Before I begin, props have been awarded for correctly identifying the Whirlwind. I'm impressed.


There just haven't been a lot of immersion-cooled computers over the years. I suppose I should have posted the CDC-7600:



The 7600, despite being freon-plate cooled, was never a particularly reliable machine as it tended to overheat. It was also the last machine which Seymour designed prior to leaving CDC to form his own company, and is in many ways the direct linear ancestor of (and architectural inspiration for) the early-generation Crays.




My first thought was actually to post an AN/FSQ-7 (SAGE), but it's impossible to find a good picture of one. Between being classified Top Secret, and being about the size of a city block, I don't think anyone has ever captured the whole computer in one shot.



But here's OJ Simpson working the control panel of one in the 1974 movie The Towering Inferno.






And from the movie The Time Tunnel





And in Independence Day




And Lost






And The Swarm







And Spaceballs





And Get Smart








And Beverly Hills Cop 3






And Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me





And That's So Raven






And Invasion of the Bee Girls






And Virus






And Woody Allen's Sleeper






And Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (I swear I'm not making this **** up)






And Battle for the Planet of the Apes





And Gremlins 2






And The Cat from Outer Space (again, not making this up)







And Paper Man






And Project X






And The Man From U.N.C.L.E.






And Scarecrow and Mrs. King






And City Beneath the Sea






And Futureworld





And KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park (still not bullshitting you)





And Battlestar Galactica






And Every Thing You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask







And, in general, just a ****-kilogram of other movies and TV shows from the 70s and 80s.




Oh, and here's a few decent pictures, each of which show a small part of the machine:










The computer as a whole took up slightly more than one whole floor of a rather substantial building. This was the floorplan of the main processor:



(Note that this image depicts what we'd now call a dual-core system. A single-core machine would be a little more than half the size.)

 

**** that's some erotic nerd **** / movie nerd ****.

 

Today I am dealing with people who are proposing that a 1/16" sheet of polypropylene (shield) is causing a 1/2" thick piece of aluminum strapped to a 3000/lb piece of equipment to bend more than half an inch.

I'm not sure how much longer I can do this.

 

bending because of the weight of the shield?

 

Say 3000/lbs being lowered onto the plastic shielding and this aluminum piece sets down onto it. The proposed theory is that plastic is causing the aluminum arm to bed up 1/2".

 

lol i love those people. In my last job the boss hired his neighbor.. she was 100% unqualified to be in that position (manager) however she was one of those people as well. makes 0 sense, cant tell her *** from her elbows other than by what she collects in the crack but somehow shes in a manger position. The company went under 3 year after she started.

 

This is what happens when you let people who's only skill is to push buttons occasionally and take periodic measurements have a say in things.



See the thin plastic shield that keeps the black dye foam from exiting the tank? That is causing that 1/2" x 4" aluminum arm(cathode arm) to bend, supposedly.
Then i'm the one who has to describe and use facts and data to explain why this isn't the case. I'm convinced our unskilled labor is some of the dumbest in the country. I'm done with this week.

 

If it cheers you up i'm going kitty shopping later

 

One thing that instantly changes my mood are the two cute little furballs that greet me at the door when i come home.

 

You mean that blackish greyish horizontal surface that's slightly above the level of the liquid on the right hand side of the frame? The part that looks like it has rust on it?

You should see what happens when you give these people computers.

And now you both get

 

Nah, see how the plastic shield(red) is being bent out of the way by the cathode arm(green arrow).


F it. Here's the email said unskilled worker sent:

 

Avoid working in the government if you think that's bad.

 

It's depressing to even talk about. So here's a picture of my munchkin with it's short legs.

 

If his theory proves correct, then I would like to purchase that plastic shield. I think you may have inadvertently made some revolutionary advances in materials.

 

OMG, there is like 20lbs of fresh carne asada in our break room. I already had lunch but god damn...

This is why I don't fit in my Sparco Sprint

 

Ehh, I think I'm more interested in getting me some of that flexible "spaghetti" aluminum.

 

The 1000 word novel i wrote in response not only disproved his silly theory, it found the true cause of issue and proposed multiple solutions based on these little hard to come by things called facts and data.

Man, do i wish i had the worlds strongest polypro. We'd all be rich.

 

A bunch of interns fired for "petitioning" management for changes in the dress code:

I was fired from my internship for writing a proposal for a more flexible dress code ? Ask a Manager

--Ian

 

That is not surprising. I imagine we'll see more stories like this where millennials entering the workforce feel like they're entitled to make all their own rules. Certain industries demand disciplined employees for good reasons. If you can't follow the dress code for your internship, then clearly you have some maturing to do.

 

I just want to state, switching from BG trans fluid back to amsoil was a delightful experience...