davefischer @ davefischer @beehaw.org

Artist / hacker from Providence, USA.

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Joined

2 yr. ago

Have you seen the early 90s Finnish Hobbit?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gzWA4Euzck

I started with 4.3BSD on a VAX-11/750 in the mid 80s. At the time, you had to pay for a Unix license from AT&T, send a copy of the paperwork to UC Berkeley as proof, then they'd mail you a 9-track tape. (I think that was the process? I was just a lowly user on the system.)

Not exactly what we'd call "Free software", but after all that you did end up with the full source code.

The Flying Luttenbachers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EugJRwAtWsM

Not since the 90s.

The video editing platform I would like to get my hands on is the early 80s "EditDroid". But... only because there's a Sun-1 embedded in it.

There's a whole class of cameras called "machine vision cameras" - a DSLR-quality sensor in a box with no user interface, intended to be embedded in a machine. Factory automation, scanning cinema film, hunter-killer robots, etc. The one I have has a 35mm sensor and an f-mount adaptor, so it's compatible with old manual Nikon lenses. (Nikon lenses were really popular in scientific and industrial applications all thought the 70s/80s/90s. Probably not so much now.)

My blog post about it:

https://www.cca.org/blog/20201111-Machine-Vision-Camera.shtml

Used rack cabinets are a weird market. They're either way overpriced, or 10 cents/pound scrap metal.

I've had amazing luck with hobbys that should be expensive, but weren't.

Me & some friends have a small computer museum. We collect minicomputers & workstations. (Stuff used in science & academia.) We have computers dating back to the early 60s. But we started in the mid 90s, when NO ONE was interested. So we got everything for free. (Well... for the cost of renting large trucks.)

I'm a photographer. My DSLR is old, from just when DSLR's were getting "good enough" at a reasonable price. I bought it used when it was already "obsolete". And then someone gave me an exotic industrial camera they had at work which was "broken". It was too broken for industrial use, but works fine for studio use. I had to build some hardware & write all the software to use it, but... the results are fantastic. It blows away my DSLR. (But uses the same lenses!)

My library has probably cost a lot, but that's spread out over 40 years, so I don't notice it. (Also, I worked in a used bookstore for a bit, and that's a good way to get a lot of books CHEEEEEEEAP. Employee discount? Yes. Discount on books in the back that are slightly damaged and unsellable? YES.) And I've occasionally sold a rare book, so that offsets things.

Etc.

(Note: my home computer collection spans ten full-height racks. A few of those are on loan from the museum, but most are mine. Spent close to nothing on that. Somehow.)

Yeah, hot days were bad.

I ran a "midrange" Sun at home for about ten years. The electric bill was painful, but I never had to turn on the heat in the winter.

Mr. Freedom should be more widely known.

I finally had an opportunity to photograph the neighborhood hawk last weekend. I've been trying to photograph this guy for YEARS, but he always takes off before I can go get my camera.

I happen to be in the middle of book #2 right now, ha ha.

I study Vietnamese because it has the same alphabet.

Tôi học tiếng Việt.

Trisolarans.

When the prison doors are opened, the real dragon will fly out. - Bác Hồ

Blues Brothers 2000

Melt-Banana - A Shield for Your Eyes, a Beast in the Well on Your Hand

Liquid eye, sticky eye Tricky eye, flashy eye How to fake? How to make 50 times more eyes to get cracked? Your heart's got plastic

Catch the mean beast in the well on your hand, on your left Wake up, you've got no fist! Look up, no peace will be seen! In your hand, in the shade of your mind Watch out, you've got no right! Your pure cell can't spark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O64FUhQPnW8

My ex-wife was a medical nightmare, so I got really used to be around ambulances, ERs, etc. As a result of that, I'm calm in (some) emergencies. I'm the guy on the phone calmly explaining the situation to 911 while I watch a pool of blood slowly creep towards my feet.

Also, I can splice bezier curves together seamlessly, while typing in the x,y coordinates by hand.

Freelance heating engineer.