Last night, as I was tippy-tapping on my iPad and retweeting weather updates and listening to voicemails and reviewing information about the next day I thought about how mundane the whole experience was. I was suddenly reminded of that time in 1973 or 1974 when my father showed me what was then an absurd purchase, a pocket calculator with bright green digital numbers, that could add, subtract, multiply and good grief, divide with the push of a couple of buttons.

From TV and movies I hear that the first heroin high is the best and probably the only one you’ll ever enjoy. Other than the first 10 hours of “Combat” on the 2600 and the joy of BASIC programming, I’m not sure technology will ever again excite me as much as that little box with glowing numbers.

The Story of the Race to Develop the Pocket Electronic Calculator

I’m devoting less than 1% of my thinking time to this page. Yet it’s constant.

Will this publish automatically, if at all?

And then what?

EDIT: Much better way to embed videos now… That’s the video below:

Nobody knows you’re a pack of dogs, is more like it.

I wonder if my students could understand this process? Or if they’re even interested. This is so retro.

Much more to read at Mastering Markdown.

Next target could be paco.org, but I think I’d rather do idtprof.com.

300 baud modem, check. Compuserve, check. Forget that — bulletin board services!

Watched Wargames at the theater, check. Top Secret!, Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Teenager in the 80s, check.

Atari 2600, TRS-80 Model III, Commodore 64, Tron. Activision — for crying out loud!

Internet Relay Chat at the Tech library basement in 1987. Mac Plus at the Carpenter Hall computer lab the same year.

Wasted youth, check.

Good grief, I’d do it all over again.

This salad has it all (well, except maybe pork products)! The peppercorn dressing hit the spot, and the turkey/brisket slices were enough for lunch. Super fresh salad ingredients.