Oh,that's so cool. We never got into it to that extent, but man, I sure miss that chug-chug-chug especially around Christmastime.
You know that the modern "hacker" culture started with elaborate electric train set-ups in the basement of MIT, yes?
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Oh,that's so cool. We never got into it to that extent, but man, I sure miss that chug-chug-chug especially around Christmastime.
You know that the modern "hacker" culture started with elaborate electric train set-ups in the basement of MIT, yes?
My wife's 62 year old train set is in a crate, in the way, in the garage. For 50 years is was stored in a shed at her mothers house and is a mess.
This is an older but fascinating book I found revelatory. http://books.google.com/books/about/Hackers.html?id=mShXzzKtpmEC Should be available for pennies used on Amazon, and very well worth the (easy) read. I worked at MIT doing PR for a computer lab for a few years, and what this book describes absolutely rings true. The hacker culture didn't just spring full-blown from the mind of somebody like Julian Assange, it took some time to evolve.No, but I'm intrigued.
Bart, I got some decent $$$ for the bulk of mine & my dad's train stuff from a dealer in Manassas, just off 66 at Sudley. I think it was "Train Depot". Maybe it's still there. I felt that I was treated fairly.
ETA: I also was quite happy with a bunch of my related eBay auctions. People out there collect and will buy anything.
ETA: I also was quite happy with a bunch of my related eBay auctions. People out there collect and will buy anything.
Um, not to be crude or anything, but stuff like that is worth a fair amount of pennies these days, even if you're not interested in reviving it yourselves. A real shame in any case to let it molder and rust away in a garage for half a century, IMO. It's not my thing to devote time and $$ to it, but to see it working and chugging around the track is just thrilling.
The term "hacker" originated to describe people that put together their own computers. Back in the seventies. Somehow it morphed. "Hackers" became "geeks" and people that should be hung up by their toes came to be known as "hackers".
I thought geeks bit the heads off chickens.
No, Rick ... that's Ozzie Osbourne, or was it Ted Nugent?
Yeah, it's complicated. That's why this book is so interesting and useful because it traces all that, including the "phone phreaks" of the '70s. It's a fascinating sort of primer on the core mentality that all this grew out of.
Cool that you worked at MIT. Used to go to Boston once or twice a year. Many an evening on the Back Bay with interesting folks in the "business" back then. One lady had worked in IT at MIT for years and couldn't get another job anywhere. I told her the problem was she wasn't telling lies on her resume.
She called me the next month and said "Why didn't you bastards tell me that five years ago! Just got a great job offer.".
She called me the next month and said "Why didn't you bastards tell me that five years ago! Just got a great job offer.".
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Little blue pill ain't doing it for you anymore?
I remember being a ninth grader paper boy, and collecting for my paper route by going door to door. A couple in their 70's would be drinking brandy old fashions every evening, and if I came at the right time (after dinner), they would invite me in and make me a watered down one with lots of cherries. Today, that would probably get them arrested.
Not if you are from Wisconsin. That was pretty normal stuff back in the day. Going to a pizza joint (made by real Sicilians) my parents would order a half carafe of wine and 3 glasses. At 8 years old they only allowed one.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Same story here, except I was a fifth or sixth grader and one old couple in my route must have been in their late 80's, and the woman would usually answer the door wearing nothing but a too-loose nightgown or robe. Then she'd bend over to fish a few dollars out of her purse, and while the 12 year old version of me couldn't help but look... it was sort of like driving past a bad car accident.
Saw a recent article on human progress (?).
A person born 60 years ago, was born before:
- television
- penicillin
- polioshots
- frozen foods
- Xerox copiers
- contact lenses
- Frisbees
- the pill
- instant coffee
There were no:
- creditcards
- laser beams
- ball-point pens
- Pizza Hut
- McDonalds
Mankind had not invented:
- pantyhose
- domestic air conditioners
- dishwashers
- clothes dryers (clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air)
A person born 60 years ago, was born before:
- television
- penicillin
- polioshots
- frozen foods
- Xerox copiers
- contact lenses
- Frisbees
- the pill
- instant coffee
There were no:
- creditcards
- laser beams
- ball-point pens
- Pizza Hut
- McDonalds
Mankind had not invented:
- pantyhose
- domestic air conditioners
- dishwashers
- clothes dryers (clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air)
Yup. And lemme tell you, getting those kid ear infections pre-penicillin was no joke. Burst my eardrums repeatedly and ended up with slightly impaired hearing as a result.
They could get carried away with penicillin though. The last time I was a patient in a hospital I was in the 4th grade. They shot me full of the stuff at six in the morning and six at night. Ended up making me allergic to the stuff.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Left a few off. Like, say, the transistor
Without a doubt, the single-most important invention of our generation. Perhaps the most important invention since the wheel. But, it did exist more than 60 years ago! 1948.
So did I. I was invented in 1948. 60 years, 64 years...what's the diff?
When I saw that list my first thought was "Yeah, they were born before the invention of the X-Box or iPhone too.".
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