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.
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.