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.
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.