Another ~1960 computer kit

From: Roger Merchberger <zmerch_at_30below.com>
Date: Sun Dec 20 20:41:08 1998

At 08:25 PM 12/20/98 +0000, Tony Duell wrote:

>I didn't say I had many friends, now did I? :-). I just said that those I
>did have liked making things. No, in the UK as well, it appears that
>there are a lot of people who just watch TV. But would they like making
>things if given the chance...

I most certainly like to spend a _few_ hours relaxing in front of the
boob-tube ... a week. TV as a form of occasional entertainment is nice -
but as a electronic / digital babysitter is a waste. And yes, having an
Atari 2600 when I was younger helped improve my hand-eye coordination and
reflexes to the point when I learned to type, I can achieve 110wpm, and
also helped my fascination with computers.

I also watched my uncle build a computer - amazed the hell out of him when
I learned to run it (at 8 years). All it did was convert decimal to binary
and back, and blinked the display at differing rates. Built totally from
TTL 7400 series. He gave me a copy of the schematics, tho I'm quite sure
they've been lost forever (8 year olds don't have the best filing
systems...). So yes, I've known binary - decimal conversion for 23 years)

My kids are fascinated to watch me pulling apart / fixing / assembling /
running all of my stuff around here and I plan to keep it that way.

>And, of course, safety rules haven't helped. I mean, children can't do
>anything that could possibly be dangerous, right?

Hell, kids are going to do dangerous things; like it or not. Whether it's
playing with mains, burning themselves with soldering irons, driving a
little too fast, jumping out of airplanes, burning themselves with drugs,
drinking and driving too fast *and* wrapping their car around a tree, etc.
etc.

Where in the list would you want *your* kids to be dangerous at???
Personally, the former is where I'll teach my kids to be.

I *do* drive too fast - my dad showed me how. He also showed me how to
drive an 18-wheeler, a backhoe, 2 farm tractors, a small bulldozer, and a
motorcycle. Darned near lost a thumb in a table saw... I still use one.
*And* I *still* burn myself with the soldering iron.... but not as often.

The other thing kids don't learn to do nowadays is: If it hurts, walk it
off. If you injure yourself, you're not supposed to do it that way. Let it
heal, and do it again (smarter). and again. and again.

Most of 'em just quit. Not my kids.

'Tis enough of my babbling... Happy Holidaze!!!

I'm off to fix a dryer, before my wife gets irate with me.

Roger "Merch" Merchberger
Received on Sun Dec 20 1998 - 20:41:08 GMT