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Slide Rules
I'm having some significant coping problems at the moment. So, rather than deal with life (as I hope to start doing again tomorrow), I'm thinking of having watched Apollo 13 with Danae over the weekend, and about my small collection of slide rules. Seeing an engineer in the movie doing math on a slide rule made me really happy. To me, they are beautiful, elegant, amazing things. As time goes by and electronic computers feel increasingly eternal -something we can't imagine being without- I think that reminding people that the Apollo program relied on slide rules inspires even more awe. That we sent people to the moon and back relying on calculations made by real, error-prone human beings using these pieces of equipment is incredible to me. We did so much with so little; it makes me deeply sad that we're not investing more in a national space program now with so much technology that engineers in the 1950s and '60s could scarcely imagine.
These are my three slide rules, all found at thrift stores. I found the Post Versalog all by itself at a Salvation Army store in Kenosha Wisconsin. The Faber-Castell and the Pickett were together, but I can't quite remember where. I think it was a store off the highway in Indiana that I stopped at on my way between Detroit and Wisconsin, most of a decade ago. More photos behind
The embossed logo on the leather case of the Post Versalog. Someday I'd like to get this case restored and cleaned up, and use the slide rule as a costume piece at conventions. ("You want steampunk? I'm carrying a 60-year-old mobile analog computer.")
I often wonder, when I look at this rule, who Frank Olie was and what he used his slipstick for. There's a name on the inside of the closing flap on the Post case as well, but it's hard to make out. Possibly K. G. Bland. (It just occurred to me that I might be able to look that up in old Kenosha city directories....)
The faces of the rules show varying degrees of wear. The Post is the most worn of the trio, even aside from the cracked glass of the cursor. (Incidentally, the Pickett is the model in my "geek" user icon here.)
The back side of the rules. The Post, though, doesn't have a backside; it's just got even more scales! It was a versatile, and high-end, unit. The Faber-Castell has a number of charts and tables, and the Pickett is simply blank. This is indicative of the relative market segment and cost of the rules.
As indicated by the name on the rule, the Post company sourced its slide rules from the Japanese company Hemmi from around 1932 to the 1970s, except during World War 2. As best I can determine from information online about dating Post rules, mine was made in December of 1953. (www.sphere.bc.ca/test/post.html)
The build quality of the Post Versalog is reassuringly solid. The metal end caps seem like they'll last forever.
When I was taking my stats class at Parkside, I told Danae that I was going to try to do the math on a slide rule. "I thought you wanted to pass the class," she responded. I did try to do a little work with it here and there, but it's difficult for a couple of reasons. I wish I knew someone I could talk to who'd used one of these, day-in and day-out, on the job. There are questions I want to ask. It would be fascinating conversation.
These are my three slide rules, all found at thrift stores. I found the Post Versalog all by itself at a Salvation Army store in Kenosha Wisconsin. The Faber-Castell and the Pickett were together, but I can't quite remember where. I think it was a store off the highway in Indiana that I stopped at on my way between Detroit and Wisconsin, most of a decade ago. More photos behind
The embossed logo on the leather case of the Post Versalog. Someday I'd like to get this case restored and cleaned up, and use the slide rule as a costume piece at conventions. ("You want steampunk? I'm carrying a 60-year-old mobile analog computer.")
I often wonder, when I look at this rule, who Frank Olie was and what he used his slipstick for. There's a name on the inside of the closing flap on the Post case as well, but it's hard to make out. Possibly K. G. Bland. (It just occurred to me that I might be able to look that up in old Kenosha city directories....)
The faces of the rules show varying degrees of wear. The Post is the most worn of the trio, even aside from the cracked glass of the cursor. (Incidentally, the Pickett is the model in my "geek" user icon here.)
The back side of the rules. The Post, though, doesn't have a backside; it's just got even more scales! It was a versatile, and high-end, unit. The Faber-Castell has a number of charts and tables, and the Pickett is simply blank. This is indicative of the relative market segment and cost of the rules.
As indicated by the name on the rule, the Post company sourced its slide rules from the Japanese company Hemmi from around 1932 to the 1970s, except during World War 2. As best I can determine from information online about dating Post rules, mine was made in December of 1953. (www.sphere.bc.ca/test/post.html)
The build quality of the Post Versalog is reassuringly solid. The metal end caps seem like they'll last forever.
When I was taking my stats class at Parkside, I told Danae that I was going to try to do the math on a slide rule. "I thought you wanted to pass the class," she responded. I did try to do a little work with it here and there, but it's difficult for a couple of reasons. I wish I knew someone I could talk to who'd used one of these, day-in and day-out, on the job. There are questions I want to ask. It would be fascinating conversation.