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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 28th, 2023

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  • I think something like the Commodore PET might qualify. Back in the day, I saw it used for everything from cash registers to accountants’ workstations, but rarely for anything else.

    I think that the original IBM PC was conceived and marketed as a business machine and only grew beyond that because of Microsoft’s deep commitment to it as a platform and IBM’s uncharacteristicly open specifications and design.

    If not for that combination, the PC might never have left the office and most of us would have stuck with the companies who were actually breaking new ground, Apple and Commodore.




  • When I was looking at 3D printers, my wife asked me if I thought I could make money with it. I said “not in a million years.” She asked me what I was waiting for, then. Two weeks later I was printing the test model! Sadly, I’ve made basically no progress with “real” CAD, so I do everything in TinkerCAD.

    Fine woods and metals are crazy expensive, but if you keep your eyes open and aren’t afraid to ask, a lot of pretty nice stuff is available for free or close to it as long as you’re willing to put the time in on reclamation. I just got a nice Schubert chokecherry log for helping take it down and clean up. I got some sheet steel and light duty tubing from some discarded BBQs. And I’ve got more poplar than I know what to do with. Poplar is the go to tree for yards around here and there is hardly a week that goes by without someone taking down an old tree.


  • my hobby is finding new hobbies

    Sounds a bit like me. I just retired in June and am busy setting up my workshop. The original intention was woodworking with a focus on boatbuilding. As I go, I realize that I’m actually headed more in the direction of hobby manufacturing: a variety of stuff in wood and metal with a side order of 3D printing. On top of rebooting my programming hobby of learning a new language every year from before I “sold out” to Visual Basic and Access.


  • Don’t sweat it. I used to feel the same way. Then, somewhere in my 50s, I realized that I actually had already been doing what I wanted: everything. “Jack of all trades, master of none”.

    I did strive toward mastery of most things I tried that I liked enough to stick with for awhile. I like to think that I generally achieved competency, but I know that I had a few bosses and coworkers who would dispute that. :)

    Learning new things and having new experiences is priceless. If you can find that within a particular career, that’s fantastic, but it’s not the only approach.