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

Breakfast at Joni’s

ByWayne Willis May 29, 2010January 25, 2018

During the weekend of the Alcatraz race, we walked across the small park next to the Courtyard by Marriott to “Joni’s,” a perfect little coffee-shop and restaurant. It had simple and wonderful food — pancakes, eggs, oatmeal, milk, fruit … you name it. Happily, we could sit outside, where, in the sun, it…

Miscellaneous

Another Reason To Live In California

ByWayne Willis December 10, 2010January 25, 2018

Debi and I headed over to Frye’s to pick up a new computer to replace her aging laptop. As we got out of the car to walk into the store, we stopped for a moment to contemplate the Silicon Valley sunset.

Age | Family | Miscellaneous

A Wonderful Birthday

ByWayne Willis May 8, 2010January 25, 2018

Caleb, Nancy and their daughters flew into town for the Escape From Alcatraz triathlon weekend, which happened to coincide with my birthday this year. It’s become a bit of a tradition that we all get together for the weekend as an extended family, and this year was no exception. Although the focus was on Caleb…

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

How To Introduce Yourself: “Hi, I’m Todd Wheeler”

ByWayne Willis September 9, 2023September 10, 2023

On my second day as a Yale freshman, I awoke with a slight hangover from the impromptu “Welcome Us” party our entryway threw the night before. I staggered into the common bathroom shared by the 3 rooms on my floor. My next-door neighbor Tod (pronounced ‘Todd’) was brushing his teeth. Another man was finishing a…

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