31 May
2014
31 May
'14
9:05 a.m.
On May 30, 2014, at 9:24 PM, John Wilson <wilson at dbit.com> wrote:
On Fri, May 30, 2014 at 05:53:41PM -0700, Mark J.
Blair wrote:
The curve cutter was for autoloading tape drives. For manually loaded drives, the end
wouldn?t matter. I don?t remember any embossing widget.
I have this vague memory that back in the day,
any well-equipped computer
operator would have a tool in the desk drawer which trims the end of a mangled
magtape to a nice, neat curve. Do I actually remember that, or did I make it
up? As I get older, my imagination is getting better than my memory, and it's
getting a lot easier to vividly remember things that never happened.
Nope, it's real. I used to have one somewhere. Was there also something
for embossing a ridge or two into the tape so you could get the free end
loose for sure? That one's hazier. ...
The nice thing about Halon systems is that they would put out fires without endangering
the human. Quite unlike their politically correct replacement, large tanks of nitrogen
that would suffocate humans and flames alike.
How about a handful of Little Blue Things? Those are the 1/4 inch wide blue vinyl strips
that stick to the shiny backing of DECtape, and serve to hold the end to the reel when
you put it into the case.
And of course a Green Card (360 reference card) or variations in other colors for other
machines. I once saw an Illiac IV reference card, but I did?t snatch it. Too bad...
How about the original yellow VAX-11 reference card, the one produced by Stan Rabinowitz
as an unauthorized project ? but nevertheless handed out at DECUS? (It has what looks
like a DEC part number on it, but with ?P?S? in it somewhere.)
paul
What else might be found in the operator's
desk drawer or sitting around the
computer room?
Tex wipes and/or long Q-tips and 99% isopropynol? An O2 tank in case the
halon system goes off? A current resume?