Snow Melt

Funny Friday: Simplify your life

The July 12, 2013 prompt for "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS"  is
Write a humorous listing for your eBay auction. Include the history of the item you are selling and why you are getting rid of it.

This K & E Slide Rule is the perfect piece of technology for those who want to simplify their life by going into the Alaskan wilderness or the forest of the Rocky Mountains. With this beautiful "ivorite slide rule" without the use of modern technology, which will be useless if and when the country's fragile power grid goes down. Do not be caught without a slide rule when constructing your bear proof or zombie proof shelter.

This exquisite piece of technology, created sometime between 1943 and 1947, is still in perfect working order. The advantage to this piece of equipment is that it does not require electricity of any type to operate. This slide rule come with a leather carrying case that fits snugly in a person's front shirt pocket. Also included is a slide rule instruction manual, for those who are not sure how to use this technology, and the original box.

The bidding for this item begins at 50.00 USD1 or 65.00 EUR2. Shipping and handling will be added to the final price of this item and for the buyer who has no patience over night shipping or next day air is available.

The Story Behind the Slide Rule

For those of you who are wondering how I, a non-math person, acquired this historic piece of precomputer mathematics technology; the answer is simple. I bought it at a garage sale, actually it was a porch sale because the woman who sold it to me did not have a garage. It was one of those days when I was garage saling, looking for something, but I did not know what. I found it and my gut or my intuition ordered me to purchase the item. I am one of those people who believes that you will pay for ignoring the orders of your gut. You may not pay today or tomorrow, but eventually a price is demanded for ignoring your guts.

I have enjoyed this slide rule for several years now. I dust the box off at least once a month and I take the slide rule out to admire it beauty and functional form. I have selfishly enjoyed this item long enough. I think it is time for someone else to have the pleasure of admiring the exquisite beauty of this marvelous technological item.

Thought of the Day: “I was impressed by the scene in Apollo 13 where the astronauts request confirmation of their calculations and several people at Mission Control dive for their slide rules. For several months after that, my standard response to statements like "We must implement multi-processor object-oriented Java-based client-server technologies immediately!" was "You know, FORTRAN and slide rules put men on the moon and got them back safely multiple times."
Tended to shut them up, at least for a moment.” - Matt Roberts

Footnotes
1  United States Dollars
2  Euros