Visit To The Babbage Engine

ByWayne Willis April 7, 2010January 25, 2018

When I went to the Computer History Museum last month to see President Levin update the local Yale alumni on the “state of the university,” we got a quick tour of the Babbage Engine, which is reputed to be the first programmable calculator. Pretty impressive.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”500″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VCNLqRtsgk[/youtube]

A view of the Babbage Engine from in Front

We also got to see it in action from the back, and then the curator described how it worked, complete with “carry the one” from from one column of digits to the next.
[youtube width=”640″ height=”525″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gwxEH5tZp4[/youtube]

Miscellaneous | Personal

Christmas Cards And Letters No More

ByWayne Willis December 16, 2010January 25, 2018

Growing up, my parents kept a list of friends they would write once a year, at Christmas. These included friends from prior “tours of duty” in the Navy, former neighbors, distant family and a smattering of current relationships. The ritual each year … which thankfully I only had to observe and not execute … was…

Miscellaneous

Sponsor A Student In Nicaragua

ByWayne Willis June 10, 2010January 25, 2018

I’ve been helping an fellow I was friends with a LONG time ago — James Johnson — with a project he’s been supporting in Nicaragua. It seems that a retiring schoolteacher from Connecticut, Louise Brunberg, was travelling in Nicaragua in the early 90’s, and she was appalled by the poverty and terrible educational conditions…

Inaugural Post – Why Do This

ByWayne Willis April 2, 2010January 25, 2018

I thought it would useful for me to outline what I want to accomplish by making this blog. I plan to start taking a more public profile — professionally and personally. Some of that will be on existing sites — LinkedIn (for professional bio and recommendations); Facebook (for friends, who will see a broader…

Miscellaneous

Secretariat

ByWayne Willis February 22, 2012March 10, 2018

I watched the movie, Secretariat, last night. It was OK. Only OK. Watching the actual horse Secretariat, when he was running in 1973, was much better. This ESPN show from a decade ago really captures the story (in 5 short segments on YouTube). Interviews with all the players — owner, trainer, jockey, others — and…

Business | Miscellaneous

Learning About the Microbiome

ByWayne Willis March 7, 2015November 24, 2022

As we move Illumai from a luxury-fasion brand to a brand presenting consumers with a radically new cleansing technology and model, I’m learning more and more about the human microbiome. Our founder, Michael Zasloff, MD, PhD, has been studying the self-healing properties of skin for over 20 years, and a key element of Illumai’s benefit to…

Miscellaneous

Chincoteague, Virginia

ByWayne Willis May 29, 2010December 24, 2023

From 1950 to 1955, Dad was stationed at the Chincoteague Naval Air Station, which was on the road from US Route 13 out to Chincoteague Island. It forms my first memories. Here is a Google Earth view of the area today. The facility was decommissioned by the Navy and used by NASA as their…

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