11 Feb
2015
11 Feb
'15
5:35 a.m.
Hello cctalk'ers,
Hopefully this message won't offend anyone --- I recognize that I might,
and I apologize in advance if it does.
As many of you know, I've been in the vintage computing hobby for about
a decade. The first person I met was Sellam Ismail. He helped guide me
as a newb collector of handheld/pocket computers.
Somehow that led to me co-founding MARCH, publishing a 1,000-subscriber
newsletter for a few years, rescuing a mainframe here and there, making
the VCF East into a premier event, and becoming a "talking head"
everywhere from BBC Radio to the Wall Street Journal. (My personal site
is www.snarc.net if you really want to know more ... bring popcorn.)
Now I'm asking for some personal help from the community.
I'm trying something radical: crowd funding, so that I can finally
finish the decade-long project of writing my book about the history of
mobile computing.
You can imagine how frustrated I feel when telling my family "I'm in the
The Wall Street Journal!" but that I'm also dangerously under-employed
(having been spit out of the technical journalism field after 16 years).
It does not compute.
Please visit this link for more information:
http://fundrazr.com/campaigns/3wNcc.
Thank you,
- Evan
11 Feb
11 Feb
3:58 p.m.
On 2/11/2015 12:35 AM, Evan Koblentz wrote:
Hello cctalk'ers,
Hopefully this message won't offend
anyone --- I recognize that I might,
and I apologize in advance if it does.
As many of you know, I've been in the
vintage computing hobby for about a
decade. The first person I met was
Sellam Ismail. He helped guide me as a
newb collector of handheld/pocket
computers.
Somehow that led to me co-founding
MARCH, publishing a 1,000-subscriber
newsletter for a few years, rescuing a
mainframe here and there, making the
VCF East into a premier event, and
becoming a "talking head" everywhere
from BBC Radio to the Wall Street
Journal. (My personal site is
www.snarc.net if you really want to
know more ... bring popcorn.)
Now I'm asking for some personal help
from the community.
I'm trying something radical: crowd
funding, so that I can finally finish
the decade-long project of writing my
book about the history of mobile
computing.
You can imagine how frustrated I feel
when telling my family "I'm in the The
Wall Street Journal!" but that I'm
also dangerously under-employed
(having been spit out of the technical
journalism field after 16 years). It
does not compute.
Sure it computes. Vintage computing --
currently -- is just hobby-worthy, and
your little Man-On-Street quotes
appearing here and there are hardly
income worthy. Your experience
compared to the Real Guys on this list
(of which I don't qualify to rank as
either) barely qualifies you as
anything, much less a "talking head" for
vintage computing. You're a talking
head for MARCH. That's it.
Why should people PAY you to write a
book? Only established authors with
some kind of track record get an advance
from their publishers.
Annoyed,
- J.
4:42 p.m.
Your experience compared to the Real Guys on this list
(of which I don't qualify to rank as either)
barely qualifies you as anything, much less a "talking head" for vintage
computing. You're a talking
head for MARCH. That's it.
Knowing history and how to write about it does not mean you have created it or even
experienced it. Many of the "Real Guys" I have dealt with on and off this list
are egoists that need regular stroking. Who better to write about your history than
someone that knows how to research.
Kelly
5:20 p.m.
On 02/11/2015 08:42 AM, Kelly Leavitt wrote:
Right with you there Kelly. I'm not sure what makes Evan any less
unqualified to write a book about any particular subject than any one
else. Being a professional tech journalist who runs a successful retro
computing club, probably makes him more qualified than most. Certainly
more qualified than folks like me who's publishing prowess is limited to
spouting off on internet mailing lists.
A college history professor had a great quote, which I'm about to
butcher, which relates:
"Every historian suffers from one of two fundamental detriments. He
either experienced the events of which he writes, or he did not."
Countless books are written every year about events of which the author
has had no hand in creating. As long as the text is well researched and
documented, it's as valid a source as any other.
--Jason
Your
experience compared to the Real Guys on this list (of which I don't qualify to rank as
either)
barely qualifies you as anything, much less a "talking head" for vintage
computing. You're a talking
head for MARCH. That's it.
Knowing history and how to write about it does not
mean you have created it or even experienced it. Many of the "Real Guys" I have
dealt with on and off this list are egoists that need regular stroking. Who better to
write about your history than someone that knows how to research.
Kelly 
11:42 p.m.
"there will never again be any valid books about world history before the year
1900-ish, because historians weren't there"
Except for Brian Williams, you mean. :-)
Sent from my iPhone
On Feb 11, 2015, at 1:40 PM, Evan Koblentz <evan at
snarc.net> wrote:
As long as the text is well researched and
documented, it's as valid a source as any other.
Thank you.
By the OP's logic, there will never again be any valid books about world history
before the year 1900-ish, because historians weren't there. :)
10:28 p.m.
On 2/11/2015 11:42 AM, Kelly Leavitt wrote:
Kelly, you're a member of MARCH,
right? Just wanting that context clear.
"Mobile Computing" is not my history,
but I agree with you, that if it were, a
historian / researcher / journalist
would be the wise choice to write it.
But if I were part an investor in that
venture, then I would also want a share
of the profits from the book. Not sure
if crowdsourcing provides that.
- J.
Your
experience compared to the Real Guys on this list (of which I don't qualify to rank as
either)
barely qualifies you as anything, much less a "talking head" for vintage
computing. You're a talking
head for MARCH. That's it.
Knowing history and how to write about it does not
mean you have created it or even experienced it. Many of the "Real Guys" I have
dealt with on and off this list are egoists that need regular stroking. Who better to
write about your history than someone that knows how to research.
Kelly 
5:43 p.m.
Sure it computes. Vintage computing currently is just
hobby-worthy
and your little Man-On-Street quotes appearing here and there are
hardly income worthy. Your experience compared to the Real Guys on
this list (of which I don't qualify to rank as either) barely qualifies
you as anything, much less a "talking head" for vintage computing.
You're a talking head for MARCH. That's it.
So I have read a number of books about vintage computers and the companies behind them and
they are not written by people who have a passion for the subject and thus take the time
out to write about it. Yes Evan is the talking head for MARCH, but he knows many of the
"real guys" and he communicates with them. So here is a person who is passionate
and has access to people to help him get the correct info on the subject.
Why should people PAY you to write a book?
Because otherwise it may never be written. Who else will do it?
Only established authors with some kind of track
record get an advance from their publishers.
Actually, I have seen a number of other crowd sourced books on vintage computing.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2146199819/commodore-64-a-visual-commp…
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2146199819/commodore-amiga-a-visual-co…
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/47744432/the-story-of-the-zx-spectrum-…
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/47744432/the-story-of-the-zx-spectrum-…
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dgreelish/bring-a-great-computer-histo…
Not interested? Don't donate. But at least be a more civil about it.
5:45 p.m.
Sure it computes. Vintage computing currently is just
hobby-worthy
and your little Man-On-Street quotes appearing here and there are
hardly income worthy. Your experience compared to the Real Guys on
this list (of which I don't qualify to rank as either) barely qualifies
you as anything, much less a "talking head" for vintage computing.
You're a talking head for MARCH. That's it.
So I have read a number of books about vintage computers and the companies behind them and
they are not written by people who have a passion for the subject and thus take the time
out to write about it. Yes Evan is the talking head for MARCH, but he knows many of the
"real guys" and he communicates with them. So here is a person who is passionate
and has access to people to help him get the correct info on the subject.
Why should people PAY you to write a book?
Because otherwise it may never be written. Who else will do it?
Only established authors with some kind of track
record get an advance from their publishers.
Actually, I have seen a number of other crowd sourced books on vintage computing.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2146199819/commodore-64-a-visual-commp…
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2146199819/commodore-amiga-a-visual-co…
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/47744432/the-story-of-the-zx-spectrum-…
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/47744432/the-story-of-the-zx-spectrum-…
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dgreelish/bring-a-great-computer-histo…
Not interested? Don't donate. But at least be a more civil about it.
10:34 p.m.
On 2/11/2015 12:43 PM, Christian Liendo
wrote:
Points all well-taken. But did these
guys ask Evan to write this book? If
Evan was *requested* by a mobile
computing enthusiast community, then
certainly, yes, they should fund his
endeavor.
That begs the question as to whether it
really needs doing it all.
Sure it
computes. Vintage computing currently is just hobby-worthy
and your little Man-On-Street quotes appearing here and there are
hardly income worthy. Your experience compared to the Real Guys on
this list (of which I don't qualify to rank as either) barely qualifies
you as anything, much less a "talking head" for vintage computing.
You're a talking head for MARCH. That's it.
So I have read a number of books about vintage computers and the companies behind them
and they are not written by people who have a passion for the subject and thus take the
time out to write about it. Yes Evan is the talking head for MARCH, but he knows many of
the "real guys" and he communicates with them. So here is a person who is
passionate and has access to people to help him get the correct info on the subject.
Why should
people PAY you to write a book?
Because otherwise it may never be written. Who else
will do it? Not interested? Don't donate. But at least be a
more civil about it.
Point taken, but I found the tone of
Evan's message (and others of his
recently) to be overly self-aggrandizing
and whiny at the same time. If he's
going to post in a public forum, the
forum is entitled to have its
reactions. I'm not asking anyone else
to agree with or share in my reaction.
Had the request been written from a
different angle, with a bit of humility
and lack of complaining about being
underemployed, I would not have been
annoyed by it.
- J.
12 Feb
12 Feb
12:26 a.m.
On Feb 11, 2015, at 2:34 PM, js at cimmeri.com wrote:
That begs the question as to whether it really needs doing it all.
One of my favorite books, and one that I return to year after year, is 'Hackers'
by Steven Levy. I read this book in high school in the 80s and it helped set my life
direction. I'm not alone - I think there was an article about John Carmack being
influenced by it as well, and when I was interviewing a few years ago, the founder of the
company I visited also called out the book "Have you read this!?". I'm
glad that book was written. Would / could Evan's be as seminal?
Why
should people PAY you to write a book?
Because otherwise it may never be written.
Who else will do it? Point taken, but I found the tone of Evan's
message (and others of his recently) to be overly self-aggrandizing and whiny at the same
time. If he's going to post in a public forum, the forum is entitled to have its
reactions. I'm not asking anyone else to agree with or share in my reaction.
We're all aspies on this bus...
I think this project could be more successful if it had more concrete promises, or allowed
a view into its creation. I've backed and been pleased by the results of several book
efforts on Kickstarter, all of which provided incremental updates.
--sma
4:22 p.m.
On 2/11/2015 7:26 PM, Steve Algernon wrote:
*
I know the "Hackers" book you reference,
but I kinda doubt that "mobile
computing" has the intrigue, mystique,
and scope that the story of the computer
revolution's original hackers does..
The only way, of course, to answer that
question, is to let the market
(crowdsourcing, in this instance?) decide.
*
*Yes, I agree. If the tone wasn't "I'm
such an important dude, it doesn't
compute why I'm broke so please fund me
to write this book" and instead were,
"hey, this is what I'm thinking of
doing... here's my outline of the
project... here's who might be
interested in this book.. here's what
steps I'll take to meet this goal...
would you please consider helping fund
this project?" then it would be a much
easier sell.
- J.
*
That begs the
question as to whether it really needs doing it all.
One of my favorite books, and
one that I return to year after year, is 'Hackers' by Steven Levy. I read this
book in high school in the 80s and it helped set my life direction. I'm not alone - I
think there was an article about John Carmack being influenced by it as well, and when I
was interviewing a few years ago, the founder of the company I visited also called out the
book "Have you read this!?". I'm glad that book was written. Would / could
Evan's be as seminal? Point taken,
but I found the tone of Evan's message (and others of his recently) to be overly
self-aggrandizing and whiny at the same time. If he's going to post in a public
forum, the forum is entitled to have its reactions. I'm not asking anyone else to
agree with or share in my reaction.
We're all aspies on this bus...
I think this project could be more successful if it had more concrete promises, or
allowed a view into its creation. I've backed and been pleased by the results of
several book efforts on Kickstarter, all of which provided incremental updates. 
6:19 a.m.
Just when I think the vintage/retro computing lists I'm on have sunk as low
as they go, and it can only be nodes among the continuum from there on out,
John comes blazing out of nowhere with a new,
screech-of-the-bottom-of-the-barrel-getting-hit howler response like this
one.
On Wed, Feb 11, 2015 at 10:58 AM, js at cimmeri.com <js at cimmeri.com> wrote:
On 2/11/2015 12:35 AM, Evan Koblentz wrote:
Hello cctalk'ers,
Hopefully this message won't offend anyone --- I recognize that I might,
and I apologize in advance if it does.
As many of you know, I've been in the vintage computing hobby for about a
decade. The first person I met was Sellam Ismail. He helped guide me as a
newb collector of handheld/pocket computers.
Somehow that led to me co-founding MARCH, publishing a 1,000-subscriber
newsletter for a few years, rescuing a mainframe here and there, making the
VCF East into a premier event, and becoming a "talking head" everywhere
from BBC Radio to the Wall Street Journal. (My personal site is
www.snarc.net if you really want to know more ... bring popcorn.)
Now I'm asking for some personal help from the community.
I'm trying something radical: crowd funding, so that I can finally finish
the decade-long project of writing my book about the history of mobile
computing.
You can imagine how frustrated I feel when telling my family "I'm in the
The Wall Street Journal!" but that I'm also dangerously under-employed
(having been spit out of the technical journalism field after 16 years). It
does not compute.
Sure it computes. Vintage computing -- currently -- is just hobby-worthy,
and your little Man-On-Street quotes appearing here and there are hardly
income worthy. Your experience compared to the Real Guys on this list (of
which I don't qualify to rank as either) barely qualifies you as anything,
much less a "talking head" for vintage computing. You're a talking head
for MARCH. That's it.
Why should people PAY you to write a book? Only established authors with
some kind of track record get an advance from their publishers.
Annoyed,
- J.
3678
days inactive
3679
days old
12 comments
8 participants
participants (8)
-
christian_liendo＠yahoo.com -
evan＠snarc.net -
jason＠smbfc.net -
jason＠textfiles.com -
js＠cimmeri.com -
kelly＠catcorner.org -
salgernon＠me.com -
tony.eros＠machm.org