8 Apr
1997
8 Apr
'97
5:59 p.m.
On Tue, 8 Apr 1997, Brett wrote:
Actually I got all involved in this *hobby* when I
started working for
Western Electric testing #3 ESS and #4 ESS in - oh 78?? - and had the
PRIVILEDGE of walking by the loading dock on the day the crushing - YES -
Crushing PDP-8's. There must have been 10 of them. It was the last load
of about 50 total. Complete units with tapereaders, neat analog cards and
all. It seems the government had just reversed the write-off laws that
year and I had to be a "Charity Organization" to get any. One guy was just
sitting there with pliers breaking off the card ID's and serial #'s as
proof (or I would have gotten a couple) Talk about Dazed and Confused!
I almost couldn't talk. Of course, they had just replaced all the PDP-8's
with 11's. I managed to squawk out that I WOULD PAY THE TAX DIFFERENCE.
but to no avail. *Red Tape* B.S. (I can't believe I still get so PI$$ED
OFF ABOUT IT!)
Well after that I have managed to save a few items. I still get a kick
out of going to larger building and looking thru the trash 8-) but now
it's all PeeCee stuff and it is garbage.
This raises the question of how people got into this hobby. Was it
a single event or something which happened over time (with or without
you being aware of it?)
I really started about two years ago. I had a few machines, but they
were not a collection. I picked up an Osborne 1 at an auction for a
buck. I couldn't believe that nobody else wanted it. A little later
I started to pick up machines here and there which were extremely cheap.
Before long I had a fairly eclectic collection. I also collect computer
books (the older the better) and Infocom games.
--pec
--------------------------------------------------------------------------