Unutterably Silly So what are you doing RIGHT NOW?

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Hitch

49? Oh, to be 49 again, lol!

Hitch

The thing is I'm still wondering "what happened?" Wasn't I just 21 a few yrs ago. Now I'm just 364 days off from the big 5 - 0.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by crich70

Just finishing up supper and trying to enjoy my Birthday. I turn 49 today so alas I only have 364 days til I turn 50. Where have all the years gone?

Cheer up. Next year is leap year.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by crich70

The thing is I'm still wondering "what happened?" Wasn't I just 21 a few yrs ago. Now I'm just 364 days off from the big 5 - 0.

I feel ya. I just turned 64 and I'm wondering, WTH?

Hitch

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Hitch

I feel ya. I just turned 64 and I'm wondering, WTH?

Hitch

What's really eye opening is that when my dad was 49 I was a young kid of 16. Of course way back in 1986 there were no CD players, Cell phones, high speed internet, etc. How did we survive? Happy (belated) Birthday Hitch.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by issybird

Cheer up. Next year is leap year.

The ones I feel sorry for are those who have a birthday on Feb. 29th. Imagine being 60 but only ever having had 15 birthdays on the proper day.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by crich70

What's really eye opening is that when my dad was 49 I was a young kid of 16. Of course way back in 1986 there were no CD players, Cell phones, high speed internet, etc. How did we survive? Happy (belated) Birthday Hitch.

Hell, I was in my 30's before we had a "desktop computer" in the office--which we had because my husband and I built it (286 box) and brought it in. With diskettes, you betcha!

I had one of the first brick phones, also in my 30's. My own personal cellphone use hasn't really changed much since then, but I admit, I'm glad that they're smaller.

Hitch

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Hell, I was in my 30's before we had a "desktop computer" in the office--which we had because my husband and I built it (286 box) and brought it in. With diskettes, you betcha!

The first computer I used was an IBM mainframe at a bank. The bank seemed to run at least one of everything made, so I logged time on other platforms, too, like Digital Equipment Corporation mini-computers.

The original IBM PC, with a 4.77mhz Intel 8088 CPU, (up to) 640KB of RAM, CGA graphics, and two 360KB 5.25" floppy drives was just starting to appear on desktops, as an engine to run the Lotus 123 spreadsheet.

I resisted getting a computer at home. I spent most working hours in front of a CRT screen, and wanted life outside of computers.

The first "home" computer I got wasn't a PC. I was working for a small Unix systems house that resold AT&T gear when AT&T was in the computer business. AT&T had tried to compete with the IBM PC with a desktop Unix workstation called the UNIX-PC. They cancelled the line, and a 3B1 (a more powerful version of the UNIX-PC in the same form factor) became available at a fire sale price and I got one. (I still have it.)

My first actual PC was a pre-owned XT clone running MSDOS 3.3. I tricked it out with a faster replacement motherboard, NEC V20 CPU, Hercules video card, an addon card with 1MB of expansion RAM, split between disk cache, RAMdisk, and EMS memory for apps that could use it, and two 20MB Seagate ST-225 MFM hard drives.

Life goes on and things change. My Palm TX PDA has more RAM, a faster processor, and more storage (in the form of a 4GB SDcard), than my original PC and several generations of later ones I got to run Windows, and I could carry it in a pocket.

The current desktop is a refurb ex-corporate HP model. It came with a quad-core 3.1ghz Intel i5-2400 CPU, 8GB RAM, Intel HD2000 graphics, and a 512GB SATA HD, with Win7 Pro preinstqalled. The base cost was $250. I added an SSD card originally bought for a failed Dell desktop it replaced, cloned Win7 to it, set it as boot drive, and installed Win10 Pro. It's low end as such things go, but entirely adequate for what I do with it, and it Just Works.

I had one of the first brick phones, also in my 30's. My own personal cellphone use hasn't really changed much since then, but I admit, I'm glad that they're smaller.

My cell phone is the smallest, cheapest, least powerful feature phone Samsung makes, used with a prepaid plan. At home I have VOIP service through my cable company, and the cell is only used when traveling. All it does is callas and SMS, and that's all I want it to do. Everything else is something else's job.

I have a smartphone, but don't use it as a phone. It's a pass along from a friend who lost it, get another phone, found it again and passed it to me. I wiped it and reconfigured. It's a PDA with WiFi, Bluetooth, and a serviceable 8MP camera. It's incredibly useful, but not a phone.
______
Dennis

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

The first computer I used was an IBM mainframe at a bank. The bank seemed to run at least one of everything made, so I logged time on other platforms, too, like Digital Equipment Corporation mini-computers.

The original IBM PC, with a 4.77mhz Intel 8088 CPU, (up to) 640KB of RAM, CGA graphics, and two 360KB 5.25" floppy drives was just starting to appear on desktops, as an engine to run the Lotus 123 spreadsheet.

Oh, yeah. Remember the glory of Mathcad, and then Lotus 1-2-3? Oh, jeeeze, it was HEAVEN.

[snippage]

I have a smartphone, but don't use it as a phone. It's a pass along from a friend who lost it, get another phone, found it again and passed it to me. I wiped it and reconfigured. It's a PDA with WiFi, Bluetooth, and a serviceable 8MP camera. It's incredibly useful, but not a phone.
______
Dennis

I resisted anything but a flip phone for ages, but Mr. Hitch just HADDA HAVE maps. :-)

Does anyone else mourn OS/2?

Hitch

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Oh, yeah. Remember the glory of Mathcad, and then Lotus 1-2-3? Oh, jeeeze, it was HEAVEN.

I was amused. The bank I worked at used a mainframe based financial modeling package to do what Lotus 123 took over doing, and I was a resident expert in the mainframe package. I watched managers write memos as Lotus 123 text cells and print them out, because they knew how to more or less use Lotus, but didn't know how to use a word processor. Email did not then exist, and memos were photocopied and distributed in hard copy by sneakernet.

I resisted anything but a flip phone for ages, but Mr. Hitch just HADDA HAVE maps. :-)

I can't say a blame him. I find Google Maps a timesink, virtually traveling the world and looking at all manner of odd places. But I don't need them on my phone. (When you don't own a car or drive, and get places by paying other folks to transport you, maps are far less necessary.)

Does anyone else mourn OS/2?

No. I mourn a bit for what it might have been, but it was strangled in its crib by disgreements between IBM and Microsoft over what it was supposed to be.

I had OS/2 Warp on a server at one employer. It just ran, and was part of a specialized telephony system. All I had to do was bring it up and shut it down, and nothing between. That's the sort of hands off I like.
______
Dennis

[Rumpelteazer]

About to go to lunch (well, brunch for me) with my sister. After that we'll go out shopping. Instead of doing it in the old city center we're going to the shopping area in a new neighbourhood in town. My sister has only been to the big supermarket there and wants to see the rest.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

I was amused. The bank I worked at used a mainframe based financial modeling package to do what Lotus 123 took over doing, and I was a resident expert in the mainframe package. I watched managers write memos as Lotus 123 text cells and print them out, because they knew how to more or less use Lotus, but didn't know how to use a word processor. Email did not then exist, and memos were photocopied and distributed in hard copy by sneakernet.

OMG....I've seen that sort of thing over and over, way back when. I mean...WHY? Sheesh.

I can't say a blame him. I find Google Maps a timesink, virtually traveling the world and looking at all manner of odd places. But I don't need them on my phone. (When you don't own a car or drive, and get places by paying other folks to transport you, maps are far less necessary.)

Mr. Hitch is a retired, old-school pilot. Maps and charts are his jam. ;-)

No. I mourn a bit for what it might have been, but it was strangled in its crib by disgreements between IBM and Microsoft over what it was supposed to be.

I had SUCH hopes for it. I was so, so damn excited when I saw it. But, as you say...sigh.

I had OS/2 Warp on a server at one employer. It just ran, and was part of a specialized telephony system. All I had to do was bring it up and shut it down, and nothing between. That's the sort of hands off I like.
______
Dennis

Yupperdoodle.

Hitch

[crich70]

Resting my feet after being out and about all day. First to church then choir practice and making the rounds at Monroe Manor and the Hospital singing Christmas Carols. A long day.

[timebug]

About to ring my breakdown scheme to get my vehicle started. Have no used it for a couple of weeks and it has been freezing and wet/misty for most of that time!

[Bilbo1967]

Working in Wales.

It's been a tough end to the year. Last night was my 31st away from home in the last 48, so looking forward to the Christmas break (when, guess what, we're away from home for the week!).

[astrangerhere]

Trying to do all my paperwork to close cases for the year. There were just under 500 domestic violence cases filed in my county this year and I represented more than half of them

That also equals A LOT of paperwork to end out my year.