What is the significance of your forum user name?

mikelst · Post by **mikelst** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 9:37 am

I remember loading programs on the boat's with paper tape in the late 70's and even the early 80's. The bootstrap program was on paper tape. Actually you had to first enter a program by hand in octal. That is punch a series of buttons in the correct sequence to start the tape reader. After the tape was read it could read the punch cards. I never had to punch tape or cards but i had to splice/repair tapes on more than one occasion.

dlbristol · Post by **dlbristol** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:23 am

I don't know about anyone else, but I have not desire to return to those days. Thank you Apple and Bill Gates for making computers so much more "user friendly". I did a few spread sheets in VisaCalc and while it is really no different than the new Excel, Ect, it is very nice to click in a function rather than write it out. Little things like a standard deviation calculation are a pain!
I am glad the new generation of Geeks are so well versed. My son in law is one and he has tried to move me into the present century. I have not made much progress, and he has accepted my slothfulness.

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 11:00 am

Sheesh! How did we get SO FAR off topic?:D

keakap · Post by **keakap** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 8:26 pm

iclark wrote:what's 45 years when you are having fun?
I do remember loading computers from paper tape, but I never had to punch it.

Ah, yes, paper tape punches and keypunch machines-- and voila, the genesis of the "bit bucket".

keakap · Post by **keakap** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 8:29 pm

JPG40504 wrote:Sheesh! How did we get SO FAR off topic?:D

By sticking to it: "the significance of your forum user name".

navycop · Post by **navycop** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 8:54 pm

mikelst: By the looks of your avatar it seems you were a sea warrior? Is that a ESWS pin? I got my EAWS.

mikelst · Post by **mikelst** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 9:06 pm

navycop wrote:mikelst: By the looks of your avatar it seems you were a sea warrior? Is that a ESWS pin? I got my EAWS.

No, actually that is a set of Dolphins representing Submarine Service. I was a Sub Sailor, sometimes referred to as a bubblehead.

mickyd · Post by **mickyd** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:15 pm

How many off topics posts have to be made before one can officially turn you in to admin?

iclark · Post by **iclark** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 11:44 pm

mickyd wrote:How many off topics posts have to be made before one can officially turn you in to admin?

depends on your BOFH and whether you truly understand "Down Not Across".

or did your "admin" mean pointy-haired boss?

mikelst · Post by **mikelst** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 8:22 am

I was talking about my avatar. doesn't that count?:D

Shopsmith Forums

What is the significance of your forum user name?

"good Old Days?"