PDP-8/Es available-another story.

From: Bill Girnius <thedm_at_sunflower.com>
Date: Wed Jan 21 10:25:43 1998

I'm 30 now, started playing with a Bell+howell apple][ in junior high
school. Bought my first computer, a Timex Sinclair 1500 in 82, my freshman
year in H.S. Everyone thought I was a big weenie and I was never socially
accepted. in 85 I finally got an XT, I wanted an Apple][ but they were
going by the wayside so I decided to get the XT scrictly based on software
availability. I was a manager at Pizza Hut, things were looking grim for
my future, I couldn't afford to go to college and was married. Then I got
sick of all this and joined the Coast Guard, went to MST School in Virginia
for the Coast Guard, 30% of MST's are system managers of some sort. I
thought I might get lucky, I did, I scored a 99% on the computer section of
the course and was made System Administrator of the 4th floor of Coast
Guard Headquarters in Washington DC. I then got out of after my tour, I
now collect older systems as a hobby, im way past 40 systems now, I have no
idea how many I have, my new wife , hehe, another long story, tolerates it,
and Im a network engineer for the Dept of Labor. I owe all this to Sir
Clive Sinclair and my mom for encouraging my interest. I make about 43k a
year, own my own home, not too bad for 30 and not a day in college.

Good luck, and don't give up.

Bill Girnius

----------
> From: Wirehead Prime <wirehead_at_retrocomputing.com>
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp_at_u.washington.edu>
> Subject: Re: PDP-8/Es available
> Date: Wednesday, January 21, 1998 10:45 AM
>
>
>
> > Ahh, that sucks! My parents have control of my money again, so I'd
never get away with spending
> > $50 on old computers... (They're trying to discourage me from playing
with
> > computers, and being about as subtle as a jackhammer...)
>
> I'll leave this public since it might be useful to someone...I'm 29 now
> but when I was 16 or 17 my parents expended GREAT energy trying to get me

> to stop playing with computers because my dad thought they were a FAD
> (hahahahahahahahahahaa) and my mom thought it was unhealthy for me to
> hide in the basement all the time like some brain-damaged monster.
>
> Tell your parents that today I have a college degree, have been out on my

> own working productively since I was 20 (with VERY little external
> support), earn twice the median income in my state, started a successful
> business, own my own home, am married and honoring my parents by living
> an upstanding and productive life. Playing with computers all those
> years created that for me. And playing with OLD computers made me
> self-reliant enough that in the last 9 years I've been unemployed a total

> of about a week.
>
> My parents realize their mistake now...my father tearfully gave me his
> gold retirement watch, which I accepted reluctantly, to show how proud
> he is of me. My parents are happy with me and I'm happy with myself all
> thanks to my tinkering all those years in the basement.
>
> > it'd be meeting the trashcan in a hurry. But if I tell them I got it
free,
> > they may not care. My parents (Esp. my stepdad) have a thing for
tossing
> > whatever I have that they don't like [Like my copy of Sailor Moon manga
#13])
>
> My brother tossed out a perfectly good 11/34a, some RL02s, a DecWriter
> and a Franklin Ace 1200 from my parents' basement because he wanted a
> weight room and my stuff was in the way. Pretty self-righteous of him
> considering *I'M* not the one who's 42 and still living WITH mom and dad!
>
> BUT I'M NOT BITTER!!! =-D
>
> (Isn't it odd that if you get it free, they'll let you keep but if you
> spent money on it they want to throw it away?)
>
> When I was 18 I waited until my folks were gone to move an 11/23 and two
> RL02s downstairs to my bedroom. I made sure it was all racked up before
> they got home...so it'd look too big and heavy for them to carry outside.
> =-) I LOVED that machine! I put it behind the door sort of...so that
> you could only open the door about 18"...kept my mom out of my room. =)
>
> Anthony Clifton - Wirehead
Received on Wed Jan 21 1998 - 10:25:43 GMT