I remember connecting to Bulletin Boards at 300 Baud. And then at work we got a 9600 Baud modem. And at the time a lot techs said that was as fast as you would ever get on a regular phone line. And then we got an advanced modem that connected to a Cray at 48,000 Baud. And man we thought we were hot stuff. Blazing 48,000 Baud, and to a Cray yet. Uploading simulation input data to the Cray and downloading reports. And then converting those text reports into comma delimited files to upload into spreadsheets. And even more fancy, writing a little basic program to convert those text files into Autocad scripts so that we could plot precise graphs of the results on our 12 pen plotter. Rube Goldberg data processing. And then we got a PICK machine to do our accounting on ...

Oh, man, I loved those plotters that drew with pens. So much cooler than dot-matrix.

Nice: Superheroes dressed as (specific) superheroines: [link]

Yeah, you know it's been too long since you've been to the salon when they have to sweep three times while you're in the process of getting a haircut.

Ya gotta lotta hair, shrift. But less now. As is right and good.

My first regular internet access was through SFNet. Which was a BBS run by a guy who had the brilliant notion to repurpose table-top Pac-Man consoles. Twenty-five cents an hour got you online and into the local boards. And THEN he got us hooked up into Usenet.

That is actually where I first met my future co-editor Kim Cooper. On alt.rock.alternative where we were both talking about the band Game Theory.

Years later, we featured the songwriter from Game Theory - Scott Miller - in two pieces in Lost in the Grooves and he did a solo concert for us at a small club in SF. He took requests!

Nice: Superheroes dressed as (specific) superheroines:

My fav was definitely the Joker snapping a pic of Bats and Catwoman as they "messed around with gender roles."

I didn't think GA looked all that different in Canary's outfit.

xkcd goes topical! [link]

You guys, I need a haircut SO BAD. And won't be able to get one until next week, at least. My hair is so long, I've taken to putting it in a ponytail, which I haven't been able to do in years.

At least tonight I'll sleep in my own house. My mother's been out of town, so I was staying with my father, which is fine, except I feel bad for my cat! I've run home before and after work for just long enough to give him a pill. I would be cranky if I were him....

One of the jumps for the Olympic showjumping. . . taking it to 11.

I feel that one should not use the word "coon" to refer to raccoon (or to refer to anything accept maybe a coonskin cap). Every time I see "Lame Pun Coon", I am shocked. (http://www.quickmeme.com/Lame-Pun-Coon/)

There came a point where I decided it didn't really matter that "a coon's age" was about raccoons. There were other expressions I could use. I didn't feel I was losing any richness of expression.

There are some things I'll hang onto (denigration, for instance), but that one's just fine.