[vcf-midatlantic] LSSM event announcement

[Connor Krukosky]

So I was planning to attend the LSSM event and was wondering if anyone 
nearby wanted to Car Pool to the event and possibly split a hotel room 
the same night so we can hang around without having to drive back in the AM?

I wouldn't mind going a bit out of the way to pick people up, just the 
trip will end up costing a bit more.
My truck can fit 4 people comfortably, 5 if people want to squeeze. I 
would be-able to seat 7 if the back if the truck wasn't going to have a 
Tektronix Scope Cart in the back to deliver to Dave.

Let me know who might want to come. If everyone wants I was thinking 
leave the Friday before so we don't have to leave early in the morning, 
its just another night of hotel, but with splitting the cost I figured 
it may be worth it.

I am going either way, just depends on if others want to hitch a ride 
and share the cost.

-Connor K

On 4/21/2016 1:12 AM, Dave McGuire via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
>    [I'm sending this around to several mailing lists]
>
>    Most of you have heard of the Large Scale Systems Museum, a public
> museum in the Pittsburgh area that is focused on minicomputers,
> mainframes, and supercomputers.  LSSM opened its doors to the public
> for the first time in October of 2015, coinciding with a city-wide
> festival.  We have been doing tours by appointment since then,
> averaging 3-4 tours per month.
>
>    On April 30th, there will be another such festival here in town,
> called "New Kensington Better Block".  It's a large block party that
> will encompass much of the downtown area.  There will be more than
> sixty street vendors offering food, handmade crafts from local
> artists, and just about everything else you can think of.  There will
> be two stages' worth of live music, games, a beer garden featuring
> great brews from the historic Penn Brewery, lots of kids' activities
> like face-painting and caricature artists, drawings and raffles, the
> grand openings of three new businesses, and lots of other great stuff.
>
>    Another star of the show, Pittsburgh-based C/PMuseum, as a guest of
> LSSM, will also be returning to Better Block with a special exhibit
> this time covering the history of the world's largest technology
> company, Apple Computer.  From the humble beginnings of two friends
> named Steve, through today, Apple's 40th anniversary.  See running
> examples of the actual machines that launched Apple in the 1970s and
> 1980s.  In addition, the gaming wing of C/PMuseum will feature a
> display with running examples of game consoles from the earliest
> generations through the most modern 3D immersive virtual reality.
> Where else can you start out playing on a Magnavox Odyssey, and end up
> inside the VR world of an HTC Vive?  The C/PMuseum pop-up at New
> Kensington Better Block, that's where!
>
>    The LSSM will be participating in that event just as we did last
> October, by being open to the public all day.  (I'm aware that this is
> very short notice; for that I apologize) Many of the Very Large
> Computers here will be running and demonstrated on a rotation
> throughout the day.
>
>    Come and hack on DEC PDP-8, PDP-11, and VAX systems, IBM System/36s,
> and everything in between.  See Cray supercomputers, DECsystem-20s,
> IBM System/370 and System/390 mainframes, and real rarities such as a
> Symbolics Lisp Machine, and minicomputers from the 1960s such as an HP
> 2116B (one of their first!) and a Varian 620-L.  See a Heath H-1, a
> tube-based analog computer from 1956.  See nearly all of the IBM
> "midrange" line.  See how SSP, the operating system from the IBM
> System/36, can run in a virtual environment on an AS/400.  See what an
> 800-pound hard drive looks like.
>
>    All are invited!  The LSSM is located at 924 4th Avenue, New
> Kensington, PA 15068, right in the middle of the block party area.
> New Kensington is about ten minutes' drive from the Allegheny Valley
> exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Exit 48.  It's a very easy area to
> reach, and there are a number of decent and inexpensive hotels nearby.
>
>    I hope you can make it.  Once again I apologize for the short
> notice.  And of course if you cannot make it, feel free to contact the
> LSSM via email to info at lssmuseum.org or on Facebook (search for "Large
> Scale Systems Museum") to set up a visit at your leisure.  You can
> also see some photos of our first big public opening on that page.
>
>    Please feel free to forward this message to anyone whom you think
> might be interested.
>
> 		Thanks,
> 		-Dave McGuire
>                   President/Curator, LSSM
>