15 Jan
2016
15 Jan
'16
10:33 a.m.
I?m not sure to what degree one can/wish to build there own car. If
one puts their mind to it; then anything is possible. I?m sure this
applies only to die-hard builders and not representative of the
?average? guy/gal. One, and I may be stereotyping here, does not have
the time to build much of anything is this hurried world we inhabit. I
know this website caters to the experimenter/hobbyist in the computing
world but I wonder how many of us have the time/inclination to build
an old machine. I recently tried to revive my Coleco ADAM but couldn?t
find old capacitors/transformers ? maybe in America they?re available!
(I could run an emulator on my PC/Mac but to what end? It?s definitely
not the same as running the real thing is it?) As for new machines I
guess there are builders /programmers of Raspberry Pi?s but they have
a limited use for power users and for ?old? computer aficionados of
classic computing era! Do young people want to do this? They may be
computer savvy but I don?t think too many have an interest in building
anything, particularly from the vintage era. My friend?s grandson,
he?s 7, told me the computer is a tool for getting ahead not for
looking back. Yikes!
Happy computing!
Murray :)
15 Jan
15 Jan
10:56 a.m.
A number of years ago, I read an interesting book titled "Buehler's
Backyard Boatbuilding". In the front matter, the author decried the
decrease in DIY, whether that was fixing your own car or (his topic)
building your own boat. For the author, it was a clear sign of the
intellectual apocalypse.
When I was an undergrad, my roommate built his own guitar, performing all
the bending, shaping and glueing. It took a long time. He could easily
have purchased one with the money he would have earned in the same hours -
at minimum wage.
So I think this is in fact a broad theme that touches on values such as
independence and pride in one's skills and abilities - and for some,
curiosity (*can* I do this thing or that?). Individuality is another value
I see expressed (less and less) in the motorcycle community - time was when
the phrase "stock Harley" was an oxymoron. (And don't get me started about
the stupid phrase, "factory custom".)
And smack that kid! :-)
On Fri, Jan 15, 2016 at 10:33 AM, Murray McCullough <
c.murray.mccullough at gmail.com> wrote:
I?m not sure to what degree one can/wish to build
there own car. If
one puts their mind to it; then anything is possible. I?m sure this
applies only to die-hard builders and not representative of the
?average? guy/gal. One, and I may be stereotyping here, does not have
the time to build much of anything is this hurried world we inhabit. I
know this website caters to the experimenter/hobbyist in the computing
world but I wonder how many of us have the time/inclination to build
an old machine. I recently tried to revive my Coleco ADAM but couldn?t
find old capacitors/transformers ? maybe in America they?re available!
(I could run an emulator on my PC/Mac but to what end? It?s definitely
not the same as running the real thing is it?) As for new machines I
guess there are builders /programmers of Raspberry Pi?s but they have
a limited use for power users and for ?old? computer aficionados of
classic computing era! Do young people want to do this? They may be
computer savvy but I don?t think too many have an interest in building
anything, particularly from the vintage era. My friend?s grandson,
he?s 7, told me the computer is a tool for getting ahead not for
looking back. Yikes!
Happy computing!
Murray :)
--
Ian S. King, MSIS, MSCS, Ph.D. Candidate
The Information School <http://ischool.uw.edu>
Dissertation: "Why the Conversation Mattered: Constructing a Sociotechnical
Narrative Through a Design Lens
Archivist, Voices From the Rwanda Tribunal <http://tribunalvoices.org>
Value Sensitive Design Research Lab <http://vsdesign.org>
University of Washington
There is an old Vulcan saying: "Only Nixon could go to China."
11:04 a.m.
On Jan 15, 2016, at 1:56 PM, Ian S. King <isking at
uw.edu> wrote:
A number of years ago, I read an interesting book titled "Buehler's
Backyard Boatbuilding". In the front matter, the author decried the
decrease in DIY, whether that was fixing your own car or (his topic)
building your own boat. For the author, it was a clear sign of the
intellectual apocalypse.
When I was an undergrad, my roommate built his own guitar, performing all
the bending, shaping and glueing. It took a long time. He could easily
have purchased one with the money he would have earned in the same hours -
at minimum wage.
So I think this is in fact a broad theme that touches on values such as
independence and pride in one's skills and abilities - and for some,
curiosity (*can* I do this thing or that?). Individuality is another value
I see expressed (less and less) in the motorcycle community - time was when
the phrase "stock Harley" was an oxymoron. (And don't get me started
about
the stupid phrase, "factory custom".)
We tinker with old computers because it is fun, educational, challenging ... not because
they are the best tool to solve today's computation tasks. Similarly, others tinker
with electronics, do metalworking in their basement, build guns from scratch -- for very
similar reasons.
Yes, you can buy a guitar rather than build one. That assumes you can earn enough spare
cash to afford one. There's a very famous set of books about how to build
metalworking machinery (lathe, mill, etc.) from scrap aluminum, cast in your back yard
using charcoal for heat. The author, according to his comments in the book, did this
mostly because he didn't have enough money to spare on already-built machines. A
similar story is in "South Sea Vagabonds" whose author lost his job, so he used
the time to build an oceangoing sailboat in his parent's front yard, from driftwood
and scrap metal.
For a lot of people it's not money but the challenge of making your own. Sometimes
it's the challenge of solving a problem in an odd way. For example, building a boat
of concrete (or a lathe). Or, as one of my father's classmates did, building a
working bassoon by telescoping a roll of kraft paper adhesive tape.
paul
2:49 p.m.
On 2016-Jan-15, at 10:33 AM, Murray McCullough wrote:
...
My friend?s grandson,
he?s 7, told me the computer is a tool for getting ahead not for
looking back. Yikes!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF7EpEnglgk
"Where's the mouse?"
"Error? This computer IS an error"
"That was, like, the peak of technology. Now it seems, um . . kind of
worthless"
5:59 p.m.
On 01/15/2016 12:33 PM, Murray McCullough wrote:
I?m not sure to what degree one can/wish to build
there own car. If
one puts their mind to it; then anything is possible. I?m sure this
applies only to die-hard builders and not representative of the
?average? guy/gal.
A guy in France built a 1/3 scale Ferarri roadster. He made
EVERYTHING himself. Dashboard instruments, tires, ignition
coils and spark plugs, and on and on. I saw it at the NAMES
show in 2004, I think. Totally awesome. And, it took him
12 years!
Jon
7:44 p.m.
On 1/15/2016 6:59 PM, Jon Elson wrote:
A guy in France built a 1/3 scale Ferarri roadster.
He made EVERYTHING
himself. Dashboard instruments, tires, ignition coils and spark plugs,
and on and on. I saw it at the NAMES show in 2004, I think. Totally
awesome. And, it took him 12 years!
Smaller cars well never sell. :-)
Ben.
9:25 p.m.
> A guy in France built a 1/3 scale Ferarri
roadster. He made EVERYTHING
> himself. Dashboard instruments, tires, ignition coils and spark plugs,
> and on and on. I saw it at the NAMES show in 2004, I think. Totally
> awesome. And, it took him 12 years!
On Fri, 15 Jan 2016, ben wrote:
Smaller cars well never sell. :-)
That's why they never made another one.
9:58 p.m.
On 01/15/2016 11:25 PM, Fred Cisin wrote:
Oh, and it is not a static model. The engine runs (spewing
clouds of run-in oil and making a HUGE noise.
If you prop up the rear end, you can go through the gears
and spin the tires.
Jon
> A guy in
France built a 1/3 scale Ferarri roadster. He
> made EVERYTHING
> himself. Dashboard instruments, tires, ignition coils
> and spark plugs,
> and on and on. I saw it at the NAMES show in 2004, I
> think. Totally
> awesome. And, it took him 12 years!
On Fri, 15 Jan 2016, ben wrote:
Smaller cars well never sell. :-)
That's why they never made another one.
9:56 p.m.
On 01/15/2016 09:44 PM, ben wrote:
On 1/15/2016 6:59 PM, Jon Elson wrote:
Right, he claims to have it on his mantelpiece!
(Must have
a really big mantel!)
For the effort he went through, he could have built a
full-size car and driven it!
While I can appreciate these incredible models, I don't
quite "GET" the model building mania.
Jon
A guy in France built a 1/3 scale Ferarri
roadster. He
made EVERYTHING
himself. Dashboard instruments, tires, ignition coils
and spark plugs,
and on and on. I saw it at the NAMES show in 2004, I
think. Totally
awesome. And, it took him 12 years!
Smaller cars well never sell. :-)
3263
days inactive
3264
days old
8 comments
7 participants
participants (7)
-
bfranchuk＠jetnet.ab.ca -
c.murray.mccullough＠gmail.com -
cisin＠xenosoft.com -
elson＠pico-systems.com -
hilpert＠cs.ubc.ca -
isking＠uw.edu -
paulkoning＠comcast.net