Thank You Tim Kaine!
In a 90-minute 'debate', you managed to elevate former 'deemed-dumb' Vice Presidential candidates such as Dan Quayle and Joe Biden to near Mensa status. (Apologies to my Mensa friends). We, on the other hand, were subjected to 90 minutes of Cain vs Able attacks, and in most people's minds, Able won out.
Playing your assigned role as an attack dog, but doing it in a snide, sniffling, boorish and rude, and lying mode, you left the American people wondering what rock the Democrats turned over to find you. But succeed they did. Nowhere is there a candidate more fitting to run with Hillary Clinton. I'm sure that it was hard to find a candidate more undeserving than herself.
By the way, as a fact-checking comment, Social Security was not enacted to help the Little Leaguers. Little League did not start until the early 1950's, well after Social Security was enacted.
What watchers of this 'debate' should do is ask the question posed by the opposing party. "What have you got to lose?" The answer is: Only your safety and security, your job, your health care, your country, and your country's moral standing in the world. Under Hillary Clinton, everything will be for sale, including you, your children's future and our present allies, as long as there is a bit of 'vig' for her, her husband, her daughter and her foundation.
Wake up America! This election is existential. If she and Kaine can garner enough of the bought out, illegal, ignorant, undereducated and unthinking voters. you can kiss your country goodbye. Especially if her health should fail catastrophically and he become President. WOW! What a thought.
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
The Donald
Perhaps it is now time for America to put a "Clown" in the White House.
This week, Donald Trump announced his candidacy for President of the United States. Immediately, the Media, both Left and Right, began what will be a prolonged attack, not on the message, but on the messenger. Fair game for this misdirected attack were his hair style, his three marriages, his wealth, the length of his announcement speech and his grammar. These were summarized by one media commentator who described Trump as a "clown".
Now Donald Trump does not exactly match the characteristics that I think of for President of the United States. Not when I look back to our Founding Fathers and think about the sacrifices made by George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson in designing and implementing our form of government at the considerable risk of their very lives and fortunes. Donald Trump does not spring to mind when I recall later Presidents such as Abraham Lincoln, Calvin Coolidge, Harry Truman, John Kennedy (...well, maybe the hairdo...) or Ronald Reagan. At this point, however, given the current status of our nation, I feel that we cannot afford to elect a President from today's available cast of characters, and are thus left with our best option being to elect Donald Trump, even if he is perceived by some to be no more than a "clown".
With regard to his hairdo, would the left media have been more satisfied if he wore his hair longer, dirtier, tied in dreadnoughts and colored orange, which seems to be the color-of-the-day for the left, although yellow might be more appropriate. He might then pick up a few votes from the Occupy Wall Street crowd.
With regard to his three marriages, he has been there to help raise his five children and not left behind single mothers tied to the welfare system. Besides, three is far fewer than the number of bimbos seduced or raped by Bill Clinton in just the eight years of his tenure. And this under the watchful eye of his faithful wife, who had her own priorities.
With regard to his wealth, he used it as a means of demonstrating his financial capabilities in our capitalistic system, wealth earned through hard work, and not by selling American assets to foreign countries in return for donations to a "Charitable Organization" in which it appears that charity begins at home. He has promised to use this capability to rebuild our cities and our infrastructure, and his track record shows that he is the most capable candidate for doing so. He is a builder.
He has promised to use his negotiating skills to make America rich again, by negotiating fair trading policies, not by trying to pass a Fast Track trade pact loaded with gimme's for every Congressman who supports it. Ross Perot once said that every time he sat in a tent to negotiate with Arabs he felt that they wanted him to leave the tent naked. Will someone please explain this to John Kerry and Barrack Obama?
He has promised to build a real fence along our southern border. Most countries use border fences to keep people in. We have to keep them out. America cannot survive with unlimited border crossings bringing in masses of people to saturate its schools, medical facilities and social services. Foreign aid at an affordable percentage of our assets and income is reasonable, but as with everything, there are limits beyond which rational people cannot go. Try explaining this to your Congressman or Senator.
With regard to the length of his speech and his grammar, please note that he spoke from a few notes and without a teleprompter. Some other politicians are able to do this also, but what comes spewing from their mouth is the opposite of how they act when the cameras are turned off.
Mr Trump was criticized by Fox News analysts for not having recruited and hired professional campaign operatives, and noted that the best had probably already committed themselves to other campaigns. Yes, the professional pundits who advised John McCain and Mitt Romney, and handed the White House over to Barrack Obama for eight years of posturing at private cocktail parties while his country slowly slipped back towards the nineteenth century and race relations deteriorated to pre- Jim Crow days.
Yes, Donald Trump is different. He is not your ordinary politician. In fact, and thankfully, he is NOT a politician. He does not need polls or hired campaign pundits to tell him which way the wind is blowing. He, like most Americans living in today's America, knows which way the wind is blowing, and it is blowing the country into hazardous waters.
Show me a current politician of either party who isn't talking from both sides of his mouth and who has at least some of the basic skills and experience needed to save America, and I might take a second look, but in the meantime, "Bring On The Clowns". Good luck, Mr. Trump.
This week, Donald Trump announced his candidacy for President of the United States. Immediately, the Media, both Left and Right, began what will be a prolonged attack, not on the message, but on the messenger. Fair game for this misdirected attack were his hair style, his three marriages, his wealth, the length of his announcement speech and his grammar. These were summarized by one media commentator who described Trump as a "clown".
Now Donald Trump does not exactly match the characteristics that I think of for President of the United States. Not when I look back to our Founding Fathers and think about the sacrifices made by George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson in designing and implementing our form of government at the considerable risk of their very lives and fortunes. Donald Trump does not spring to mind when I recall later Presidents such as Abraham Lincoln, Calvin Coolidge, Harry Truman, John Kennedy (...well, maybe the hairdo...) or Ronald Reagan. At this point, however, given the current status of our nation, I feel that we cannot afford to elect a President from today's available cast of characters, and are thus left with our best option being to elect Donald Trump, even if he is perceived by some to be no more than a "clown".
With regard to his hairdo, would the left media have been more satisfied if he wore his hair longer, dirtier, tied in dreadnoughts and colored orange, which seems to be the color-of-the-day for the left, although yellow might be more appropriate. He might then pick up a few votes from the Occupy Wall Street crowd.
With regard to his three marriages, he has been there to help raise his five children and not left behind single mothers tied to the welfare system. Besides, three is far fewer than the number of bimbos seduced or raped by Bill Clinton in just the eight years of his tenure. And this under the watchful eye of his faithful wife, who had her own priorities.
With regard to his wealth, he used it as a means of demonstrating his financial capabilities in our capitalistic system, wealth earned through hard work, and not by selling American assets to foreign countries in return for donations to a "Charitable Organization" in which it appears that charity begins at home. He has promised to use this capability to rebuild our cities and our infrastructure, and his track record shows that he is the most capable candidate for doing so. He is a builder.
He has promised to use his negotiating skills to make America rich again, by negotiating fair trading policies, not by trying to pass a Fast Track trade pact loaded with gimme's for every Congressman who supports it. Ross Perot once said that every time he sat in a tent to negotiate with Arabs he felt that they wanted him to leave the tent naked. Will someone please explain this to John Kerry and Barrack Obama?
He has promised to build a real fence along our southern border. Most countries use border fences to keep people in. We have to keep them out. America cannot survive with unlimited border crossings bringing in masses of people to saturate its schools, medical facilities and social services. Foreign aid at an affordable percentage of our assets and income is reasonable, but as with everything, there are limits beyond which rational people cannot go. Try explaining this to your Congressman or Senator.
With regard to the length of his speech and his grammar, please note that he spoke from a few notes and without a teleprompter. Some other politicians are able to do this also, but what comes spewing from their mouth is the opposite of how they act when the cameras are turned off.
Mr Trump was criticized by Fox News analysts for not having recruited and hired professional campaign operatives, and noted that the best had probably already committed themselves to other campaigns. Yes, the professional pundits who advised John McCain and Mitt Romney, and handed the White House over to Barrack Obama for eight years of posturing at private cocktail parties while his country slowly slipped back towards the nineteenth century and race relations deteriorated to pre- Jim Crow days.
Yes, Donald Trump is different. He is not your ordinary politician. In fact, and thankfully, he is NOT a politician. He does not need polls or hired campaign pundits to tell him which way the wind is blowing. He, like most Americans living in today's America, knows which way the wind is blowing, and it is blowing the country into hazardous waters.
Show me a current politician of either party who isn't talking from both sides of his mouth and who has at least some of the basic skills and experience needed to save America, and I might take a second look, but in the meantime, "Bring On The Clowns". Good luck, Mr. Trump.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
ELECTION 2016
To vote or not to vote. that is the question.
There does not appear to be a candidate from either the Democratic or Republican party who would make it worthwhile to pay postage to request an absentee ballot, nor to make any effort to cast a vote.
On the Democratic side, a Hillary Clinton nomination appears to be a foregone conclusion. The party will nominate her and back her, even if it requires a last minute brain transplant and the services of a taxidermist and a puppeteer. They have no one else.
Her credentials? Who needs them? She can lie with the best of them. And she is as experienced as anyone at ducking questions, passing the buck and destroying evidence. She learned at the side of a master, her husband Bill, one of the few American presidents to be impeached, and the only one ever disbarred from practicing law. A President whose lasting legacy is that he taught America's teenagers the meaning of oral sex.
Her understanding of economics must be unbelievable. From "broke" in 2000 to a net worth in excess of $180 million in 2015, without ever having produced anything other than a self-serving autobiography, or provided any service of value is astounding. She makes convicted swindler Bernie Madoff look like an amateur. Yet he is in prison and she isn't, at least not as yet.
Her ethics? Again, who really cares? Who cares that her Chief of Staff, Vince Foster, walked out into the park and killed himself. Or that she has a former business partner, Webster Hubbell, who sacrificed himself, accepted all the blame for their financial manipulations and served a prison sentence to protect her (and presumably to provide for his family). Or that she keeps a female Muslim 'friend' on her staff. It's a long-term 'friendship', so presumably they have much in common, starting with the fact that they both remain married to perverts.
Nowhere is there to be found any evidence of Hillary's selflessness, only example after example of her selfishness and self interest. Yet, in today's America, she is a brand name and therefore marketable. People will buy anything if you package it correctly and tout the hell out of it. In her case, the packaging could stand some improvement, unless overfilled pants suits become the norm.
There it is. In today's America where half the voters cannot name the Vice-President or a single Congressman or Senator, she will most likely be nominated and win. God help us.
On the Republican side, we currently have the 'gang of sixteen' (or is it twenty?) wannabe's, who taken altogether don't add up to a Harry Truman or a Ronald Reagan, never mind a George Washington or a John Adams.
Jeb Bush is the self-proclaimed front-runner, although the polls don't support his assumptions. He is determined to show that he can be a better President than his father or his brother, really a trivial goal, but can't even sell that to Iowans, The rest of the field will destroy each other by sacrificing their integrity, issue by issue, to try to pick up a few votes from the Black community, or the Hispanic community or the so-called Independents, who will ultimately vote for the candidate with the most television ads.
Donald Trump, not yet even a candidate, has already disavowed the First Amendment, and Ben Carson, who would make a good Surgeon General, is ready to give away the Second Amendment. Rand Paul is still trying to figure out if he is a Republican, a RINO or part Libertarian. Rick Perry, even though he has learned to count to three, is not a serious candidate, and Marco Rubio is the candidate of the latest fad. And so it goes. There is no winner here. God help us.
There does not appear to be a candidate from either the Democratic or Republican party who would make it worthwhile to pay postage to request an absentee ballot, nor to make any effort to cast a vote.
On the Democratic side, a Hillary Clinton nomination appears to be a foregone conclusion. The party will nominate her and back her, even if it requires a last minute brain transplant and the services of a taxidermist and a puppeteer. They have no one else.
Her credentials? Who needs them? She can lie with the best of them. And she is as experienced as anyone at ducking questions, passing the buck and destroying evidence. She learned at the side of a master, her husband Bill, one of the few American presidents to be impeached, and the only one ever disbarred from practicing law. A President whose lasting legacy is that he taught America's teenagers the meaning of oral sex.
Her understanding of economics must be unbelievable. From "broke" in 2000 to a net worth in excess of $180 million in 2015, without ever having produced anything other than a self-serving autobiography, or provided any service of value is astounding. She makes convicted swindler Bernie Madoff look like an amateur. Yet he is in prison and she isn't, at least not as yet.
Her ethics? Again, who really cares? Who cares that her Chief of Staff, Vince Foster, walked out into the park and killed himself. Or that she has a former business partner, Webster Hubbell, who sacrificed himself, accepted all the blame for their financial manipulations and served a prison sentence to protect her (and presumably to provide for his family). Or that she keeps a female Muslim 'friend' on her staff. It's a long-term 'friendship', so presumably they have much in common, starting with the fact that they both remain married to perverts.
Nowhere is there to be found any evidence of Hillary's selflessness, only example after example of her selfishness and self interest. Yet, in today's America, she is a brand name and therefore marketable. People will buy anything if you package it correctly and tout the hell out of it. In her case, the packaging could stand some improvement, unless overfilled pants suits become the norm.
There it is. In today's America where half the voters cannot name the Vice-President or a single Congressman or Senator, she will most likely be nominated and win. God help us.
On the Republican side, we currently have the 'gang of sixteen' (or is it twenty?) wannabe's, who taken altogether don't add up to a Harry Truman or a Ronald Reagan, never mind a George Washington or a John Adams.
Jeb Bush is the self-proclaimed front-runner, although the polls don't support his assumptions. He is determined to show that he can be a better President than his father or his brother, really a trivial goal, but can't even sell that to Iowans, The rest of the field will destroy each other by sacrificing their integrity, issue by issue, to try to pick up a few votes from the Black community, or the Hispanic community or the so-called Independents, who will ultimately vote for the candidate with the most television ads.
Donald Trump, not yet even a candidate, has already disavowed the First Amendment, and Ben Carson, who would make a good Surgeon General, is ready to give away the Second Amendment. Rand Paul is still trying to figure out if he is a Republican, a RINO or part Libertarian. Rick Perry, even though he has learned to count to three, is not a serious candidate, and Marco Rubio is the candidate of the latest fad. And so it goes. There is no winner here. God help us.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
ARMA Division, American Bosch ARMA Corporation, ATLAS Base Activation 1960-1965
This blog is being written to record the author's recollections from the ATLAS Missile base activation program conducted by the ARMA Division from 1960 to 1965. The program was conducted by ARMA's Product Support Operations division, but with significant technical assistance from other departments within the Company. An attempt will be made to note and to give credit to some the individuals who played a significant role in the success of this program.
ARMA Division
The ARMA Division of the American Bosch ARMA Corporation was located at Carle Place, on Old Country Road, in Garden City, NY. At the start of 1960, it employed approximately 6,000 employees, including engineers, technicians, assemblers, draftsmen, manufacturing, test and quality control personnel plus all of the administrative and support personnel required to support its operations.
ARMA had been founded in Brooklyn NY in 1918. It began by manufacturing high-intensity searchlights for military use but soon expanded into the design and manufacture of analog electro-mechanical gunfire control systems for use on US naval vessels.
During WWII, almost all of the US military's gunfire control systems were manufactured on Long Island, New York. Companies such as ARMA Division, Ford Instrument Company and Sperry Gyroscope Company represented the state of the art in such systems and proved their capability to meet the government's needs.
After WWII ended, ARMA and the others suffered cutbacks on their military contracts, but ARMA was awarded a contract by the US Air force to design and manufacture the tail gun turret gunfire control system for the B-52 bombers. This allowed the Company to retain much of its experienced and proven work force.
Later, during the mid-1950's, ARMA was awarded a contract to design and manufacture an inertial guidance system and its associated ground support equipment. This system was initially intended for use on the Titan intercontinental ballistic missile. ARMA accomplished the design phase well ahead of schedule, so its guidance system was reassigned for deployment onto the ATLAS intercontinental missile whose development was progressing faster than that of the Titan missile. By 1960, the design had been completed and successfully demonstrated in sled tests and in ATLAS missile launchings from Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force Base. By 1960, ARMA was in the process of manufacturing these guidance systems and their associated ground support equipment in sufficient quantity to equip a fleet of eighty-seven missiles scheduled to be installed around eight Air Force bases spread out throughout the United States.
It was estimated that the base activation program would require approximately fifty engineers and technicians at each of the eight Air Force bases. There was little interest on the part of ARMA's in-plant personnel to take part in this program, so the Division began an enthusiastic hiring program, seeking qualified field engineers and technicians to fill these openings. These new hires, mostly tech-reps with field experience on other military projects, were brought to Garden City and given a short training course before being sent to the remote bases. The complexity of the guidance system and its associated ground support equipment was such that a short course could not hope to adequately prepare these technicians and engineers for the task expected of them.
To compensate for this, the Division formed an in-plant Systems Support Section to advise the field engineers and to assist them in resolving any technical problems they might encounter. It was expected that members of this section would liaise with ARMA's technical staff to find solutions for problems experienced at the out of plant locations, and that they would, of necessity,be available to travel to these locations as needed.
This new System Support Section was integrated into the company's existing Product Support Operations division which had the responsibility for supporting all of the company's operational products. It was to work in conjunction with other newly formed sections which were responsible for providing the spare parts, logistical support and technical manuals required for the base activation program and for on-going support after turnover to the military. When job openings for positions in the Systems Support Section posted within the ARMA Division went unfilled because of the travel requirement, the Division was again forced to recruit new personnel to fill these openings. The author was hired into this section as a Systems Engineer in June 1960.
At this point, it should be pointed out that all of the engineers and technicians at ARMA were required to be members of a union, the Local 418 chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The relations between the union, its members and the management of the ARMA Division were most often vitriolic. The union had negotiated a strong contract, which made ARMA one of the highest paid companies on Long Island, but which also had strong workplace provisions that allowed union members to refuse transfers and/or out-of-plant assignments. This was the primary reason that ARMA had to resort to new hires to meet the needs of the base activation program.
The Company
The ARMA Division was, in many ways, a strange company. From a technical standpoint, it had impressive credentials. Its senior level scientists included Wen Tsing Chow, who had invented the computer read-only memory, Dr. Bernard Litman, Dr. Robert Boch and mathematician Paul Savet. These individuals not only designed the inertial guidance system for the Atlas missile, but also invented most of the components, such as the pendulums, the accelerometers and the two-degree of freedom gyroscopes used in the missile guidance system.
ARMA's engineering staff, consisting of some 1900 engineers and technicians, did an excellent job of converting the ideas of the scientists into working hardware. The inertial guidance system fitted into the Atlas missiles and the ground support equipment used to test and align it before flight were robust and of the highest quality. Overall, the product offered to the Air Force for installation into the Atlas missiles was first class.
There was, however, a constant discord within ARMA Division between management and the unionized technical staff. This discord had existed since the engineers and technicians had voted to unionize, not without reason, in 1951. Several long strikes had occurred, in 1951, 1953 and 1955, and these had left a level of bitterness among the employees which was seen constantly in their relations with their supervisors and with management in general.
This atmosphere also affected relations between co-workers. There was a noticeable lack of work-place cooperation at all levels, and a strong tendency to protect one's turf by sharing no more information than necessary.
The Atlas Missile Guidance System was the last large contract awarded to the ARMA Division, and as the various phases of the project approached completion without another project waiting, it became obvious that large scale layoffs were looming on the horizon. This added to the discord in the Division. The union contract required that layoffs occur in reverse seniority order within each job classification, e.g. mechanical test technician or electrical design engineer. It also provided, however, the opportunity for a laid off engineer or technician to "bump" a less senior person in another job classification if he could show that he was capable of doing the less senior person's work. Needless to say, this caused havoc, with many grievances being filed after every lay-off and most of these going to arbitration because management would usually rule that the laid off person could not perform the other job.
After successfully completing the Atlas project the ARMA Division rapidly went down hill, being awarded no new major projects from the Defense Department and thus settling for small subcontracts from other defense firms. By late 1964 only 1,100 employees remained. Revenues had fallen from $100 million to $20 million, and the company was forced to condense its operations into the smaller of the two buildings at Carle Place.
In 1973, with less than 200 remaining employees, AMBAC Industries including its ARMA Division were sold to the United Technologies Corporation and were relocated to UTC's Pratt and Whitney facility in Stratford, Connecticut. After further reductions in employment, the ARMA Division was finally closed in 1983. A sad ending for a once successful and highly capable company.
Despite the turmoil in the rest of the company, the base activation program proceeded smoothly and was successfully completed essentially on schedule. The first three Atlas bases involved Series E Atlas missiles which were stored horizontally in concrete coffins prior to a necessary launch, which was fortunately never required. These bases were:
Forbes AFB in Topeka Kansas - Activation completed in October 1961
Fairchild AFB in Spokane Washington - Activation ompleted in September 1961
Warren AFB in Cheyenne Wyoming - Activation completed in October 1961
The remaining bases used Atlas Series F missiles which were stored in vertical silos. These bases were located at:
Schilling AFB in Salina Kansas
Dyess AFB in Abilene Texas
Lincoln AFB in Lincoln Nebraska
Altus AFB in Altus Oklahoma
Plattsburg AFB in Plattsburg NY
Product Support Operations Management Team
This section describes the Product Support management team which managed the Atlas base activation program to a successful conclusion in late 1963. Unfortunately, corporate politics destroyed the team in what was to be called Black Monday.
Operations Manager - Edward J Rapetti
In 1960, Product Support Operations (PSO), to which the responsibility for the Atlas base activation program fell, was managed by Edward J Rapetti, an engineering graduate of Manhattan College and a long time management employee of the ARMA Division. He managed PSO until early 1964, when he was promoted to be President and CEO of Packard Instrument, another subsidiary of AMBAC Industries.
In 1971, Ed Rapetti was promoted to be Vice-president of the parent AMBAC Industries, and in 1979, after AMBAC was purchased by United Technologies, he was promoted to be President and CEO of what remained of AMBAC Industries. In essence, he followed an upward path of promotion through a corporation which was in a downward spiral that ended in 1983 with the final closing down of the Corporation by United Technologies.
Logistics Department Head - Donald Lynch
While Ed Rapetti was the overall manager of PSO until his departure in late 1963, Don Lynch was the executive responsible for day to day management of Product Support Operations. This included overseeing several the several existing sections, which included Field Service Support and Spares Support sections for all of the company's earlier products, and a Technical Manual Preparation and Publication section. These were highly profitable operations comprised of about sixty employees in total. The responsibility for the Atlas base activation program was added to this and included the new in-house systems support section and all of the out-of-plant personnel needed to install and test the guidance systems at the various Air Force bases. This added a requirement for about four hundred personnel, most of which was met with newly hired employees.
Don Lynch was a forward looking individual who looked beyond the base activation effort. He took advantage of the fact that ARMA's engineering and test departments had run out of funds and were laying off personnel. As company layoffs occurred, PSO supervisors were instructed to identify and retain the more skilled engineers by offering them positions in the in-house systems support group, hiring so many of them that little travel was expected from any one of them. The systems support group was expanded in this way from three to over thirty experienced systems engineers, all of proven capability.
Meanwhile, the PSO managers were looking into government project opportunities that would be available after completion of the base activation program, not necessarily military projects, and not necessarily projects involving other parts of the ARMA Division. One example involved developing systems and equipment to improve the postal system. PSO was in the process of preparing a major proposal to the US Postal Service when Black Monday occurred.
Don Lynch was terminated on Black Monday and was then hired by the TRW Corporation where he eventually became CEO of its Space Technology Laboratory (STL) division.
Logistics Department Managers and Supervisors
Section Head - Frank Morgan. A graduate of Yale University and formerly employed by Booz Allen and Hamilton, Frank was responsible for the marketing of additional support services. He was
terminated on Black Monday and was then hired by the Quaker Oats Company where he rose to be President and CEO.
Section Head - Chuck Stiles. Was responsible for the technical publications activities.
Section Head - Gordon Parker (1927-2013). A mechanical engineering graduate of Yale University with a Masters degree from the University of Rhode Island, Gordon was responsible for the in-house Systems Support Section for the base activation program. He was later promoted to Department Head given the added responsibilty for the Spares and Logistics groups. He was terminated on Black Monday and hired by the Grumman Aircraft Company, where he worked until his retirement. Gordon lived in West Islip NY and passed away in January 2013.
Supervisor - William King Responsible for out-of-plant field service representatives. He was terminated on Black Monday and then worked for the Grumman Aircraft Company.
Supervisor - John Foster Jack Foster was in charge of the group responsible for providing spare parts for all of the company products. He was terminated on Black Monday and opened a Sizzler Steak franchise restaurant on Long Island.
Supervisor - Charles Jackson Charley had been the site manager at Fairchild AFB and was working in plant temporarily while awaiting retirement. He was terminated on Black Monday, just six weeks before his scheduled retirement date.
Supervisor - Orvis Adams Orv had been a supervisor at Forbes AFB and then site manager at Schilling AFB while they were being activated. He was working temporarily in plant awaiting another assignment and was terminated on Black Monday. He was then employed by the STL Division of the TRW Corporation. He currently resides in California.
Supervisor - Roger Trudeau worked as a systems engineer in the in-house Systems Support Section from 1960 to 1963, spending much of this time working out of plant to support the activation program at the various Air Force bases. In June 1963 he left the company to accept a position as a senior test engineer on a submarine inertial navigation system (SINS) at Sperry Marine Division.
He was recruited back to ARMA in late 1963 as supervisor for the in house Systems Support Section. After surviving Black Monday, he was assigned the added responsibility of the spares and logistics groups, the in-house field service group and for all out-of-plant product support activities. He was also heavily involved in labor relation activities, as the engineering and test departments were in a period of heavy layoffs and the available jobs in PSO became the targets of "bumping".
He resigned from the company in 1965 to accept a position as a test engineer and group leader on the SABRE Inertial Guidance System at the MIT Charles Stark Draper Laboratories. He left there in 1969 to start Bedford Control Systems Inc., where he served as Chief Engineer and CEO until 1996. Currently resides in Sydney Australia. (rogertrudeau34@hotmail.com)
Product Support Operations - Systems Support Group (Incomplete Roster)
Group Supervisor - Gordon Parker, then Roger Trudeau
Senior Engineer - Harold Bernstein, recruited from Test Department
Senior Engineer - Sam Ferrantino, recruited from Ground Support Engineering
Engineer - Roger Trudeau, hired into group
Engineer - Larry Feldman, recruited from Test Engineering
Engineer - Herb Shonefeld, recruited from Test Engineering
Engineer - Mort Danin, recruited from Test Engineering
Engineer - Ed Mermelstein, hired into group
Engineer - William Albert Stead Jr, hired into group
Technician - Doug Karrel
Black Monday for Product Support Operations
It was a Friday evening in mid 1964 and ARMA Division was hosting its annual management dinner at a local auditorium. There was not a lot to celebrate because the company's revenues and profits were dropping drastically, but it was an opportunity for the company to thank its management team for its efforts over the past year. A good dinner was served and drinks were plentiful. Entertainment was provided in the form of a speech by Sam Huff, the star linebacker of the NY Giants NFL football team. E D Gittens, ARMA's executive vice-president and operations manager, gave a speech and pep talk, singling out Product Support Operations for being the only department in the company to boost revenues and to show a respectable profit. All in all, it was an enjoyable evening.
Arriving at work on Monday morning, however, Product Support Operations managers were greeted by security personnel, told that they were terminated, helped to gather their personal belongings and escorted from the plant. Every manager, from Don Lynch, the Operations Manager, and down was included except for Bill Schneiderman, who had been on loan from the Ground Support Engineering Department, and Roger Trudeau, the supervisor of the Systems Support Section. Schneiderman was told to report back to Engineering. By noon-time, all of the terminated managers had departed.
Product Support Operations was turned over to Bob Harding, the manager of the Design Drafting Department, which as a result of earlier layoffs, then consisted of less than ten employees, all draftsmen. Harding had no engineering background and little if any knowledge of what Product Support Operations was involved in. But, he WAS related by marriage to the executive vice-president, and that seemed to carry the day.
Late on that same day, Irv Chapel, one of Harding's employees, told Trudeau that Mr Harding would like to see him in his office. When Trudeau arrived, Harding was sitting behind his desk with his feet on the desk, wearing a pair of riding boots, and he held a riding crop in his hands. He told Trudeau that he was the boss now, and that Trudeau now worked for him, and for him only. He said that Trudeau was now in charge of what remained of PSO, that he did not know what that involved, and that he did not want to know. He then told Trudeau that the only thing that was expected of him was to make sure that no problems were brought to his office, by him or by anyone else. That brief meeting was the death knell of Product Support Operations.
Engineering Support to Product Support Operations During the Base Activation Program
The success of any major program often comes down to the unstinting efforts of a small handful of people who put success of the project ahead of personal considerations. That was true in this project as well, and the people below are remembered for making this effort.
Robert Rogers was the supervisor in charge of the Atlas System Integration Laboratory. This facility maintained two complete inertial guidance systems and was used as a test bed to duplicate and resolve problems detected in the production systems. Bob was always ready to fully support the needs of the program and made numerous trips to the field sites to assist the activation effort. Bob remained with the ARMA Division until it was closed down in 1983.
Howard Salmon was a supervisor in the Ground Support Equipment Department and, as an engineer, had been responsible for the design of major portions of the ground support equipment. Howie was a no-nonsense engineer who had little time for distractions from the task at hand. He gave unstintingly of his time and expertise whenever and wherever needed. As ARMA grew smaller, Howie left and joined the Grumman Aircraft Company, where he worked in the Lunar Excursion Module Project.
William Schneiderman was a supervisor in the Ground Support Equipment Department and, as an engineer, had been responsible for the design of major portions of the ground support equipment. Bill was a friendly and easy-going individual, a hard worker who gave unstintingly of his time and expertise whenever and wherever needed. As ARMA grew smaller, Bill left and joined the Grumman Aircraft Company where he worked in the Lunar Excursion Module Project.
Robert Ulsamer was an engineer in the System Integration Laboratory. His expertise was often called upon to resolve technical problems encountered at the field sites. Bob subsequently joined the Grumman Aircraft Company.
Richard Smith was an engineer in the System Integration Laboratory and specialized in the digital elements of the Atlas guidance system. Dick left ARMA in 1964 to join IBM's Federal Products Division, in Huntsville, Alabama, and later helped organize a company working on oceanographic researchprojects in Groton, Connecticut.
Ralph Marchianda was an engineer in the Ground Support Equipment Department and was always willing to contribute his expertise and assistance whenever and wherever needed.
Mike Kuzmiac was an engineer in the Test Department who specialized on the digital components of the guidance system. He made numerous trips to the field locations and eventually transferred into the Systems Support Section of Product Support Operations.
Product Support Operations - Base Activation Field Personnel (Incomplete Rosters)
Forbes AFB - Topeka, Kansas
Site Manager - Al Roberts and then Paul Fisher
Section Head - Robert (Bob) Kunce (1926-2009)
Supervisor - Orvis (Orv) Adams
QCSupervisor - Ed Watts
Technician - Ray Utz
Technician - "Windy" Rawlins
Technician - Bert Reinertson
Fairchild AFB - Spokane, Washington
Site Manager - Charles (Charley) Jackson
Section Head - Floyd Danielson
Technician - Gus Kokinos
Warren AFB - Cheyenne, Wyoming
Site Manager - Robert (Bob) Martin
Lincoln AFB - Lincoln, Nebraska
Site Manager - Al Roberts and then Paul Fisher
Technician - "Windy" Rawlins
Dyess AFB - Abilene, Texas
Site Manager - Robert (BOB) Kunce (1926-2009)
Schilling AFB - Salina, Kansas
Site Manager - Orvis (Orv) Adams
Plattsburg AFB - Plattsburg, New York
Site Manager - Robert (Bob) Martin
Altus AFB - Altus, Oklahoma
Comments and additions to the rosters are welcome.
This blog is being written to record the author's recollections from the ATLAS Missile base activation program conducted by the ARMA Division from 1960 to 1965. The program was conducted by ARMA's Product Support Operations division, but with significant technical assistance from other departments within the Company. An attempt will be made to note and to give credit to some the individuals who played a significant role in the success of this program.
ARMA Division
The ARMA Division of the American Bosch ARMA Corporation was located at Carle Place, on Old Country Road, in Garden City, NY. At the start of 1960, it employed approximately 6,000 employees, including engineers, technicians, assemblers, draftsmen, manufacturing, test and quality control personnel plus all of the administrative and support personnel required to support its operations.
ARMA had been founded in Brooklyn NY in 1918. It began by manufacturing high-intensity searchlights for military use but soon expanded into the design and manufacture of analog electro-mechanical gunfire control systems for use on US naval vessels.
During WWII, almost all of the US military's gunfire control systems were manufactured on Long Island, New York. Companies such as ARMA Division, Ford Instrument Company and Sperry Gyroscope Company represented the state of the art in such systems and proved their capability to meet the government's needs.
After WWII ended, ARMA and the others suffered cutbacks on their military contracts, but ARMA was awarded a contract by the US Air force to design and manufacture the tail gun turret gunfire control system for the B-52 bombers. This allowed the Company to retain much of its experienced and proven work force.
Later, during the mid-1950's, ARMA was awarded a contract to design and manufacture an inertial guidance system and its associated ground support equipment. This system was initially intended for use on the Titan intercontinental ballistic missile. ARMA accomplished the design phase well ahead of schedule, so its guidance system was reassigned for deployment onto the ATLAS intercontinental missile whose development was progressing faster than that of the Titan missile. By 1960, the design had been completed and successfully demonstrated in sled tests and in ATLAS missile launchings from Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force Base. By 1960, ARMA was in the process of manufacturing these guidance systems and their associated ground support equipment in sufficient quantity to equip a fleet of eighty-seven missiles scheduled to be installed around eight Air Force bases spread out throughout the United States.
It was estimated that the base activation program would require approximately fifty engineers and technicians at each of the eight Air Force bases. There was little interest on the part of ARMA's in-plant personnel to take part in this program, so the Division began an enthusiastic hiring program, seeking qualified field engineers and technicians to fill these openings. These new hires, mostly tech-reps with field experience on other military projects, were brought to Garden City and given a short training course before being sent to the remote bases. The complexity of the guidance system and its associated ground support equipment was such that a short course could not hope to adequately prepare these technicians and engineers for the task expected of them.
To compensate for this, the Division formed an in-plant Systems Support Section to advise the field engineers and to assist them in resolving any technical problems they might encounter. It was expected that members of this section would liaise with ARMA's technical staff to find solutions for problems experienced at the out of plant locations, and that they would, of necessity,be available to travel to these locations as needed.
This new System Support Section was integrated into the company's existing Product Support Operations division which had the responsibility for supporting all of the company's operational products. It was to work in conjunction with other newly formed sections which were responsible for providing the spare parts, logistical support and technical manuals required for the base activation program and for on-going support after turnover to the military. When job openings for positions in the Systems Support Section posted within the ARMA Division went unfilled because of the travel requirement, the Division was again forced to recruit new personnel to fill these openings. The author was hired into this section as a Systems Engineer in June 1960.
At this point, it should be pointed out that all of the engineers and technicians at ARMA were required to be members of a union, the Local 418 chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The relations between the union, its members and the management of the ARMA Division were most often vitriolic. The union had negotiated a strong contract, which made ARMA one of the highest paid companies on Long Island, but which also had strong workplace provisions that allowed union members to refuse transfers and/or out-of-plant assignments. This was the primary reason that ARMA had to resort to new hires to meet the needs of the base activation program.
The Company
The ARMA Division was, in many ways, a strange company. From a technical standpoint, it had impressive credentials. Its senior level scientists included Wen Tsing Chow, who had invented the computer read-only memory, Dr. Bernard Litman, Dr. Robert Boch and mathematician Paul Savet. These individuals not only designed the inertial guidance system for the Atlas missile, but also invented most of the components, such as the pendulums, the accelerometers and the two-degree of freedom gyroscopes used in the missile guidance system.
ARMA's engineering staff, consisting of some 1900 engineers and technicians, did an excellent job of converting the ideas of the scientists into working hardware. The inertial guidance system fitted into the Atlas missiles and the ground support equipment used to test and align it before flight were robust and of the highest quality. Overall, the product offered to the Air Force for installation into the Atlas missiles was first class.
There was, however, a constant discord within ARMA Division between management and the unionized technical staff. This discord had existed since the engineers and technicians had voted to unionize, not without reason, in 1951. Several long strikes had occurred, in 1951, 1953 and 1955, and these had left a level of bitterness among the employees which was seen constantly in their relations with their supervisors and with management in general.
This atmosphere also affected relations between co-workers. There was a noticeable lack of work-place cooperation at all levels, and a strong tendency to protect one's turf by sharing no more information than necessary.
The Atlas Missile Guidance System was the last large contract awarded to the ARMA Division, and as the various phases of the project approached completion without another project waiting, it became obvious that large scale layoffs were looming on the horizon. This added to the discord in the Division. The union contract required that layoffs occur in reverse seniority order within each job classification, e.g. mechanical test technician or electrical design engineer. It also provided, however, the opportunity for a laid off engineer or technician to "bump" a less senior person in another job classification if he could show that he was capable of doing the less senior person's work. Needless to say, this caused havoc, with many grievances being filed after every lay-off and most of these going to arbitration because management would usually rule that the laid off person could not perform the other job.
After successfully completing the Atlas project the ARMA Division rapidly went down hill, being awarded no new major projects from the Defense Department and thus settling for small subcontracts from other defense firms. By late 1964 only 1,100 employees remained. Revenues had fallen from $100 million to $20 million, and the company was forced to condense its operations into the smaller of the two buildings at Carle Place.
In 1973, with less than 200 remaining employees, AMBAC Industries including its ARMA Division were sold to the United Technologies Corporation and were relocated to UTC's Pratt and Whitney facility in Stratford, Connecticut. After further reductions in employment, the ARMA Division was finally closed in 1983. A sad ending for a once successful and highly capable company.
Despite the turmoil in the rest of the company, the base activation program proceeded smoothly and was successfully completed essentially on schedule. The first three Atlas bases involved Series E Atlas missiles which were stored horizontally in concrete coffins prior to a necessary launch, which was fortunately never required. These bases were:
Forbes AFB in Topeka Kansas - Activation completed in October 1961
Fairchild AFB in Spokane Washington - Activation ompleted in September 1961
Warren AFB in Cheyenne Wyoming - Activation completed in October 1961
The remaining bases used Atlas Series F missiles which were stored in vertical silos. These bases were located at:
Schilling AFB in Salina Kansas
Dyess AFB in Abilene Texas
Lincoln AFB in Lincoln Nebraska
Altus AFB in Altus Oklahoma
Plattsburg AFB in Plattsburg NY
Product Support Operations Management Team
This section describes the Product Support management team which managed the Atlas base activation program to a successful conclusion in late 1963. Unfortunately, corporate politics destroyed the team in what was to be called Black Monday.
Operations Manager - Edward J Rapetti
In 1960, Product Support Operations (PSO), to which the responsibility for the Atlas base activation program fell, was managed by Edward J Rapetti, an engineering graduate of Manhattan College and a long time management employee of the ARMA Division. He managed PSO until early 1964, when he was promoted to be President and CEO of Packard Instrument, another subsidiary of AMBAC Industries.
In 1971, Ed Rapetti was promoted to be Vice-president of the parent AMBAC Industries, and in 1979, after AMBAC was purchased by United Technologies, he was promoted to be President and CEO of what remained of AMBAC Industries. In essence, he followed an upward path of promotion through a corporation which was in a downward spiral that ended in 1983 with the final closing down of the Corporation by United Technologies.
Logistics Department Head - Donald Lynch
While Ed Rapetti was the overall manager of PSO until his departure in late 1963, Don Lynch was the executive responsible for day to day management of Product Support Operations. This included overseeing several the several existing sections, which included Field Service Support and Spares Support sections for all of the company's earlier products, and a Technical Manual Preparation and Publication section. These were highly profitable operations comprised of about sixty employees in total. The responsibility for the Atlas base activation program was added to this and included the new in-house systems support section and all of the out-of-plant personnel needed to install and test the guidance systems at the various Air Force bases. This added a requirement for about four hundred personnel, most of which was met with newly hired employees.
Don Lynch was a forward looking individual who looked beyond the base activation effort. He took advantage of the fact that ARMA's engineering and test departments had run out of funds and were laying off personnel. As company layoffs occurred, PSO supervisors were instructed to identify and retain the more skilled engineers by offering them positions in the in-house systems support group, hiring so many of them that little travel was expected from any one of them. The systems support group was expanded in this way from three to over thirty experienced systems engineers, all of proven capability.
Meanwhile, the PSO managers were looking into government project opportunities that would be available after completion of the base activation program, not necessarily military projects, and not necessarily projects involving other parts of the ARMA Division. One example involved developing systems and equipment to improve the postal system. PSO was in the process of preparing a major proposal to the US Postal Service when Black Monday occurred.
Don Lynch was terminated on Black Monday and was then hired by the TRW Corporation where he eventually became CEO of its Space Technology Laboratory (STL) division.
Logistics Department Managers and Supervisors
Section Head - Frank Morgan. A graduate of Yale University and formerly employed by Booz Allen and Hamilton, Frank was responsible for the marketing of additional support services. He was
terminated on Black Monday and was then hired by the Quaker Oats Company where he rose to be President and CEO.
Section Head - Chuck Stiles. Was responsible for the technical publications activities.
Section Head - Gordon Parker (1927-2013). A mechanical engineering graduate of Yale University with a Masters degree from the University of Rhode Island, Gordon was responsible for the in-house Systems Support Section for the base activation program. He was later promoted to Department Head given the added responsibilty for the Spares and Logistics groups. He was terminated on Black Monday and hired by the Grumman Aircraft Company, where he worked until his retirement. Gordon lived in West Islip NY and passed away in January 2013.
Supervisor - William King Responsible for out-of-plant field service representatives. He was terminated on Black Monday and then worked for the Grumman Aircraft Company.
Supervisor - John Foster Jack Foster was in charge of the group responsible for providing spare parts for all of the company products. He was terminated on Black Monday and opened a Sizzler Steak franchise restaurant on Long Island.
Supervisor - Charles Jackson Charley had been the site manager at Fairchild AFB and was working in plant temporarily while awaiting retirement. He was terminated on Black Monday, just six weeks before his scheduled retirement date.
Supervisor - Orvis Adams Orv had been a supervisor at Forbes AFB and then site manager at Schilling AFB while they were being activated. He was working temporarily in plant awaiting another assignment and was terminated on Black Monday. He was then employed by the STL Division of the TRW Corporation. He currently resides in California.
Supervisor - Roger Trudeau worked as a systems engineer in the in-house Systems Support Section from 1960 to 1963, spending much of this time working out of plant to support the activation program at the various Air Force bases. In June 1963 he left the company to accept a position as a senior test engineer on a submarine inertial navigation system (SINS) at Sperry Marine Division.
He was recruited back to ARMA in late 1963 as supervisor for the in house Systems Support Section. After surviving Black Monday, he was assigned the added responsibility of the spares and logistics groups, the in-house field service group and for all out-of-plant product support activities. He was also heavily involved in labor relation activities, as the engineering and test departments were in a period of heavy layoffs and the available jobs in PSO became the targets of "bumping".
He resigned from the company in 1965 to accept a position as a test engineer and group leader on the SABRE Inertial Guidance System at the MIT Charles Stark Draper Laboratories. He left there in 1969 to start Bedford Control Systems Inc., where he served as Chief Engineer and CEO until 1996. Currently resides in Sydney Australia. (rogertrudeau34@hotmail.com)
Product Support Operations - Systems Support Group (Incomplete Roster)
Group Supervisor - Gordon Parker, then Roger Trudeau
Senior Engineer - Harold Bernstein, recruited from Test Department
Senior Engineer - Sam Ferrantino, recruited from Ground Support Engineering
Engineer - Roger Trudeau, hired into group
Engineer - Larry Feldman, recruited from Test Engineering
Engineer - Herb Shonefeld, recruited from Test Engineering
Engineer - Mort Danin, recruited from Test Engineering
Engineer - Ed Mermelstein, hired into group
Engineer - William Albert Stead Jr, hired into group
Technician - Doug Karrel
It was a Friday evening in mid 1964 and ARMA Division was hosting its annual management dinner at a local auditorium. There was not a lot to celebrate because the company's revenues and profits were dropping drastically, but it was an opportunity for the company to thank its management team for its efforts over the past year. A good dinner was served and drinks were plentiful. Entertainment was provided in the form of a speech by Sam Huff, the star linebacker of the NY Giants NFL football team. E D Gittens, ARMA's executive vice-president and operations manager, gave a speech and pep talk, singling out Product Support Operations for being the only department in the company to boost revenues and to show a respectable profit. All in all, it was an enjoyable evening.
Arriving at work on Monday morning, however, Product Support Operations managers were greeted by security personnel, told that they were terminated, helped to gather their personal belongings and escorted from the plant. Every manager, from Don Lynch, the Operations Manager, and down was included except for Bill Schneiderman, who had been on loan from the Ground Support Engineering Department, and Roger Trudeau, the supervisor of the Systems Support Section. Schneiderman was told to report back to Engineering. By noon-time, all of the terminated managers had departed.
Product Support Operations was turned over to Bob Harding, the manager of the Design Drafting Department, which as a result of earlier layoffs, then consisted of less than ten employees, all draftsmen. Harding had no engineering background and little if any knowledge of what Product Support Operations was involved in. But, he WAS related by marriage to the executive vice-president, and that seemed to carry the day.
Late on that same day, Irv Chapel, one of Harding's employees, told Trudeau that Mr Harding would like to see him in his office. When Trudeau arrived, Harding was sitting behind his desk with his feet on the desk, wearing a pair of riding boots, and he held a riding crop in his hands. He told Trudeau that he was the boss now, and that Trudeau now worked for him, and for him only. He said that Trudeau was now in charge of what remained of PSO, that he did not know what that involved, and that he did not want to know. He then told Trudeau that the only thing that was expected of him was to make sure that no problems were brought to his office, by him or by anyone else. That brief meeting was the death knell of Product Support Operations.
Engineering Support to Product Support Operations During the Base Activation Program
The success of any major program often comes down to the unstinting efforts of a small handful of people who put success of the project ahead of personal considerations. That was true in this project as well, and the people below are remembered for making this effort.
Robert Rogers was the supervisor in charge of the Atlas System Integration Laboratory. This facility maintained two complete inertial guidance systems and was used as a test bed to duplicate and resolve problems detected in the production systems. Bob was always ready to fully support the needs of the program and made numerous trips to the field sites to assist the activation effort. Bob remained with the ARMA Division until it was closed down in 1983.
Howard Salmon was a supervisor in the Ground Support Equipment Department and, as an engineer, had been responsible for the design of major portions of the ground support equipment. Howie was a no-nonsense engineer who had little time for distractions from the task at hand. He gave unstintingly of his time and expertise whenever and wherever needed. As ARMA grew smaller, Howie left and joined the Grumman Aircraft Company, where he worked in the Lunar Excursion Module Project.
William Schneiderman was a supervisor in the Ground Support Equipment Department and, as an engineer, had been responsible for the design of major portions of the ground support equipment. Bill was a friendly and easy-going individual, a hard worker who gave unstintingly of his time and expertise whenever and wherever needed. As ARMA grew smaller, Bill left and joined the Grumman Aircraft Company where he worked in the Lunar Excursion Module Project.
Robert Ulsamer was an engineer in the System Integration Laboratory. His expertise was often called upon to resolve technical problems encountered at the field sites. Bob subsequently joined the Grumman Aircraft Company.
Richard Smith was an engineer in the System Integration Laboratory and specialized in the digital elements of the Atlas guidance system. Dick left ARMA in 1964 to join IBM's Federal Products Division, in Huntsville, Alabama, and later helped organize a company working on oceanographic researchprojects in Groton, Connecticut.
Ralph Marchianda was an engineer in the Ground Support Equipment Department and was always willing to contribute his expertise and assistance whenever and wherever needed.
Mike Kuzmiac was an engineer in the Test Department who specialized on the digital components of the guidance system. He made numerous trips to the field locations and eventually transferred into the Systems Support Section of Product Support Operations.
Product Support Operations - Base Activation Field Personnel (Incomplete Rosters)
Forbes AFB - Topeka, Kansas
Site Manager - Al Roberts and then Paul Fisher
Section Head - Robert (Bob) Kunce (1926-2009)
Supervisor - Orvis (Orv) Adams
QCSupervisor - Ed Watts
Technician - Ray Utz
Technician - "Windy" Rawlins
Technician - Bert Reinertson
Fairchild AFB - Spokane, Washington
Site Manager - Charles (Charley) Jackson
Section Head - Floyd Danielson
Technician - Gus Kokinos
Warren AFB - Cheyenne, Wyoming
Site Manager - Robert (Bob) Martin
Lincoln AFB - Lincoln, Nebraska
Site Manager - Al Roberts and then Paul Fisher
Technician - "Windy" Rawlins
Dyess AFB - Abilene, Texas
Site Manager - Robert (BOB) Kunce (1926-2009)
Schilling AFB - Salina, Kansas
Site Manager - Orvis (Orv) Adams
Plattsburg AFB - Plattsburg, New York
Site Manager - Robert (Bob) Martin
Altus AFB - Altus, Oklahoma
Comments and additions to the rosters are welcome.
Monday, November 10, 2014
NUCLEAR DIVISION OF FORD INSTRUMENT COMPANY
NUCLEAR DIVISION of FORD INSTRUMENT COMPANY, a division of the Sperry Rand Corporation.
This blog is intended to record the author's recollections of some of the history of the now defunct Nuclear Development Division of the Ford Instrument Company between the years 1956-1960.
The Ford Instrument Company was founded in 1918 by Hannibal Ford, who had previously been employed as Chief Engineer at the Sperry Gyroscope Company. It subsequently merged with the Sperry Corporation but continued to operate as a stand-alone division. In 1956 it was located at 31-10 Thomson Avenue, in Long Island City, New York and had a total employment of approximately 3,000 people. This site was subsequently occupied by the Laguardia Community College after Ford Instrument Company was absorbed into its parent company facilities in Lake Success, New York in the early 1970's.
The Ford Instrument Company was known primarily for the design, development, production and maintenance of naval gunfire control systems, most notably the Mk 87, which was probably the most accurate and reliable naval fire control system used during World War II. After WWII, the Company continued to produce gunfire control systems and torpedo data computers for the US Navy, as well as fire control systems for aircraft and tanks and guidance systems for missiles. The Mk 87 remained in production until 1969, when Defense Department budget cuts forced its termination, forcing the layoff of some 900 workers and the absorption of the remainder of the Company into the Sperry Gyroscope Company.
The decision to enter the nuclear industry in the 1950's was a bold one, since it meant trying to compete with several major US corporations already committed to carving out a stake in the industry. These included the Knolls Atomic Power Division of the General Electric Company, the Bettis Division of the Westinghouse Corporation, the Babcock and Wilcox Company, Allis Chalmers Corporation and Atomics International, a division of the North American Aviation Company.
America in the 1950's
Following the defeat of Germany and Japan in WWII, America was returning to a strong peace-time economy, even with the growing threat of the Cold War. Returning veterans and wartime shortages had created an unprecedented demand for goods and services. The housing needs for returning veterans were being fulfilled by ambitious developments, such as Levittown on Long Island. The automobile industry had re-tooled and was then offering new car models to take the place of worn out pre-war models and the hastily produced cars of the late 1940's, which had been produced from pre-war tooling. New products such as washers, dryers, air conditioners, power mowers, microwave ovens and television sets were in high demand. To say that the mood of America was vibrant and optimistic would have been an understatement.
The Engineering Environment
America had experienced a short recession in the early 1950's, following President Eisenhower's cuts to the defense budget. Because of this, there had been a shortage of engineering job opportunities and many 1950-1954 engineering graduates opted for the security of jobs as firemen, policemen and postal workers. This added to the engineering shortage being created by the mid-1950's demands prompted by the growing computer industry. By 1955, engineers were in very high demand, as demonstrated by the New York Times help-wanted section which was filled with full page ads offering lucrative engineering jobs. Companies would hold on-campus interviews and make job offers to entire graduating classes, often offering bonuses for quick acceptance. In this environment, Ford Instrument hired 75 newly graduated engineers to supplement its existing staff of 300 engineers.
The Nuclear Development Division is Born
The Nuclear Division was founded in 1954, after Hannibal Ford, the founder of the Company, assigned Ted Jarvis, a bright young physicist, to the task of organizing and managing this new division. Jarvis had just returned to the Company after completing a one-year program at the Oak Ridge School of Reactor Technology (ORSORT), in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. ORSORT had been founded in 1950, at the urging of Admiral Hyman Rickover, the founder of the nuclear submarine, to broaden the country's knowledge base in nuclear technology. The program continued until 1975, graduating a total of 976 engineers during its existence.
The Nuclear Division consisted of two departments, the first being the Nuclear Reactor Design Department, and the second being the Nuclear Control Systems Department. Except for a secretary, all of its members were graduate engineers or scientists. The Division utilized the resources of other divisions for any needed support services, such as drafting, model making and machine shop work. Almost all of the Nuclear Division employees were under thirty years of age.
Located in the Northeast corner of the second floor, the Nuclear Division was fairly isolated from the remainder of the Company, with the Navy, Army and Air Force divisions located on the lower floor of the building and the Missile division occupying a neighboring building. It was further buffered from the Company's other operations by a row of executive offices occupied by the Chief Engineer, Charles Rockwell, and by the managers of the other divisions.
The working environment was very much like that of a small company, but without the constant pressure of financial problems, since the Division was backed by Ford Instrument's larger resources and by its commitment to help the Division establish itself. Any contracts awarded to the Nuclear Division merely reduced the amount of support needed. At the working level, a strong spirit of cooperation always prevailed, and its engineers were quick to ask for or to offer suggestions and support on each other's projects.
With about a quarter of its staff having graduated from the ORSORT program, the Division had a degree of credibility within the nuclear industry and, more important, within the Atomic Energy Commission. The Nuclear Reactor Design Department was awarded several contracts, most notably study contracts to study the feasibility of aircraft nuclear propulsion (ANP), of a portable nuclear reactor power plant for use by theArmy (APPR) and to evaluate the feasibility of a closed-cycle gas-cooled nuclear reactor. The Nuclear Control Systems Department was awarded contracts by the Westinghouse Corporation to design and manufacture control rod position indicating systems for the Triton nuclear submarine and for the first nuclear powered aircraft carrier.
It was Ted Jarvis' ambition that Ford Instrument Company build a nuclear reactor,but this ambition was never realized. His Nuclear Reactor Design Department survived on a series of study contracts awarded by the Atomic Energy Commission. In addition to the feasibility studies mentioned earlier, these included contracts to study fallout patterns from nuclear explosions, simulation of nuclear power plant control systems using analog computers, generation of electricity from thermionic sources, and such. With the availability of a strong technical staff and with generous financial support from the Ford Instrument Company, this lack of an opportunity to build a nuclear reactor was a disappointment.
During the years between 1956 and 1960, the Nuclear Control Systems Department worked primarily on the design, development and manufacture of control rod position indicator systems. The prototype for the first of these was installed and evaluated in 1958 at the US Navy Reactor Facility in Arco, Idaho, where a prototype of the first nuclear submarine, the Polaris, had been built. Production versions of this system were then successfully installed on the USS Triton nuclear submarine in 1959. A second version of this system was later installed on the first nuclear aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise.
After 1960, the Nuclear Control System Department worked primarily on in-house projects sponsored by Ford Instrument. This work resulted in the granting of a number of patents, primarily dealing with magnetic amplifiers and with the transmission of data into and out of sealed containers, such as nuclear reactors.
Organization:
Division Manager - Theodore (Ted) Jarvis
Ted Jarvis studied at Columbia University before joining the Ford Instrument Company where he began his career as an engineer. He was sent by the Company to attend a one-year course at the Oak Ridge School of Reactor Training (ORSORT). Upon his return to the Company after completing the course, the Company formed the Nuclear Development Division and appointed him to manage it.
After leaving Ford Instrument, Ted moved to Massachusetts where was employed by the MITRE Corporation for a number of years. While at MITRE, he published a number of technical papers, many of them dealing with nuclear radiation fallout pattern prediction and with the effects of nuclear radiation.
Ted Jarvis retired from the MITRE Corporation and was last known to be living in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Department Head - Michael (Mike) Silverberg, Nuclear Reactor Design Department
Mike Silverberg was sent to attend the ORSORT course after Ted Jarvis's return to the Company. After graduation, he assumed the role of Department Head.
Department Head - William T (Bill) Keating, Nuclear Controls Department
Bill Keating graduated from Manhattan College in 1939 with a degree in electrical engineering. During WWII, he worked on US Navy ships, installing and maintaining the gunfire control systems manufactured by the Ford Instrument Company.
Bill later worked for the Sperry Rand Company after it absorbed the Ford Instrument Company. He then worked temporarily at Sanders Associates, in Nashua NH, and then at the Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island NY, where he was responsible for the operation of its nuclear reactor.
Bill married his wife Susan in the mid-1950's. Unfortunately, she died at an early age, as did he, of a broken heart.
Supervisor - John William Niestlie Jr. (1929-1998)
John Niestlie met Mike Silverberg while both were attending ORSORT. Upon graduation, Mike recruited John to join the Ford Instrument Company. John was a graduate of North Carolina State University (1952), and had published papers on the positioning of control rods in nuclear reactors.
While working at Ford Instrument, John lived in Kew Gardens NY, and drove a black 1956 Triumph TR3 sports car.
In 1993, John was working at the Battelle Institute on the transportation and disposal of nuclear waste. John Niestlie passed away in Westerville, Ohio on June 30, 1998, and is buried in North Carolina.
Supervisor - Vincent Ordorica (1921-2008)
Vincent Ordorica, a native of Spain, graduated from NYU in 1950. He was an electrical engineer and an ORSORTgraduate and supervised all projects undertaken by the Nuclear Controls Department.
Supervisor - Donald Gertz (after 1959)
Don Gertz was an engineer in the Nuclear Division. He was enrolled in the ORSORT program in 1958, and upon completion, he returned to the Division as a project supervisor.
Engineering Staff - Nuclear Reactor Design (Roster Incomplete)
Physicist - Wolf Stenzel
Mechanical Engineer - Sal Mosca
Engineer - Lewis L Haring
Engineering Staff - Nuclear Controls (Roster Incomplete)
Mechanical Engineer - Albert Richter
Electrical Engineer - Eugene Lavan, a graduate of Manhattan College (circa 1949)
Electrical Engineer - Anthony Cassano, a graduate of Manhattan College (circa 1952)
Electrical Engineer - Michael Cosenza, a graduate of Manhattan College (1955)
Engineers and technicians at the Ford Instrument Company were unionized and represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 417. Mike Cosenza served as the union representative for the Nuclear Development Division, in addition to his engineering tasks.
Electrical Engineer - Fred Moritz, a graduate of Stevens Institute (1956)
Fred Moritz worked primarily on the control rod position indicator system for the USS Enterprise during the 1956-1960 period.
Fred lived in Forest Hills, NY
Electrical Engineer - Lionel E Leavitt, a graduate of NYU (1956)
Lionel Leavitt worked primarily on the design of magnetic amplifiers during the 1956-1960 period.
He was granted several patents while employed at the Ford Instrument Company.
Lionel Leavitt subsequently (1988) worked for Electronic Systems and Data Communications Corporation in Wayne NJ. He resides (as of 2014) in Fair Lawn, NJ.
Electrical Engineer - Milton Lowenstein
Milt Lowenstein was a Senior Engineer and excelled at explaining difficult electronic theories in simple terms. He was invaluable to the Division's young engineering staff.
Milt lived in Forest Hills, NY.
Electrical Engineer - Sidney Smilowitz
Sidney Smilowitz was an electrical engineer who joined the Division in about 1958.
Mechanical Engineer - William Cannon
William Cannon was a mechanical engineer who joined the Division in 1956 after graduation from college.
Electrical Engineer - Roger Trudeau, a graduate of Manhattan College (1956)
Worked at Ford Instrument from 1956 to 1960. Left as Senior Engineer.
Worked as Systems Engineer at ARMA Division, American Bosch Arma Corp. from 1960 to 1963
Worked as Senior Engineer at Sperry Marine Division in 1963.
Worked as Supervisor at ARMA Division, American Bosch ARMA Corp. from 1963 to 1965.
Worked as Test Engineer/Group Leader at Charles Stark Draper Laboratories from 1965 to 1969.
Founded Bedford Control Systems Inc., in 1969, a computer systems design firm specializing in computerized test equipment and in factory automation, in. He served as CEO and Chief Engineer until 1996.
Moved to Sydney Australia in 1996, where he worked as a consultant and in the opal industry.
Retired in 2012. Currently residing in Paddington, NSW Australia - rogertrudeau34@hotmail.com
Secretary - Valerie Bradshaw
Patents Granted to Staff of Nuclear Development Division of Ford Instrument Company
1956- US2911828-A - Device for Determining Liquid Level and Interface Position
Inventors: W Keating, A Richter
1956 - US2878327-A - High Gain Magnetic Amplifier - Inventors: W Keating, H McKenney
1956 - US2887882-A - Pressure-Voltage Transducing Element - Inventor: A Richter
1957 - US2898485-A - Magnetic Clutch - Inventors: V Ordorica, A Richter, D Gertz
1959 - US2916683-A - Induction Motor Reverser - Inventor: L Leavitt
1961 - US3174056-A - Transistor Bi-stable Proximity Sensor - Inventors: V Ordorica, L Leavitt
1961 - US3154946-A - Digital Remote Position Indicator - V Ordorica, L Leavitt, F Moritz
1962 - US3155849-A - Thermionic Converter - Inventors: M Silverberg, L Haring
1967 - US3437910-A - Automatic Resetting Means for Transformer Energized by Asymetrical Waveforms - Inventors: L Haring, W Oppen
1967 - US3488604-A - Automatic Pulsed-Signal Amplitude Normalizer - Inventor: S Smilowitz
This blog is intended to record the author's recollections of some of the history of the now defunct Nuclear Development Division of the Ford Instrument Company between the years 1956-1960.
The Ford Instrument Company was founded in 1918 by Hannibal Ford, who had previously been employed as Chief Engineer at the Sperry Gyroscope Company. It subsequently merged with the Sperry Corporation but continued to operate as a stand-alone division. In 1956 it was located at 31-10 Thomson Avenue, in Long Island City, New York and had a total employment of approximately 3,000 people. This site was subsequently occupied by the Laguardia Community College after Ford Instrument Company was absorbed into its parent company facilities in Lake Success, New York in the early 1970's.
The Ford Instrument Company was known primarily for the design, development, production and maintenance of naval gunfire control systems, most notably the Mk 87, which was probably the most accurate and reliable naval fire control system used during World War II. After WWII, the Company continued to produce gunfire control systems and torpedo data computers for the US Navy, as well as fire control systems for aircraft and tanks and guidance systems for missiles. The Mk 87 remained in production until 1969, when Defense Department budget cuts forced its termination, forcing the layoff of some 900 workers and the absorption of the remainder of the Company into the Sperry Gyroscope Company.
The decision to enter the nuclear industry in the 1950's was a bold one, since it meant trying to compete with several major US corporations already committed to carving out a stake in the industry. These included the Knolls Atomic Power Division of the General Electric Company, the Bettis Division of the Westinghouse Corporation, the Babcock and Wilcox Company, Allis Chalmers Corporation and Atomics International, a division of the North American Aviation Company.
America in the 1950's
Following the defeat of Germany and Japan in WWII, America was returning to a strong peace-time economy, even with the growing threat of the Cold War. Returning veterans and wartime shortages had created an unprecedented demand for goods and services. The housing needs for returning veterans were being fulfilled by ambitious developments, such as Levittown on Long Island. The automobile industry had re-tooled and was then offering new car models to take the place of worn out pre-war models and the hastily produced cars of the late 1940's, which had been produced from pre-war tooling. New products such as washers, dryers, air conditioners, power mowers, microwave ovens and television sets were in high demand. To say that the mood of America was vibrant and optimistic would have been an understatement.
The Engineering Environment
America had experienced a short recession in the early 1950's, following President Eisenhower's cuts to the defense budget. Because of this, there had been a shortage of engineering job opportunities and many 1950-1954 engineering graduates opted for the security of jobs as firemen, policemen and postal workers. This added to the engineering shortage being created by the mid-1950's demands prompted by the growing computer industry. By 1955, engineers were in very high demand, as demonstrated by the New York Times help-wanted section which was filled with full page ads offering lucrative engineering jobs. Companies would hold on-campus interviews and make job offers to entire graduating classes, often offering bonuses for quick acceptance. In this environment, Ford Instrument hired 75 newly graduated engineers to supplement its existing staff of 300 engineers.
The Nuclear Development Division is Born
The Nuclear Division was founded in 1954, after Hannibal Ford, the founder of the Company, assigned Ted Jarvis, a bright young physicist, to the task of organizing and managing this new division. Jarvis had just returned to the Company after completing a one-year program at the Oak Ridge School of Reactor Technology (ORSORT), in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. ORSORT had been founded in 1950, at the urging of Admiral Hyman Rickover, the founder of the nuclear submarine, to broaden the country's knowledge base in nuclear technology. The program continued until 1975, graduating a total of 976 engineers during its existence.
The Nuclear Division consisted of two departments, the first being the Nuclear Reactor Design Department, and the second being the Nuclear Control Systems Department. Except for a secretary, all of its members were graduate engineers or scientists. The Division utilized the resources of other divisions for any needed support services, such as drafting, model making and machine shop work. Almost all of the Nuclear Division employees were under thirty years of age.
Located in the Northeast corner of the second floor, the Nuclear Division was fairly isolated from the remainder of the Company, with the Navy, Army and Air Force divisions located on the lower floor of the building and the Missile division occupying a neighboring building. It was further buffered from the Company's other operations by a row of executive offices occupied by the Chief Engineer, Charles Rockwell, and by the managers of the other divisions.
The working environment was very much like that of a small company, but without the constant pressure of financial problems, since the Division was backed by Ford Instrument's larger resources and by its commitment to help the Division establish itself. Any contracts awarded to the Nuclear Division merely reduced the amount of support needed. At the working level, a strong spirit of cooperation always prevailed, and its engineers were quick to ask for or to offer suggestions and support on each other's projects.
With about a quarter of its staff having graduated from the ORSORT program, the Division had a degree of credibility within the nuclear industry and, more important, within the Atomic Energy Commission. The Nuclear Reactor Design Department was awarded several contracts, most notably study contracts to study the feasibility of aircraft nuclear propulsion (ANP), of a portable nuclear reactor power plant for use by theArmy (APPR) and to evaluate the feasibility of a closed-cycle gas-cooled nuclear reactor. The Nuclear Control Systems Department was awarded contracts by the Westinghouse Corporation to design and manufacture control rod position indicating systems for the Triton nuclear submarine and for the first nuclear powered aircraft carrier.
It was Ted Jarvis' ambition that Ford Instrument Company build a nuclear reactor,but this ambition was never realized. His Nuclear Reactor Design Department survived on a series of study contracts awarded by the Atomic Energy Commission. In addition to the feasibility studies mentioned earlier, these included contracts to study fallout patterns from nuclear explosions, simulation of nuclear power plant control systems using analog computers, generation of electricity from thermionic sources, and such. With the availability of a strong technical staff and with generous financial support from the Ford Instrument Company, this lack of an opportunity to build a nuclear reactor was a disappointment.
During the years between 1956 and 1960, the Nuclear Control Systems Department worked primarily on the design, development and manufacture of control rod position indicator systems. The prototype for the first of these was installed and evaluated in 1958 at the US Navy Reactor Facility in Arco, Idaho, where a prototype of the first nuclear submarine, the Polaris, had been built. Production versions of this system were then successfully installed on the USS Triton nuclear submarine in 1959. A second version of this system was later installed on the first nuclear aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise.
After 1960, the Nuclear Control System Department worked primarily on in-house projects sponsored by Ford Instrument. This work resulted in the granting of a number of patents, primarily dealing with magnetic amplifiers and with the transmission of data into and out of sealed containers, such as nuclear reactors.
Organization:
Division Manager - Theodore (Ted) Jarvis
Ted Jarvis studied at Columbia University before joining the Ford Instrument Company where he began his career as an engineer. He was sent by the Company to attend a one-year course at the Oak Ridge School of Reactor Training (ORSORT). Upon his return to the Company after completing the course, the Company formed the Nuclear Development Division and appointed him to manage it.
After leaving Ford Instrument, Ted moved to Massachusetts where was employed by the MITRE Corporation for a number of years. While at MITRE, he published a number of technical papers, many of them dealing with nuclear radiation fallout pattern prediction and with the effects of nuclear radiation.
Ted Jarvis retired from the MITRE Corporation and was last known to be living in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Department Head - Michael (Mike) Silverberg, Nuclear Reactor Design Department
Mike Silverberg was sent to attend the ORSORT course after Ted Jarvis's return to the Company. After graduation, he assumed the role of Department Head.
Department Head - William T (Bill) Keating, Nuclear Controls Department
Bill Keating graduated from Manhattan College in 1939 with a degree in electrical engineering. During WWII, he worked on US Navy ships, installing and maintaining the gunfire control systems manufactured by the Ford Instrument Company.
Bill later worked for the Sperry Rand Company after it absorbed the Ford Instrument Company. He then worked temporarily at Sanders Associates, in Nashua NH, and then at the Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island NY, where he was responsible for the operation of its nuclear reactor.
Bill married his wife Susan in the mid-1950's. Unfortunately, she died at an early age, as did he, of a broken heart.
Supervisor - John William Niestlie Jr. (1929-1998)
John Niestlie met Mike Silverberg while both were attending ORSORT. Upon graduation, Mike recruited John to join the Ford Instrument Company. John was a graduate of North Carolina State University (1952), and had published papers on the positioning of control rods in nuclear reactors.
While working at Ford Instrument, John lived in Kew Gardens NY, and drove a black 1956 Triumph TR3 sports car.
In 1993, John was working at the Battelle Institute on the transportation and disposal of nuclear waste. John Niestlie passed away in Westerville, Ohio on June 30, 1998, and is buried in North Carolina.
Supervisor - Vincent Ordorica (1921-2008)
Vincent Ordorica, a native of Spain, graduated from NYU in 1950. He was an electrical engineer and an ORSORTgraduate and supervised all projects undertaken by the Nuclear Controls Department.
Supervisor - Donald Gertz (after 1959)
Don Gertz was an engineer in the Nuclear Division. He was enrolled in the ORSORT program in 1958, and upon completion, he returned to the Division as a project supervisor.
Engineering Staff - Nuclear Reactor Design (Roster Incomplete)
Physicist - Wolf Stenzel
Mechanical Engineer - Sal Mosca
Engineer - Lewis L Haring
Engineering Staff - Nuclear Controls (Roster Incomplete)
Mechanical Engineer - Albert Richter
Electrical Engineer - Eugene Lavan, a graduate of Manhattan College (circa 1949)
Electrical Engineer - Anthony Cassano, a graduate of Manhattan College (circa 1952)
Electrical Engineer - Michael Cosenza, a graduate of Manhattan College (1955)
Engineers and technicians at the Ford Instrument Company were unionized and represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 417. Mike Cosenza served as the union representative for the Nuclear Development Division, in addition to his engineering tasks.
Electrical Engineer - Fred Moritz, a graduate of Stevens Institute (1956)
Fred Moritz worked primarily on the control rod position indicator system for the USS Enterprise during the 1956-1960 period.
Fred lived in Forest Hills, NY
Electrical Engineer - Lionel E Leavitt, a graduate of NYU (1956)
Lionel Leavitt worked primarily on the design of magnetic amplifiers during the 1956-1960 period.
He was granted several patents while employed at the Ford Instrument Company.
Lionel Leavitt subsequently (1988) worked for Electronic Systems and Data Communications Corporation in Wayne NJ. He resides (as of 2014) in Fair Lawn, NJ.
Electrical Engineer - Milton Lowenstein
Milt Lowenstein was a Senior Engineer and excelled at explaining difficult electronic theories in simple terms. He was invaluable to the Division's young engineering staff.
Milt lived in Forest Hills, NY.
Electrical Engineer - Sidney Smilowitz
Sidney Smilowitz was an electrical engineer who joined the Division in about 1958.
Mechanical Engineer - William Cannon
William Cannon was a mechanical engineer who joined the Division in 1956 after graduation from college.
Electrical Engineer - Roger Trudeau, a graduate of Manhattan College (1956)
Worked at Ford Instrument from 1956 to 1960. Left as Senior Engineer.
Worked as Systems Engineer at ARMA Division, American Bosch Arma Corp. from 1960 to 1963
Worked as Senior Engineer at Sperry Marine Division in 1963.
Worked as Supervisor at ARMA Division, American Bosch ARMA Corp. from 1963 to 1965.
Worked as Test Engineer/Group Leader at Charles Stark Draper Laboratories from 1965 to 1969.
Founded Bedford Control Systems Inc., in 1969, a computer systems design firm specializing in computerized test equipment and in factory automation, in. He served as CEO and Chief Engineer until 1996.
Moved to Sydney Australia in 1996, where he worked as a consultant and in the opal industry.
Retired in 2012. Currently residing in Paddington, NSW Australia - rogertrudeau34@hotmail.com
Secretary - Valerie Bradshaw
Patents Granted to Staff of Nuclear Development Division of Ford Instrument Company
1956- US2911828-A - Device for Determining Liquid Level and Interface Position
Inventors: W Keating, A Richter
1956 - US2878327-A - High Gain Magnetic Amplifier - Inventors: W Keating, H McKenney
1956 - US2887882-A - Pressure-Voltage Transducing Element - Inventor: A Richter
1957 - US2898485-A - Magnetic Clutch - Inventors: V Ordorica, A Richter, D Gertz
1959 - US2916683-A - Induction Motor Reverser - Inventor: L Leavitt
1961 - US3174056-A - Transistor Bi-stable Proximity Sensor - Inventors: V Ordorica, L Leavitt
1961 - US3154946-A - Digital Remote Position Indicator - V Ordorica, L Leavitt, F Moritz
1962 - US3155849-A - Thermionic Converter - Inventors: M Silverberg, L Haring
1967 - US3437910-A - Automatic Resetting Means for Transformer Energized by Asymetrical Waveforms - Inventors: L Haring, W Oppen
1967 - US3488604-A - Automatic Pulsed-Signal Amplitude Normalizer - Inventor: S Smilowitz
Saturday, July 23, 2011
A Welcome Intruder
November 1996, three months after arriving in Australia, I getting ready for work, My wife Radka was crying in the living room. She was homesick for the U.S.A. but more so for the pets that we had left behind, our dog Lady and our rabbit Data. A friend was coming to visit me in the afternoon, so I left telling her that I would return around noontime.
When I returned and opened my front gate, there was a black cat sitting on my door stoop. She looked at me, meowed and stood waiting by the door. When I unlocked the door, she led me into the living room. Radka called her into the kichen, gave her a bit of milk and opened a can of tune fish for her. After eating, she went upstairs, jumped onto our bed and went to sleep.
She was wearing a tag with a telephone number, so I called. "Is she behaving herself?" the woman asked. "If she scratches your furniture, just snap your fingers. Her name is Pixel." The woman lived a few doors up the street and said she would come by to pick her up. After several days not hearing from her, we called again, and this time she came by to visit.
When she arrived, Pixel was napping upstairs. She awoke and came down to the landing and just sat there watching us. The woman was in no rush to leave, so we opened a bottle of wine and began to discuss Pixel. Pixel lived with her, she explained, but did not belong to her. She belonged to a gay couple who lived in the same house but was in the process of leaving Sydney and had no plans to take Pixel with them. She herself had other cats and did not want Pixel, so if we liked her we could have her. So we now had a cat, who we renamed Pixie, and Pixie had a home in which she became the only child.
Pixie seemed to accept her new servants graciously and treated us with her presence, as long as we didn't get too close or show too much affection. She was a Burmese cat and quite talkative, with a bark expressing her satisfaction, and a nip on the calf expressing disapproval. Whether sitting in the living room or upstairs watching tv, Pixie usually sat between us on the sofa.
We had our first problem with Pixie several months later when we returned from a night out to find her screaming in pain with a broken leg. That required a trip to the vet, an operation, and several days of confinement in a cage at the vet's surgery. This was the start of a lifelong hatred of vets, even for her periodic examinations.
Pixie never really considered herself as a cat, but more as an full-fledged member of the family. When we had company Pixie always sat prominently with us, not wanting to miss out on any important conversation. If dinner was to be served, Pixie followed us into the dining room, and as we sat down, Pixie took Radka's empty seat, since she was occupied serving.
After 4-1/2 years we moved to a house just five doors away. Pixie adapted immediately to the new house, especially when she discovered that it had a flap to allow her to come and go as she pleased, just as the original house had. Pixie ruled not only our backyard, but the neighboring ones as well, even those having cats. She could roam their yards at will, but heaven help them if they wanted to come into her yard.
In later years, Pixie objected to my leaving the house during the evening, sitting at the front door and howling after I left. We developed a habit of going for evening walks up and down the street or around the block. If Pixie wanted to go for a walk, she went to the front door and meowed. If I wanted to go, all I had to do was jiggle my keys or put on my jacket and Pixie would get up and go to the door. Our walks were unhurried, unless it was cold and rainy. Pixie would stop at each yard, enter and inspect some, and give me a comment or two afterwards. When she decided that she had enough, she would turn for home and walk directly there, speaking to me all the way home and giving a satisfied bark as we entered the house.
Pixie left us this weekend after a year of failing health. We will miss her early morning wake-up call, her companionship throughout the day and her late night good-night, sometimes followed later by the feel of her weight landing on our bed, her satisfied bark, and her pushing at us until she had all of the bed-space that she wanted. We will miss her curiosity and comments as we unpacked grocery bags, spoke on the telephone or puttered in the garage. Pixie now rests in our back garden besides our fountain. Her resting place will soon be covered with flowers. We will whisper a couple of words to her each time we pass, and silently thank her for the joy she brought into our lives over the past fifteen years.
When I returned and opened my front gate, there was a black cat sitting on my door stoop. She looked at me, meowed and stood waiting by the door. When I unlocked the door, she led me into the living room. Radka called her into the kichen, gave her a bit of milk and opened a can of tune fish for her. After eating, she went upstairs, jumped onto our bed and went to sleep.
She was wearing a tag with a telephone number, so I called. "Is she behaving herself?" the woman asked. "If she scratches your furniture, just snap your fingers. Her name is Pixel." The woman lived a few doors up the street and said she would come by to pick her up. After several days not hearing from her, we called again, and this time she came by to visit.
When she arrived, Pixel was napping upstairs. She awoke and came down to the landing and just sat there watching us. The woman was in no rush to leave, so we opened a bottle of wine and began to discuss Pixel. Pixel lived with her, she explained, but did not belong to her. She belonged to a gay couple who lived in the same house but was in the process of leaving Sydney and had no plans to take Pixel with them. She herself had other cats and did not want Pixel, so if we liked her we could have her. So we now had a cat, who we renamed Pixie, and Pixie had a home in which she became the only child.
Pixie seemed to accept her new servants graciously and treated us with her presence, as long as we didn't get too close or show too much affection. She was a Burmese cat and quite talkative, with a bark expressing her satisfaction, and a nip on the calf expressing disapproval. Whether sitting in the living room or upstairs watching tv, Pixie usually sat between us on the sofa.
We had our first problem with Pixie several months later when we returned from a night out to find her screaming in pain with a broken leg. That required a trip to the vet, an operation, and several days of confinement in a cage at the vet's surgery. This was the start of a lifelong hatred of vets, even for her periodic examinations.
Pixie never really considered herself as a cat, but more as an full-fledged member of the family. When we had company Pixie always sat prominently with us, not wanting to miss out on any important conversation. If dinner was to be served, Pixie followed us into the dining room, and as we sat down, Pixie took Radka's empty seat, since she was occupied serving.
After 4-1/2 years we moved to a house just five doors away. Pixie adapted immediately to the new house, especially when she discovered that it had a flap to allow her to come and go as she pleased, just as the original house had. Pixie ruled not only our backyard, but the neighboring ones as well, even those having cats. She could roam their yards at will, but heaven help them if they wanted to come into her yard.
In later years, Pixie objected to my leaving the house during the evening, sitting at the front door and howling after I left. We developed a habit of going for evening walks up and down the street or around the block. If Pixie wanted to go for a walk, she went to the front door and meowed. If I wanted to go, all I had to do was jiggle my keys or put on my jacket and Pixie would get up and go to the door. Our walks were unhurried, unless it was cold and rainy. Pixie would stop at each yard, enter and inspect some, and give me a comment or two afterwards. When she decided that she had enough, she would turn for home and walk directly there, speaking to me all the way home and giving a satisfied bark as we entered the house.
Pixie left us this weekend after a year of failing health. We will miss her early morning wake-up call, her companionship throughout the day and her late night good-night, sometimes followed later by the feel of her weight landing on our bed, her satisfied bark, and her pushing at us until she had all of the bed-space that she wanted. We will miss her curiosity and comments as we unpacked grocery bags, spoke on the telephone or puttered in the garage. Pixie now rests in our back garden besides our fountain. Her resting place will soon be covered with flowers. We will whisper a couple of words to her each time we pass, and silently thank her for the joy she brought into our lives over the past fifteen years.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Questions, questions, questions
About a month ago, I stumbled onto Scott Stewart's Facebook wall, where he asked a question about some current topic of interest. Since that time, he has followed that question with several more, and I have avidly read all of the comments posted in answer to his questions. The topics have varied, ranging from the building of a mosque in New York to taxation, health care, term limits, immigration reform, corporations, welfare and government in general.
For the most part, the commentary has been serious and well thought out, and leading in many cases to further questions. People seem to be well aware that the issues are complex,and often interdependent. "If you pick a blade of grass, you move a star." Representing a fairly wide spectrum of opinion, the participants in this dialogue all appear to be serious in their concern for America, and in their willingness to contribute to its well-being.
I have now seen so many questions that I am getting truly confused. I'm asking myself if these questions aren't the trees, and if we aren't overlooking the forest in which they exist.
Is the basic issue that America is no longer what it was, and that ordinary citizens, scientists, engineers, lawyers and the like, are realizing that fact and getting concerned, very concerned, about it?
America used to be a country that could do anything, from evicting the English to becoming an industrial giant, to saving Europe, to putting a man on the moon. Now, we can't build a border fence, plug an oil leak or keep our major companies solvent, not to mention the fact that we can't seem to win a war anymore.
Is it that we have become too immersed in leading our own lives, enjoying the fruit of our labor, and leaving the responsibility of running the country to politicians, with almost no oversight? It wasn't meant to be that way. The founding fathers made it clear that an enlightened and active citizenry was a necessary part of preserving the republic which they worked so hard and risked so much to achieve.
Is it that we are becoming totally frustrated with government, as it exists today? We are no longer a two-party system. We have one party, the Incumbency Party. There is little real difference between Democrats and Republicans. Is Barrack Obama that different from George Bush? Really?
In my opinion, it's not that America has more and bigger problems than in the past, although it does have some major problems. America has always had problems, and it used to bite the bullet and solve them, no matter what it took. It entered World War II from a period of isolationism with almost no military force and no existing capacity to churn out the necessary military hardware to wage a two-front war. It landed a man on the moon in a space capsule that by today's standards was a tin can.
Part of the problem seems to be that our government has totally lost touch with the people that it is supposed to represent. It does as it seems fit, and in many cases what it does is based on personal or political considerations. Have you tried talking to your Congressman? Were you able to? Was he responsive to your concerns? Does he know what people think outside of the Beltway? In my experience, he is most deeply concerned about his re-election, and therefoe more than willing to sacrifice any of his ideals in return for political support from any interest group that will have him.
America has more well-educated and competent people than any country on Earth, yet most of us are like sheep, following questionable leaders into oblivion. Scott's questions are a start. Dialogue between opposing points of view is healthy, and questioning is an absolute necessity. But is that it? Where does it go next?
I think that the first step is to make the government responsive to the wants and needs of the people. They must be told what the people want, and if they won't listen, they must be replaced. You can't do this only from your laptop. Anyone can run for office in America, whether it be for Congress or city councilman. And everyone can vote. Maybe that's the starting point. We are less than two months from Election Day, and maybe it's time for Congress to hear from its constituency.
For the most part, the commentary has been serious and well thought out, and leading in many cases to further questions. People seem to be well aware that the issues are complex,and often interdependent. "If you pick a blade of grass, you move a star." Representing a fairly wide spectrum of opinion, the participants in this dialogue all appear to be serious in their concern for America, and in their willingness to contribute to its well-being.
I have now seen so many questions that I am getting truly confused. I'm asking myself if these questions aren't the trees, and if we aren't overlooking the forest in which they exist.
Is the basic issue that America is no longer what it was, and that ordinary citizens, scientists, engineers, lawyers and the like, are realizing that fact and getting concerned, very concerned, about it?
America used to be a country that could do anything, from evicting the English to becoming an industrial giant, to saving Europe, to putting a man on the moon. Now, we can't build a border fence, plug an oil leak or keep our major companies solvent, not to mention the fact that we can't seem to win a war anymore.
Is it that we have become too immersed in leading our own lives, enjoying the fruit of our labor, and leaving the responsibility of running the country to politicians, with almost no oversight? It wasn't meant to be that way. The founding fathers made it clear that an enlightened and active citizenry was a necessary part of preserving the republic which they worked so hard and risked so much to achieve.
Is it that we are becoming totally frustrated with government, as it exists today? We are no longer a two-party system. We have one party, the Incumbency Party. There is little real difference between Democrats and Republicans. Is Barrack Obama that different from George Bush? Really?
In my opinion, it's not that America has more and bigger problems than in the past, although it does have some major problems. America has always had problems, and it used to bite the bullet and solve them, no matter what it took. It entered World War II from a period of isolationism with almost no military force and no existing capacity to churn out the necessary military hardware to wage a two-front war. It landed a man on the moon in a space capsule that by today's standards was a tin can.
Part of the problem seems to be that our government has totally lost touch with the people that it is supposed to represent. It does as it seems fit, and in many cases what it does is based on personal or political considerations. Have you tried talking to your Congressman? Were you able to? Was he responsive to your concerns? Does he know what people think outside of the Beltway? In my experience, he is most deeply concerned about his re-election, and therefoe more than willing to sacrifice any of his ideals in return for political support from any interest group that will have him.
America has more well-educated and competent people than any country on Earth, yet most of us are like sheep, following questionable leaders into oblivion. Scott's questions are a start. Dialogue between opposing points of view is healthy, and questioning is an absolute necessity. But is that it? Where does it go next?
I think that the first step is to make the government responsive to the wants and needs of the people. They must be told what the people want, and if they won't listen, they must be replaced. You can't do this only from your laptop. Anyone can run for office in America, whether it be for Congress or city councilman. And everyone can vote. Maybe that's the starting point. We are less than two months from Election Day, and maybe it's time for Congress to hear from its constituency.
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