XPost: sci.electronics.design, alt.lasers   
   From: nico@puntnl.niks   
      
   Phil Hobbs  wrote:   
      
   >On 08/26/2011 04:01 PM, three_jeeps wrote:   
   >> On Aug 24, 11:12 pm, Phil Hobbs   
   >>   wrote:   
   >>> Hi, all,   
   >>>   
   >>   
   >> -John   
   >   
   >Thanks.  I actually got most of that stuff from eBay for a couple of   
   >cents on the dollar--including the eBay equivalents of a couple of   
   >things that I was given, the total cost of the rack, its contents, the   
   >optical table and the two drawer cabinets was less than $15k.  My total   
   >equipment expenditure has been around $20k, including that nice   
   >wavemeter and stuff.   
   >   
   >The part that would be really expensive to replace is the contents of   
   >that Vidmar cabinet in the corner--it's full of stuff like translation   
   >stages, gratings, and Wollaston prisms.   
   >   
   >I have a few things on the wants list, of which the biggest are an   
   >optical table and an NC Sherline, as well as some good quality CAD   
   >software, e.g. Comsol, and a nice server-class machine to run them on.   
   >   
   >But we're supposed to have a direct hit from Hurricane Irene in a day or   
   >two--it'll be Cat 1 when it gets here, so the Florida guys in the group   
   >would be all relaxed, but there are a lot of big trees here and this is   
      
   Trees can be good or bad in a storm. If they are strong they 'break'   
   the wind. OTOH if the trees are old they might fall...   
      
   >the strongest storm to hit us in 30 years or more.  Hurricane Floyd in   
   >1999 dumped two feet of water on us, but it's the winds that are the   
   >main worry this time.  Hopefully both home and office will survive   
   >unscathed, but it's quite likely that yours truly will be incommunicado   
   >for a day or two.   
      
   Well, good luck then. Is it a concrete building or wood? It always   
   surprises me that so many houses in the US are made from wood.   
   Concrete + bricks are much more likely to stand up against the   
   strongest winds and flooding.   
      
   --   
   Failure does not prove something is impossible, failure simply   
   indicates you are not using the right tools...   
   nico@nctdevpuntnl (punt=.)   
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