What’s new in electronics (1979)

Posted on December 9, 2013 by The Old Wolf

What’s New IN ELECTRONICS

Digital voice
When this phone-answering machine talks to you, the voice you hear—up to 24 seconds of it—has been stored in a digital memory, not on a prerecorded tape. The technique makes the unit simpler, more compact. Maker: DFG, 3550 Marburg, Frauenbergstr. 35, Germany.
Day/night light
The Sensor Lite never needs to be switched on or off. A built-in light sensor does that by detecting the amount of ambient light in the room. The night light is designed for hallways, stairwells, or nurseries. It’s in local Sears stores for $5.49.

8-track VHF
Plug this cartridge into your 8-track and you’ve converted it from a tape player to a public-service receiver that scans up to four VHF high I low bands for police, fire, and other PS transmissions. Bearcat, made by Electra Co., 300 E. County Line Rd., Cumberland, Ind., is $99.95.

PET add-in
Install the circuit board (inset) into your PET computer and it becomes a spectrum analyzer. Check the frequency response of your stereo, for example, from 20 Hz up to 20 kHz in 31 third-octave bands. $595. Eventide Clockworks, 265 W. 54th St., New York, N.Y. 10019.

Pocket computer
It’s not a scientific calculator with attachments—it’s a portable computer, complete with alphanumeric readout. HP- 41C from Hewlett Packard accepts 400 lines of programming (2000, with plug-in memory), works with thermal printer and magnetic-card reader. Basic price: $295.

Super security
Add Comp-U-Lock to your door and you’d better remember the right combination to get in—there are 10,000 possibilities. The electronic system accepts four levels of security, to let in only those you wish, when you wish. ESP Systems, 28189 Kehrig Dr., Mt. Clemens, Mich. 48045; $129.95.

Preston Blair Ripoffs

Posted on December 6, 2013 by The Old Wolf

Almost anyone who has studied Disney animated movies or who is interested in animation as an art form has encountered the work of Preston Blair.

Blair animated the dancing hippos in “Fantasia,” and many other characters through his career; he worked not only with Disney but with Warner as well. Some images from his book:

Facial Expressions

The “Screwball” Characters

I’ve had this book in my library for over 40 years; so you can imagine my surprise when we walked into a McDonald’s somewhere in Florida and found this:

This is wholesale ripoff of Blair’s work. Artists are not supposed to do this; using someone else’s work as a model is one thing, but outright plagiarism is another. It is so blatant I wrote to McDonald’s corporate and let them know, simply because this sort of thing makes them vulnerable. I got a call back from their legal department asking for more information, so they took it seriously.

Blair’s work is probably some of the most pirated ever; all you have to do is go to a Google image search and look for “Preston Blair Ripoffs” – there is no end of examples. Blair may be long gone, but his work is his, and should not be so blatantly appropriated.

But the beat goes on – just today I saw this picture show up on Facebook, a plug for Plexus Slim:

… and the beat goes on.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

Villach, Austria – Kirchtag, 1975

Posted on December 5, 2013 by The Old Wolf

Villach, Austria is located in the state of Kärnten (Carinthia) in the South, and is situated on the Drau river. It is an important traffic hub for the entire region of southern Austria and the Alpe-Adria area. It is also beautiful – I lived there from February to August of 1975, and while I was there I was privileged to experience Villacher Kirchtag, one of Austria’s largest cultural festivals.

Kirchtag (literally “church day,” but encompassing more of a summer harvest festival than anything else) was begun on 1 August, 1936. It begins on the first Saturday in August and runs for a week. The annual Trachtenfestzug (regional costume parade) that takes place on the first day can attract 40,000 to 50,000 spectators.

Below, for your viewing pleasure, the photos I took of the event in 1975.

To the Amusement Park

Rides

Fireworks

Parade

Local clergy

Parade

Hauptplatz festivities

More Fireworks

Ferris Wheel

Amusement park

Parade

Making a point

Parade

Dancing girls

Spook Alley

Parade

Crowds gather to watch the parade

Hauptplatz

Parade

Looking towards the train station

Folk Dancing

Parade

Hauptplatz again

Looking the other way

Parade

Local costume

Oh my God it’s a bear get in the car!

Parade

Local color of a different kind.

Music everywhere

My Kirchtag-ID, similar to today’s concert or event wristbands.

Our little meeting house was on the second floor of one of the buildings along Hauptplatz, giving us a front-row seat for all the festivities. I love Villach, and I have enjoyed every chance to get back.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

Snake Oil Trade Cards

Posted on December 4, 2013 by The Old Wolf

Back in the day, worthless patent medicines with outrageous claims were marketed shamelessly to the gullible public.

Front

Back

Found at the UCLA Digital Library

Good thing we’ve come so far beyond those times.

Oh, wait…

The Old Wolf has spoken

Ms fnd in a lbry… real-time

Posted on December 4, 2013 by The Old Wolf

I previously posted about Hal Draper’s delightful mathematical science-fiction story – the only one he ever wrote – about the challenges of storing and indexing data in ever smaller spaces, requiring ever-larger retrieval indices. But back in 1966, librarians were taking stock of their growing inventories of information, and turning to computers to lend a helping hand… uh, transistor.

1966. “To the rescue. Many librarians believe computers are the only means to effectively cope with their bulging bookshelves.” New York World-Telegram and Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection, Library of Congress. Found at Shorpy.

This photo was taken three years before I took my first FORTRAN class, on a Univac 1108. The advances I have seen in technology in my lifetime rival what my grandparents experienced moving from horse-and-buggy days to the advent of commercial jets, from radio to television. My smartphone has more processing power than the IBM 370/138 I worked on as a graduate student; I always wonder with white-hot curiosity what my grandchildren will be experiencing.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

Commerce on the streets of Naples

Posted on December 3, 2013 by The Old Wolf

“The alleys are a self-sufficient microcosm.”

My previous posting of the umbrella repairman reminded me that there are countless other ways that people made a living in Naples, many of them without license or government sanction. Whatever you could do, you could probably find a market for your services.

These photos depict Naples in the 60s. Unless otherwise noted, quoted text and images are from “La Città Parla – Napoli” (1969, Casa Editrice A. Morano di Napoli)

Mattress-maker

Knife Grinder

Bra vendor

“Scaccia-malocchio”

The “scaccia-malocchio'” (or “guastafatture”) drops by various retailers to practice a ritual with his censer in order to ward off the evil eye. He is sometimes paid for his interventions.

Repairing cigarette lighters

Scrivano pubblico – the public scribe. Many Neapolitans remain functionally illiterate, and these people serve a valuable function.

Selling home-made kazoos.

Water-Seller

Water-seller

“The ‘pizza oggi ad otto’ (pizza today to eight) is eaten today and paid for in eight days. The wandering pizza vendor is also the bill collector. In eight days you can eat another pizza, which you will pay for sixteen days later. The vendor requires no written invoices – he trusts you… or rather, he trusts that you will be hungry again in eight days.”

Cigarette black market in the alleys – all tobacco and salt trade is regulated by the government. “American Cigarettes” are manufactured from recycled cigarette butts.

Wandering paladins singing historical ballads.

Candy Vendor

“Impaglia-seggie” – re-caning chairs

Used Shoe Market

“For those who know that elegance begins (not ends) with shoes, buying used shoes for an entire lifetime can be an all-consuming frustration. This is why the sun of the wildest ambition is sometimes seen reflecting brightly from the shiny toes of a pair of patent-leather shoes… brand new ones.”

Graziella was born in 1864. She is seen here 100 years later, selling taralli in Santa Lucia.
Image from The Italians, Face of a Nation by John Phillips.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

Playing in the World Game

As One

Monthly Archives: December 2013

What’s new in electronics (1979)

Preston Blair Ripoffs

Villach, Austria – Kirchtag, 1975

Snake Oil Trade Cards

Ms fnd in a lbry… real-time

Commerce on the streets of Naples