28 Jul
2008
28 Jul
'08
1:43 a.m.
As long as the rule is "no smoking in the machine room:"
http://www.archive.org/details/tobacco_jmu03f00
7:27 a.m.
On Sun, 27 Jul 2008, Eric Smith wrote:
Jason T wrote:
...and cigarette lighters!
http://sturgeon.css.psu.edu/~mloewen/Ashtray.jpg
Mike Loewen mloewen at cpumagic.scol.pa.us
Old Technology http://sturgeon.css.psu.edu/~mloewen/Oldtech/
As long as the rule is "no smoking in the
machine room:"
Who says there's no smoking in the machine room? One of the largest computer
systems ever built, the AN/FSQ-7, had operator consoles with built-in
ashtrays. 
10:24 a.m.
On Monday 28 July 2008 07:27, Mike Loewen wrote:
On Sun, 27 Jul 2008, Eric Smith wrote:
What was the rotary dial in that pic for?
--
Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and
ablest -- form of life in this section of space, ?a critter that can
be killed but can't be tamed. ?--Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters"
-
Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James
M Dakin
Jason T wrote:
...and cigarette lighters!
http://sturgeon.css.psu.edu/~mloewen/Ashtray.jpg As long as the rule is "no smoking in the
machine room:"
Who says there's no smoking in the machine room? One of the largest
computer systems ever built, the AN/FSQ-7, had operator consoles with
built-in ashtrays.
10:30 a.m.
On Mon, 28 Jul 2008, Roy J. Tellason wrote:
On Monday 28 July 2008 07:27, Mike Loewen wrote:
Telephone. The long, narrow recess under the ashtray was where the
handset lived.
Mike Loewen mloewen at cpumagic.scol.pa.us
Old Technology http://sturgeon.css.psu.edu/~mloewen/Oldtech/
...and cigarette lighters!
http://sturgeon.css.psu.edu/~mloewen/Ashtray.jpg
What was the rotary dial in that pic for?
10:39 a.m.
On Monday 28 July 2008 10:30, Mike Loewen wrote:
On Mon, 28 Jul 2008, Roy J. Tellason wrote:
Ah. I thought I'd remembered them being used for other purposes, on some
equipment or other...
--
Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and
ablest -- form of life in this section of space, ?a critter that can
be killed but can't be tamed. ?--Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters"
-
Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James
M Dakin
On Monday 28 July 2008 07:27, Mike Loewen wrote:
Telephone. The long, narrow recess under the ashtray was where the
handset lived. ...and cigarette lighters!
http://sturgeon.css.psu.edu/~mloewen/Ashtray.jpg
What was the rotary dial in that pic for? 
11:55 a.m.
Roy J. Tellason wrote:
On Monday 28 July 2008 07:27, Mike Loewen wrote:
Not looking at site... I'm guessing to call late night pizza
for the Puter Programers. :)
On Sun, 27 Jul 2008, Eric Smith wrote:
What was the rotary dial in that pic for?
Jason T wrote:
...and cigarette lighters!
http://sturgeon.css.psu.edu/~mloewen/Ashtray.jpg
As long as the rule is "no smoking in the
machine room:"
Who says there's no smoking in the machine room? One of the largest
computer systems ever built, the AN/FSQ-7, had operator consoles with
built-in ashtrays.
2:28 p.m.
Mike Loewen wrote:
On Sun, 27 Jul 2008, Eric Smith wrote:
My only on-site call-out to France was a customer (just outside of
Paris) who had also
obviously never heard of the "no smoking" rule. This was the late 1990s
though,
so no real excuse!
Antonio
Jason T wrote:
...and cigarette lighters!
http://sturgeon.css.psu.edu/~mloewen/Ashtray.jpg As long as the rule is "no smoking in the
machine room:"
Who says there's no smoking in the machine room? One of the largest
computer systems ever built, the AN/FSQ-7, had operator consoles
with built-in ashtrays.
2:22 p.m.
On Mon, Jul 28, 2008 at 12:58 AM, Eric Smith <eric at brouhaha.com> wrote:
Who says there's no smoking in the machine room?
One of the largest
computer systems ever built, the AN/FSQ-7, had operator consoles with
built-in ashtrays.
OK - how about no smoking in the machine room that has open-reel tape
drives in it?
10:16 p.m.
On 28 Jul 2008 at 13:22, Jason T wrote:
OK - how about no smoking in the machine room that has
open-reel tape
drives in it?
ISTR a few folks smoking in the machine rooms at CDC; what was
verboten was soft drinks and coffee on the console. Go ahead, eat a
sandwich or a candy bar, but no drinks. Apparently a lot of hassle
cleaning out Coke spilled into the keyboards.
But smoking? Okay as long as you brought an ashtray.
Ah, the bad old days. The guys who shared the cube across the aisle
from mine smoked a pipe and cigars (rum-soaked Crooks).
I minded the
pipe more than the cigars--the guy smoked all of these really sick
flavored tobaccos. Periodically when the air got too blue, I'd pull
out one the really cheap 25 cent stogies I kept in my desk drawer,
light up, and saunter over for a conversation. I'dve stuffed one
with rubber bands if that wouldn've worked better.
The guy in the cube next to mine was a chain smoker. (Unfiltered
Camels) I suspect he's probably dead by now.
But no one yelled too much if you smoked in the machine room (I think
"officially" you weren't supposed to). Maybe with all that HVAC, it
didn't matter all that much.
Cheers,
Chuck
10:31 p.m.
On Mon, 28 Jul 2008, Chuck Guzis wrote:
ISTR a few folks smoking in the machine rooms at CDC;
what was
verboten was soft drinks and coffee on the console. Go ahead, eat a
sandwich or a candy bar, but no drinks. Apparently a lot of hassle
cleaning out Coke spilled into the keyboards.
For some unknown reason, Pepsi was the more notorious.
After Three Mile Island, Saturday Night Live postulated that it was caused
by "The Pepsi Syndrome", the result of spilling a Pepsi into a computer
keyboard.
Shortly after that, the U.S.A. and USSR (CCCP) normalized diplomatic
relations enough to import vodka and export Pepsi to Russia.
That was followed almost immediately by Chernobyl.
Surely that could not be coincidence!
What did "Pepsi" Sculley do to Apple?
11:03 p.m.
On Mon, 28 Jul 2008, Chuck Guzis wrote:
On 28 Jul 2008 at 13:22, Jason T wrote:
One of the problems that turned Three Mile Island from a place to
an event was spilled coke on the control panel. Apparently
enough switches did not go better with coke that false
indications caused the operators to do the wrong things.
Airborne particles such as smoke were probably figured to be
caught by the HVAC filters. I remember how leaving NAVALEX
every day my body had to rapidly adjust from sixty to the
typically ninety degree Norfolk heat. I got home, opened a
beer, and was quickly sound asleep.
bs
OK - how about no smoking in the machine room
that has open-reel tape
drives in it?
ISTR a few folks smoking in the machine rooms at CDC; what was
verboten was soft drinks and coffee on the console. Go ahead, eat a
sandwich or a candy bar, but no drinks. Apparently a lot of hassle
cleaning out Coke spilled into the keyboards.
But smoking? Okay as long as you brought an ashtray.
Ah, the bad old days. The guys who shared the cube across the aisle
from mine smoked a pipe and cigars (rum-soaked Crooks). I minded the
pipe more than the cigars--the guy smoked all of these really sick
flavored tobaccos. Periodically when the air got too blue, I'd pull
out one the really cheap 25 cent stogies I kept in my desk drawer,
light up, and saunter over for a conversation. I'dve stuffed one
with rubber bands if that wouldn've worked better.
The guy in the cube next to mine was a chain smoker. (Unfiltered
Camels) I suspect he's probably dead by now.
But no one yelled too much if you smoked in the machine room (I think
"officially" you weren't supposed to). Maybe with all that HVAC, it
didn't matter all that much.
Cheers,
Chuck
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