Laser Cutting the Maker Puzzle, Part 2

4 thoughts on “Laser Cutting the Maker Puzzle, Part 2”

1. The women you mentioned as an operator is Admiral Grace Hopper (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Hopper). She invented the first compiler, the language COBOL and other things. She is given credit for identifying the first computer bug – she found a moth that shorted out a relay and generated an error – I recall seeing a photo of her lab notes with the moth taped onto a page.

   Keypunch card machines – cards held 72 characters. Generally, it held one line of code. The character limit (like Twitter) influenced the writing style of code. The machine had a typewriter board, a card was inserted and the programmer (or keypunch card operator) typed the line in. I seem to recall that some models would allow you to correct mistakes. Used one for my first computer class (fortran). A program consisted of a stack of cards. Had to keep them in order. You handed them to an operator who read them in. Sometime later (after consuming some bad vending machine coffee), you went back for the output.

   It was a different time.

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2. A note on cutting or engraving leather with a laser: it smells awful. You are, in fact, burning fine hair and skin. If you must do it, let the machine vent longer than usual after the cut. It will still stink, just not as much. And for some unknown reason (at least to me), it seems that if you warm the leather up (say, for instance, by putting the leather coffee sleeve you made on a cup of hot coffee) the intensity of the smell decreases faster than if left to air on its own.

   I speak from some interesting experiences. Good luck!

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3. I went to Toronto in early 70’s as part of a school trip. I saw my FIRST computer game and a real cobalt laser that the scientist cut wood with it. The laser was huge! And the computer game we played with was tic-tac-toe and us kids got to play against the computer. The exhibit was ( I think ) the World Science Exhibit

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4. My first programming class was also FORTRAN with punch cards.

   The great thing about punch card machines is that they generated unlimited amounts of confetti.

   Admiral Grace Hopper did find the first computer “bug”. She called the moth a “bug” in the paper log book and the term stuck. If her insect taxonomy had been better, we might be stuck talking about “computer moths” and “demothing” our code.

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