide that has warped, so the body tends to grip the slide very tightly on one side)

 

[FredGarvin]

For those of you virtually incapacitated by jealousy over my Pickett N4-ES slide rule, take heart. You can share the experience, even if you don't own the actual slide rule. Try Derek Ross's Virtual Slide Rule. Click on the cursor (the glass with the hairline marker) and drag it where you need it. Click on the slide (the middle section from CF to C) and drag it where you need it.
He has other Picketts modeled as well at Derek's Virtual Slide Rule Gallery.

That is pretty cool. Much better than the little stand alone prog that I have. I'm going to bookmark that one.

Here's a pic of my beauty which has a pristine leather carrying case w/ belt loop:

 

[DM]

You guys are immensely tempting me to purchase a pickett beauty. Are those internationally available? More specifically in Europe? Are they expensive? Would you mind telling me how much your pickett cost, FredGarvin?

 

[Cyrus]

Physics_wiz, what book are you using?

 

[FredGarvin]

You guys are immensely tempting me to purchase a pickett beauty. Are those internationally available? More specifically in Europe? Are they expensive? Would you mind telling me how much your pickett cost, FredGarvin?

I honestly can not remember how much I paid for it. It was a bit pricey though. It is a collector's item now. Plus it was never used. I think it was about $90. You can buy beginners and less expensive ones though for about $25-50 range. I like this guy's site:

http://www.sphere.bc.ca/test/sruniverse.html
Very nice folks there.

I got my Book from the UPS lady for my winter-term class (Machine Design)

Oooh...good class. One of the better ones. Pay attention. If you get a good prof. you can learn a lot of good stuff in there that you can apply.

 

[Cyrus]

My books is by Shingley-Mischke-Budynas, "Mechanical Engineering Design" its a 3 week course of self inflicting torture.

 

[FredGarvin]

My books is by Shingley-Mischke-Budynas, "Mechanical Engineering Design" its a 3 week course of self inflicting torture.

3 weeks? That's it? Hmm...I wonder what the syllabus will include then.

 

[Cyrus]

Yeah, its winter term. 1 day = 1 week.

Topics:
· Stress analysis of machine elements
· Deflection and stiffness of machine elements
· Fits and tolerances
· Materials for machine elements
· Steady loading
· Variable loading
· Fasteners and connections
· Bolts preloading
· Welded joints
· Mechanical springs
· Rolling-contact bearings
· Lubrication, journal bearings
· Bearings design considerations
· Gearing general
· Spurs and gears
· Clutches, brakes
· Couplings, flywheels
· Belts, shafts, axles


I don't know if well actually do all of it or not.

 

[BobG]

You guys are immensely tempting me to purchase a pickett beauty. Are those internationally available? More specifically in Europe? Are they expensive? Would you mind telling me how much your pickett cost, FredGarvin?

I honestly can not remember how much I paid for it. It was a bit pricey though. It is a collector's item now. Plus it was never used. I think it was about $90. You can buy beginners and less expensive ones though for about $25-50 range. I like this guy's site:

http://www.sphere.bc.ca/test/sruniverse.html
Very nice folks there.

Walter Shawlee's Slide Rule Universe that Fred mentioned is the best slide rule site I've found. He has lots of information on slide rules on his site and is a great reference, even if you're buying your slide rule on E-Bay. His slide rules are quite a bit more expensive than buying one off E-Bay, but you also don't have the risk either. Walter will have already cleaned up and restored the slide rules he sells. I've bought a couple of slide rules from his site (plus a pretty cool RCA pencil). He has charity auctions every so often, which are hard to resist.

If the seller provides good photographs and you know what you're looking for, E-Bay is usually the cheaper option (just search for slide rules). Of course, the prices will vary quite a bit, as well, since there will be other bidders that want the quality slide rules.

Starter plastic slide rules go very cheap. Your best bet for the quality slide rules are the Post Versalog, the K&E Deci-Logs, or the Picketts on US E-Bay sites. These are extremely common, meaning just about every collector already has one. You can get one of these in excellent condition on E-Bay for around $50 (the leather case should be in good condition, too - you can usually restore the leather case, but you won't know just from the picture) vs. the nearly $200 you would pay at Slide Rule Universe. The wooden slide rules will probably still have good action with the slide, but there's a risk. The bamboo Hemmis, Hughes & Owens, and Posts will almost certainly still have good action - bamboo is self lubricating and should last a minimum of 50 years, even if stored in less than optimal conditions (advertised lifetime was 50-75 years - my oldest is 51 years old and works perfectly).

Actually, being in Europe, you should be able to find a good Faber Castell, Nestler, Dietzgen, or Aristo at a local thrift store, antique store, or garage sale. These were top of the line slide rule makers. They're kind of exotic finds in the US.

 

[BobG]

That is pretty cool. Much better than the little stand alone prog that I have. I'm going to bookmark that one.
Here's a pic of my beauty which has a pristine leather carrying case w/ belt loop:

Very nice. The specialty rules just amaze me. Most of them are still better suited for their function and quicker and easier to use than a calculator. I took a Chemistry class with a Post 1491 Chemical Engineering slide rule. It was much better suited for the class than a calculator. In fact, by the end of the class, I was pretty much convinced that Michael Chang, the author of the textbook, must have been a slide rule collector, himself. Any answer that would be found on the left side of the slide rule was given to 4 sig figs while answers found on the right side were always given to 2 sig figs.

 

[FredGarvin]

Very nice. The specialty rules just amaze me. Most of them are still better suited for their function and quicker and easier to use than a calculator. I took a Chemistry class with a Post 1491 Chemical Engineering slide rule. It was much better suited for the class than a calculator. In fact, by the end of the class, I was pretty much convinced that Michael Chang, the author of the textbook, must have been a slide rule collector, himself. Any answer that would be found on the left side of the slide rule was given to 4 sig figs while answers found on the right side were always given to 2 sig figs.

I think it's pretty much a draw with my programmable calculator for specific calcs. I do tend to get rusty if I don't use it though. I do like seeing the look on people's faces when I walk into a test cell with it. It does tend to stick out.

 

[FredGarvin]

Yeah, its winter term. 1 day = 1 week.
Topics:
· Stress analysis of machine elements
· Deflection and stiffness of machine elements
· Fits and tolerances
· Materials for machine elements
· Steady loading
· Variable loading
· Fasteners and connections
· Bolts preloading
· Welded joints
· Mechanical springs
· Rolling-contact bearings
· Lubrication, journal bearings
· Bearings design considerations
· Gearing general
· Spurs and gears
· Clutches, brakes
· Couplings, flywheels
· Belts, shafts, axles
I don't know if well actually do all of it or not.

Boy...going over it that fast, I sure hope you don't glance over things. My first DME class was kind of like that. I had to go back and really learn things I found out I should have known.

 

[BobG]

I do tend to get rusty if I don't use it though.

Yeah, that can be a problem, especially keeping track of that darned decimal place: Rocket science at its finest

I do like seeing the look on people's faces when I walk into a test cell with it. It does tend to stick out.

Especially if you lose track of the decimal place: Rocket science at its even more finest

 

[tribdog]

Wow, Santa's getting more creative.

get your mind out of the gutter. What I meant to say was what I got was laid, by a chicken. I got an Egg McMuffin.

 

[hypatia]

Does she know your pet name for her is McMuffin?

 

[tribdog]

I call her McMuffin because she has wrinkley buns, she calls me vienna sausage, but I don't get it.

 

[Cyrus]

Boy...going over it that fast, I sure hope you don't glance over things. My first DME class was kind of like that. I had to go back and really learn things I found out I should have known.

I found this to be true for every class no matter how good the teacher. I am in the process of 'learning' engineering from square 1. I am working through statics, every single problem, every single chapter, but paying more focus on theroy than problem solving. Even something simple like statics can be very very hard, if you think about it long enough.

 

[FredGarvin]

Yeah, that can be a problem, especially keeping track of that darned decimal place: Rocket science at its finest
Especially if you lose track of the decimal place: Rocket science at its even more finest

That's pretty darned funny. I always have my data system backing me up. I would not try it on the fly, on my own in a million years. Things happen too fast and too many things to look at.

 

[FredGarvin]

I found this to be true for every class no matter how good the teacher. I am in the process of 'learning' engineering from square 1. I am working through statics, every single problem, every single chapter, but paying more focus on theroy than problem solving. Even something simple like statics can be very very hard, if you think about it long enough.

That reminds me of what my senior project counsellor told my group when I got my undergrad..."Now you know enough to ask intelligent questions."

 

[DM]

Actually, being in Europe, you should be able to find a good Faber Castell, Nestler, Dietzgen, or Aristo at a local thrift store, antique store, or garage sale. These were top of the line slide rule makers. They're kind of exotic finds in the US.

Yes, I suppose I could do but I must admit I'm not an expert on this. It would take me a considerable amount of time to first of all consider it and then indeed doing it. I've never been too adventurous on finding things around here. Auctions certainly would sell them but of course the conditions of the items are bound to be somewhat detrimental.

The $200 at Slide Rule Universe is also quite expensive. Perhaps saving a bit will benefit me more than planning on buying it in auctions that are 50-50 (by being quite frankly optimistic) likely to sell them on the day. This of course also demands a lot of time to travel around the vicinities of my town and to a greater extent, around London.

Thank you for the input guys.

 

[BobG]

Yes, I suppose I could do but I must admit I'm not an expert on this. It would take me a considerable amount of time to first of all consider it and then indeed doing it. I've never been too adventurous on finding things around here.

Admittedly, it's easier if you're married and get dragged around to these stores and sales whether you like it or not.

 

[DM]

Admittedly, it's easier if you're married and get dragged around to these stores and sales whether you like it or not.

Now that you mention it, I might as well save the money until then. Why step outside and drag myself to auctions when I might be hauled (conserving energy in the process) by my future wife?

Splendid analogy

 

[Danger]

I didn't get a sliderule.

But that's okay, really, 'cause I don't know how to use one.