4 ms·

I'm married and have four kids, though two have now left the nest. When I read this, I think about all the times I set aside my code to do something more impor

by smoyer 10y ago

I'm married and have four kids, though two have now left the nest. When I read this, I think about all the times I set aside my code to do something more important - interact with my kids, nurture my wife, and pursue hobbies outside the technology world (I run, bike and sail). But ... you might be surprised to learn that I love that tee-shirt. I think there are many who are misguided enough to ignore balance in their lives completely (this shirt is not for them). For me, technology is my main hobby. I get paid for it at work (aren't I lucky), sometimes I get paid for it at home (I have a consultancy) but most of the time at home, I'm coding (or even building electronics) for fun. Other times, it's a project I'm playing with that I wouldn't otherwise get to do at work. In any case, I'm not advocating living an unbalanced life. Nor am I describing a life of crunch-time (my home projects very rarely have deadlines). What I'm saying is that I truly love the time I spend on technology and identify with the shirt as a statement of that affection. EDIT: It's a rainy Saturday morning here ... I got the lawn cut last night, my daughter is away playing viola at a concert and I'm kind of chilling with my wife and son. While we're siting in the living room watching the rain, I'm updating the Ansible scripts I use to keep my laptops, and workstations up-to-date [1]. I've got two hardware projects planned for next winter - I'm going to get my COSMAC ELF [2] running again (my first computer based on an RCA 1802) and I'm going to turn my old Sun E450 [3] into a TEC-based mini-fridge for my office (if anyone needs Sun E450 parts let me know). [1] https://github.com/selesy/workstation https://github.com/selesy/workstation [2] http://www.cosmacelf.com/ http://www.cosmacelf.com/ [3] http://www.tech.proact.co.uk/i/sun_enterprise_450.jpg http://www.tech.proact.co.uk/i/sun_enterprise_450.jpg

thearn4 10y ago
I'm married with a 11 month old son, but definitely identify with this perspective on it. I'd never sideline my family to squeeze in an extra bit of work for the sake of work, but still strongly identify with the passion for technology that got me to where I'm at today. I hope I can raise my son to appreciate an appropriate balance.
- smoyer 10y ago
  I've had a lot of fun working on technology projects with my kids. I'd say these projects are too numerous to mention but as an example, my daughter and I wrote a program (well ... I wrote it and she specified and QA'd it) that finds CRISPR sites in a mouse genome for her lab project at Johns Hopkins (she's a doctoral candidate in molecular genetics). So share your passion for technology with your child(ren) ... it's really never too early to let them touch it if you're careful. My daughter once deleted C:\Windows because she never "played that game" and wanted to install another game before I got home (her mom told her to wait). That OS never booted again ... we switched from Win98 to WinXP that night so that I could have a bit more control. In general, I think it's good to let your children fail at things they want to try themselves - my job as a parent is to keep them from failing at things that are fatal, or have long-term consequences. And you'll find that they're fearless around your computer. They'll just click until it works if they have to. It's a funny contrast to teaching computers to senior citizens, who are afraid any wrong keystroke or errant mouse-click will permanently break something. Of course, if they're not interested, you can't effectively force your love of technology on them. But I'll bet you can find something that they ARE passionate about that you find interesting too. And isn't that a better way to spend time together than sitting in front of a TV?
  - qb45 10y ago
    > we switched from Win98 to WinXP that night so that I could have a bit more control. That sucks, poor kid. I knew my Windows 98 activation key by heart in my early teens :)
    - smoyer 10y ago
      She was five at the time ... she obviously didn't know what she was deleting. And there have been plenty of times I've "paid extra" (in money and/or time) to allow my kids to keep a fearless curiosity.
  - nickpsecurity 10y ago
    "My daughter once deleted C:\Windows because she never "played that game" and wanted to install another game before I got home (her mom told her to wait). That OS never booted again ... " That's hilarious. I'd have never considered that risk. "It's a funny contrast to teaching computers to senior citizens, who are afraid any wrong keystroke or errant mouse-click will permanently break something." The contrast is interesting. Both cases lead to a piece of advice I've been giving for a decade or something: backup anything extra critical onto write-once media like CD-R's or DVD-R's. Make sure it's certainly recoverable. Then, you're worried about a temporary loss of PC access instead of permanent loss of important data.
minsight 10y ago
I am exactly old enough to be jealous of your COSMAC ELF. It's an artifact of a time when hobby computing was much more like trailblazing in an unknown land.
- smoyer 10y ago
  I had a couple of Hazeltine RS-232 terminals I wish I hadn't sent to the recyclers. On the other hand, I might have some spare parts for a COSMAC ELF in my shop (which my wife calls Dexter's Laboratory - No you youngin's, it's not that Dexter). If you're really interested, you can still find everything you need I think I still have a full tube of the RCA 1802 processors (10 per tube for a 40-pin DIP). My email address is in my profile if you have any questions or want a "retro-computing companion".
nickpsecurity 10y ago
AHA! Someone else who knows about 1802's and has Intersil's datasheet! I'll probably be sending you an email or two as I've considered reviving 1802 with a clone for high-reliability, verifiable embedded. Plus, an associate told me the Intersil datasheet was one of best he'd ever seen in terms of technical data. It performed really well on SOI tech back in the day with long runs in harsh space environments. Something to be said for such tech. :) Btw, what do the 1802's from Intersil cost these days in low volume?
- smoyer 10y ago
  I have no idea what the 1802s cost today ... my tube was purchased in the late '70s.

by smoyer 10y ago

thearn4 10y ago

I'm married with a 11 month old son, but definitely identify with this perspective on it. I'd never sideline my family to squeeze in an extra bit of work for the sake of work, but still strongly identify with the passion for technology that got me to where I'm at today. I hope I can raise my son to appreciate an appropriate balance.

smoyer 10y ago
I've had a lot of fun working on technology projects with my kids. I'd say these projects are too numerous to mention but as an example, my daughter and I wrote a program (well ... I wrote it and she specified and QA'd it) that finds CRISPR sites in a mouse genome for her lab project at Johns Hopkins (she's a doctoral candidate in molecular genetics). So share your passion for technology with your child(ren) ... it's really never too early to let them touch it if you're careful. My daughter once deleted C:\Windows because she never "played that game" and wanted to install another game before I got home (her mom told her to wait). That OS never booted again ... we switched from Win98 to WinXP that night so that I could have a bit more control. In general, I think it's good to let your children fail at things they want to try themselves - my job as a parent is to keep them from failing at things that are fatal, or have long-term consequences. And you'll find that they're fearless around your computer. They'll just click until it works if they have to. It's a funny contrast to teaching computers to senior citizens, who are afraid any wrong keystroke or errant mouse-click will permanently break something. Of course, if they're not interested, you can't effectively force your love of technology on them. But I'll bet you can find something that they ARE passionate about that you find interesting too. And isn't that a better way to spend time together than sitting in front of a TV?
- qb45 10y ago
  > we switched from Win98 to WinXP that night so that I could have a bit more control. That sucks, poor kid. I knew my Windows 98 activation key by heart in my early teens :)
  - smoyer 10y ago
    She was five at the time ... she obviously didn't know what she was deleting. And there have been plenty of times I've "paid extra" (in money and/or time) to allow my kids to keep a fearless curiosity.
- nickpsecurity 10y ago
  "My daughter once deleted C:\Windows because she never "played that game" and wanted to install another game before I got home (her mom told her to wait). That OS never booted again ... " That's hilarious. I'd have never considered that risk. "It's a funny contrast to teaching computers to senior citizens, who are afraid any wrong keystroke or errant mouse-click will permanently break something." The contrast is interesting. Both cases lead to a piece of advice I've been giving for a decade or something: backup anything extra critical onto write-once media like CD-R's or DVD-R's. Make sure it's certainly recoverable. Then, you're worried about a temporary loss of PC access instead of permanent loss of important data.

minsight 10y ago

I am exactly old enough to be jealous of your COSMAC ELF. It's an artifact of a time when hobby computing was much more like trailblazing in an unknown land.

smoyer 10y ago
I had a couple of Hazeltine RS-232 terminals I wish I hadn't sent to the recyclers. On the other hand, I might have some spare parts for a COSMAC ELF in my shop (which my wife calls Dexter's Laboratory - No you youngin's, it's not that Dexter). If you're really interested, you can still find everything you need I think I still have a full tube of the RCA 1802 processors (10 per tube for a 40-pin DIP). My email address is in my profile if you have any questions or want a "retro-computing companion".

nickpsecurity 10y ago

AHA! Someone else who knows about 1802's and has Intersil's datasheet! I'll probably be sending you an email or two as I've considered reviving 1802 with a clone for high-reliability, verifiable embedded. Plus, an associate told me the Intersil datasheet was one of best he'd ever seen in terms of technical data. It performed really well on SOI tech back in the day with long runs in harsh space environments. Something to be said for such tech. :) Btw, what do the 1802's from Intersil cost these days in low volume?

smoyer 10y ago
I have no idea what the 1802s cost today ... my tube was purchased in the late '70s.