The Museum of HP CalculatorsHP Biographies
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Full Name (family, given): Vulic, Nenad
Email: nvulic@fesb.hr
Location: Split, Croatia
Entered: 9 Oct 2002, 5:28 p.m.
You, visitors of moHP may think that I am another calculator freak. You are wrong! My life has nothing to do with these ugly little beasts, as it is obvious from the following chronological facts:
1960- born in Split, Croatia. No (visible) signs of any infections with "calculatritis" at that time...
1974- my first encounter with a red LED four-banger (Croatian made "Digitron" db802b). It even had a square root...
1975- finished primary school (thanks db802b)
1976- my first scientific ("Texas Instruments", SR-51A). Fascinated with a fact that it could raise any number to any exponent, or find any root of any number (I knew nothing about logarithms)
1977- my first encounter with a HP. It was a HP25, but the guy told me that the HP33E is much better, so I bought it. Eight registers and forty nine programming steps, even subroutines... the world was mine
1979- finished high school (thanks HP33E)
1980- started mech.eng. study at University of Split. Sold my HP33E, in order to buy a HP67. Successfully! Finally, a magnetic card where you may store your programs for future use. No retyping any more. It cost a fortune, but who cares. Is it possible to study mechanical engineering without a HP67? No! HP67-she was (and still is) my most beloved one
1983- graduated mech.eng (thanks HP67 and HP9845B from the company my father worked for)
1984- my first computer ("Sinclair" ZX Spectrum, 48kB). I could solve a 50x50 system of linear equations. Spectrum became my love and I could swear I would never abandon her... Sold two years later...
1984- started my first job at Shipyard Split. Was very proud to bring my HP67 to a ship under construction, in order to follow shafting alignment checks in situ...
1985- transfer to the Croatian Register of Shipping (CRS, www.crs.hr). HP9845B was at my desk... HP Basic, you can do anything you want
1985- encountered my high school professor, who had a pocket BASIC computer. I should have one. The decision was made immediately. Bought a "Sharp" PC-1401. Goodbye RPN! I can see what I have entered, as its screen can display expressions I have entered... Who cares for RPN any more. HP67 laid somewhere in my drawer in tears. She was crying: "How could he ever abandon me?"
1985/86- a one year military service in the navy. There was a HP25 available for artillery calculations, but only higher ranks were allowed to touch it. If they only knew about it what I knew...
1986- married with Denis (http://public.srce.hr/~dvulic). She was so pretty... and, most important, had a HP33E, the same as I have sold once. Welcome back RPN!
1987- bought my first PC computer, an extremely powerful machine PC-XT with enormous 1 MB of RAM and a huge disk of unimaginable 40 MB. The world was mine again... but we are not talking about computers here anyway... That's another story...
1988- We replaced a HP9845 at the CRS, by a HP9000/310. It cost us another fortune...
1989- master's degree from University of Zagreb (thanks HP9000/310)
1989- my son Marko was born. Now he complains that nobody at his class can understand RPN and use his HP32SII...
1991/95- war in Croatia, against Yugoslav army and paramilitary Serbian units. Spent the whole war working for the CRS. Nothing that I would like to remember ... let us skip these years...
1994- appointed Head of Machinery and Materials Dept. at the CRS
1995- finished my doctoral thesis. Obtained my PhD from University of Zagreb, in mechanical engineering (thanks Lahey Fortran 77)
1996- discovered that my HP67 is still an extremely useful machine... Where are my old programs and the ones obtained from the User's Program Library Europe (UPLE)? ...
1997- I have found all of the UPLE programs I have had once... And my old HP33E programs...
1998- became an assistant professor at the University of Split (www.fesb.hr) A part time job, in addition to the one at the CRS. First impression- bad news: only one of my colleagues there had a HP; good news: it was a HP67. After some time I discovered other HP infected people there.
1999- another part time job, University of practical studies, Split (www.vest.hr). Teaching Management of Quality Systems (the word quality has nothing to do with HP nowadays).
2000- a final breakthrough: discovered MS Excel. A more important breakthrough: discovered HP Museum and all those excellent people there... HP67 gummy wheel repaired (many thanks Dave)
2001- started my collection from: HP67, HP33E, Texas Instruments SR-51A, Sharp PC-1401
2001/2002- added HP11C, HP12C, HP15C, HP21, HP25, HP28S, HP32S, HP32SII, HP33C, HP34C, HP41CV with a card reader, HP41CX, HP42S, HP45, HP48SX; expecting a HP71B to be born... Still trying to acquire the HP10B from my sister-in-law, but she won't give it away...
So, this is my story. I am immune to the calculator virus, as it is obvious from above... Don't have a homepage, was to lazy to make one and there's nothing interesting to write about... My most recent hobby: reading all those E-mails, that come each two or three days, from my unknown African friends, offering millions of dollars to transfer to my bank account. I am not interested in any money, but if one of them offers: my share is 17,5 million$ and yours is a nice HP29C, who knows... maybe, I would finally travel to Lagos...
Split, 09th October 2002
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