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August 15, 2007

NeXT System on eBay

Cory Doctorow got all excited about a NeXT Cube system on eBay (he posted this on his blog Boing Boing).


The NeXT System on eBay

I gotta tell you, I'm not impressed. I have two complete NeXT systems, a Sept. 1989 Cube (S/N 3639) and a NeXTStation Color Turbo from 1992. The NeXTStation is fully assembled on my Ikea work desk, boots, runs, and has a valid Mathematica license running on it. Mind you, Mathematica on a 25 MHz 68040 with 32 Mb of RAM isn't going to blow you away, but it works. The NeXT Cube is in my closet, and probably still boots without a hitch. I have 100% of the documentation and boxes that came with the Cube and a ton of other NeXT 3rd party documentation, books and software.

And yeah, the NeXTStation has the NeXT-branded power cords.

What sucks about this guy's offer is that the Optical Disk is dead. I have about eight ODs I can't read, and as a result, have lost a staggering amount of original NeXT software as a result. My old SCSI 1 and 2 drives are getting long in the tooth, too, and that will also precipitate an eventual death for both systems.

I got my NeXT Cube (with printer) on 9/27/1989, a few weeks after attending NeXT Camp in Redwood City, CA. NeXTSTEP 1.0 had shipped the week before. I was there at the very beginning, and I have the gear to prove it.

Posted by Steven at 08:53 PM | Comments (0)

August 13, 2007

Boot To The Head: Anime Style

Alanna found this gem, an anime version of The Frantic's Boot to the Head.

Enjoy.

Posted by Steven at 11:33 PM | Comments (0)

August 07, 2007

Old Mazda Ads

Found these gems on YouTube:

Does anyone remember the radar sign on Rt. 7 in Schenectady that Ogen always tried to fool into thinking he and the car he was tailgating were just one long car? Ah, good times!

This Just In

Mazda is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the rotary engine (RE) commercial vehicle. I was driving them twenty-four years ago myself.

Posted by Steven at 10:37 PM | Comments (0)

August 01, 2007

Trip to Vermont


Took the family to Ben and Jerry's in McKinney tonight, with predictable results.

Posted by Steven at 11:16 PM | Comments (1)

Summer Band Camp

Band started for Alanna this morning, bright and early, 8am sharp.

The Booster Board stood outside Boyd HS in dry-lightning weather, handing out the Marching Season DVD from last year to new Freshman parents. This was a variation of an idea I had to meet-and-greet the new parents, and to try and get them excited about Band. We only gave out thirty-four of the thirty-nine remaining DVDs I had made last Christmas season, so it wasn't the smash hit I had hoped for, but at least the inventory is no longer sitting in my home, unwatched.

The kids ambled down to the new practice field and promptly got showered on. The weather's weird ... overcast and muggy with spectacular storm cells blowing through. Not much fun!

Posted by Steven at 08:00 AM | Comments (0)