Yesterday = another day on the Heath with Olga. We even had some sunshine, which was a welcome change. I enjoyed the long wintry shadows and the light on the bare trees in the forest, while Olga, who is apparently part polar bear, enjoyed a dip in the pond.
Consumed by her usual squirrel-hunting frenzy, she managed to lose not one but two tennis balls. She's becoming scatterbrained in her late middle age. I don't even take her Kong with us on walks anymore. Tennis balls are lighter and more easily replaced.
Let's see -- what else happened yesterday? Oh, I finished all my New Yorker magazines. Woo hoo! I can finally begin reading books again. Next up I have a couple of graphic novels, Alice Oseman's "Heartstopper" and Mike Curato's "Flamer," as well as another Newbery book, "Moon Over Manifest." Once those are done, I'll move to "We Keep the Dead Close" by Becky Cooper, a true-crime book about a murder at Harvard University in 1969.
On TV, Dave and I have been watching "Halt and Catch Fire," about the early days of the development of personal computers in the 1980s. (We can never remember the title. We just call it "Computers," or some spontaneous adaptation of the real title like "Explode and Stop Computing.") I like it, although Dave is less taken with it. He thinks there's too much time spent on the people and relationships and not enough on the computers. I tell him, "It's called character development."
Anyway, it's made me think about the first personal computer my family bought back in the early '80s -- an Apple IIe with a dot-matrix printer. By that time, I'd already learned some programming in BASIC in school, using TRS-80 computers from Radio Shack. (Our middle school class named our computer "Calfitzmus" -- in fact, there's an old newspaper article from 1978 about us here. I'm in the picture, crouching next to the desk.) So I could use BASIC on the Apple IIe as well, but I could never do anything super-sophisticated. I did write my own atlas, with articles about each country and depictions of the flags in varying shades of green (the only color our computer monitor could produce), as I've mentioned before.
On TV, Dave and I have been watching "Halt and Catch Fire," about the early days of the development of personal computers in the 1980s. (We can never remember the title. We just call it "Computers," or some spontaneous adaptation of the real title like "Explode and Stop Computing.") I like it, although Dave is less taken with it. He thinks there's too much time spent on the people and relationships and not enough on the computers. I tell him, "It's called character development."
Anyway, it's made me think about the first personal computer my family bought back in the early '80s -- an Apple IIe with a dot-matrix printer. By that time, I'd already learned some programming in BASIC in school, using TRS-80 computers from Radio Shack. (Our middle school class named our computer "Calfitzmus" -- in fact, there's an old newspaper article from 1978 about us here. I'm in the picture, crouching next to the desk.) So I could use BASIC on the Apple IIe as well, but I could never do anything super-sophisticated. I did write my own atlas, with articles about each country and depictions of the flags in varying shades of green (the only color our computer monitor could produce), as I've mentioned before.
We also had some rudimentary games and programs, like "Eliza," who was supposed to be a therapist who could engage you in conversation. Being a typical teenage boy, I used to amuse myself by saying obscene things to Eliza.
Anyway, as you can see, the show has prompted some fun trips down memory lane.
Oh, and once again, I've buried the lede -- we're not going back to school on Jan. 11 as initially planned. At least, the students aren't. I'm not sure yet what I'm doing. The kids will be learning remotely until the beginning of February, as London works to lower its coronavirus infection rate.
Anyway, as you can see, the show has prompted some fun trips down memory lane.
Oh, and once again, I've buried the lede -- we're not going back to school on Jan. 11 as initially planned. At least, the students aren't. I'm not sure yet what I'm doing. The kids will be learning remotely until the beginning of February, as London works to lower its coronavirus infection rate.
Primitive technology. An accurate description of my rubbish phone when it comes to commenting on blogs. Of course Olga is part polar bear, look at all that white colour, that represents the polar bear!
ReplyDeleteAlphie
She does look very "polar" in that landscape. Someone told me the other day she looks like a die (as in one of a pair of dice).
DeleteOlga is something else! So great to see that news article.
ReplyDeleteAnd she stayed relatively clean, thank goodness!
DeleteThe light is changing already. Highlighting different aspects. That fungus on the tree...
ReplyDeleteHope things get sorted with the lockdown. If you still have to go in to work, at least that gives you uninterrupted organisation time.
We just need people to be responsible....and government too.
Yes, the light is brighter. I agree! It happens pretty quickly.
Delete"I've buried the lede". I've no idea this means. Please explain. Rather interesting how schools, heads and teachers are refusing to return to school when the government is insisting on schools being open. What are you going to do?
ReplyDeleteIn journalism, the lede is the beginning of an article and generally the most important part. When you "bury the lede," you put that important part at the end. (It's a phrase mostly used when a reporter fails to grasp the importance of some part of his or her story.)
DeleteOh, and I'll do whatever the school tells me to do. Since we already know there will be no students until February I don't expect I'll be in much danger by going back to work myself.
Delete(I work at a private school, not a UK state school.)
DeleteYou said obscene things to Eliza? Tut-tut you dirty boy! Now if you had an Alexa you could say those rude things to her instead. You could also ask: "Alexa - How can I help my dog to become a more effective squirrel hunter?"
ReplyDeleteYeah, we've never moved on to Alexa around here. I figure Olga doesn't need any help! (We don't WANT her to be effective, after all.)
DeleteWhen I think about how primitive my undergrad computer class was compared to now it is startling how far we've come, and yet we fail to solve the most basic human problems.
ReplyDeleteI heard a news story about London schools being closed again and that there was a bit of a fight over which schools until they changed it to all schools. I go back to work tomorrow. When I say "go back", I mean walk across my apartment to another room. For not having anything to do, this week sure went fast.
ReplyDeleteYou were right there on the cutting edge of computer technology, Steve! I'm curious- did you ever use a typewriter in your work or has it always been a computer for you? In listening to Mormon Stories (still halfway addicted) I discovered that the man who co-founded the WordPerfect software company is a gay man who was Mormon. He married a woman and had children as one does if one is a Mormon gay man but over the years he divorced, left the church, and is married to a man now. He has been most prominent in gay rights and in the legalization of gay marriage. Bruce Bastian.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the segue. I have no idea how that happened.
we got our first computers in the mid 80s, a Mac Plus and I forget what the other was, one for us and one for the kids, and yeah, the dot matrix printer. my first email address was a series of numbers assigned by Earthlink.
ReplyDeletethis next semester of college for both my grandgirls is online again. one of them is thinking of traveling by car this semester since all she needs is an internet connection.
Reading this post reminded me of a post Roger and I did together back in 2005, when we first started blogging. Back then he was DPR (Dread Pirate Roger) and I was RD (Rexroth's Daughter). We shared a bit of our computer history. Roger started working on computers back in the 1960s. Here's a link:
ReplyDeletehttps://newdharmabums.blogspot.com/2005/10/byte-this.html
I wish the comments were still there. We were using Haloscan back then, and they stopped working in 2009. All comments gone.
Love seeing the fungus there and Olga at the Heath.
Sure will be nice to know when things will finally reach some stage of normalcy. We still don't even know what's going to happen in Congress on Wednesday. Between the virus and Trump, we're pretty much in hell here.
You bring back memories of the apple IIe's. Here , all schools were given a number of IIe's. I used the keyboard program with my middle school kids.
ReplyDeleteI've been wondering for years whether to check out Halt and Catch Fire. Based on your recommendation, I think I shall. I have recently been able to catch back the fire of devouring books again. How I missed it during all those distracted months when I couldn't seem to focus and finish anything. Love hearing your book and streaming recommendations. Right now I've just finished Bridgerton (loved it, a confection with lots of eye candy, both human and costume), and am now watching Industry (not sure what I think, parts of it a quite cringy, yet I keep watching.) Happy new year again, my friend! Happy to be be here in this village of souls with you.
ReplyDeleteI was a little surprised that Britain has chosen to deviate from the two dose plan, holding off on giving anyone a second dose, using that instead to give the first dose to the majority of its citizens. I hope with all my heart that this works out for your country.
ReplyDeleteI think we had a Commodore 64 - that sounds old, doesn't it? (because I am old). I didn't know much about computers and I think we used it for typing and then some basic games (I had 4 boys and the oldest two still play video games a LOT).
ReplyDeleteI was wondering about Olga getting into the mud and water - doesn't she get filthy and does it get into your home? You can tell I do not have a pet.
I like that picture where the fungus looks like lace!