Renaissance Dork
I have always been a dork, but the obligations of everyday life has made it hard for the inner nerd to shine.
Recently I have reconnected with that dormant geek and rediscovered how much fun curiosity, discovery, and losing myself in my own projects can be.
Join me in this personal rediscovery of nerdom!
Renaissance Dork
I have always been a dork, but the obligations of everyday life made it hard for the inner nerd to shine.
Recently I have reconnected with that dormant geek and rediscovered how much fun curiosity, discovery, and losing myself in my own projects is.
Join me in this personal rediscovery of nerdom!
Where curiosity has led me
The Company You Keep
Bulletin board systems (BBSes) of the past were some of the first gathering places of computing enthusiasts. Modern ActivityPub-based platforms like Mastodon share so many parallels with BBSes of old, it is striking.
BBSing
Setting up my own bulletin board system (BBS) was a great rabbit hole to fall into. It was a project that continued to grow and evolve letting me know just how much I didn’t know. It was humbling. It was rewarding. It was fun.
A little help for my friend
I only recently realized how important writing is to me. This guide to digitizing your music collection that I wrote for a friend long ago was an important milestone on this strange journey of discovery.
What would you say you do here?
I didn’t initially consider that a purpose for this site was simply to be able to write. Only after years of working as a consultant did I realize how much I enjoyed writing.
Can’t beat the real thing.
Using an emulator on modern hardware can be a lot of fun. But the actual experience of using old machines involves much more than the software and its output. It is also the ambience and the environment that informs the experience.
Core Values
I have long been fascinated by core memory. It is not only an important part of computing history, serving as the working memory of commercial computers for over two decades, but it is also highly instructive on how a memory system works, being approachable and most importantly, visible.
Nerds on Parade
A computer seems to always somehow fit into my best memories. But only on the periphery. Always there but always secondary to the people and the experiences. Computers are the ever-present MacGuffins of my life.
Of Unix and Youth
Discovering SerenityOS was the best kind of nostalgia: something that makes you appreciate experiences of the past while connecting you with something new and exciting in the present.
Shade Tree Hacker
History has so much to teach us regardless of discipline. When it comes to computing, understanding the relatively simple computers of the past and how they overcame technical hurdles helps us understand and frame the challenges we face today.