My dad when I was very little bought an NES and that starting my computer and console gaming "addiction".
He was and is a Treki which I fed off of and then they took me to Star Wars when I was very young which started my love for everything Star Wars.
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Since you were introduced to the Sci-Fi genre as a kid, did you ever notice the difference between Trek and Wars. Did you notice one was more realistic and the other more fantasy?
I self educated myself how to program from a program code listing of the TTY 1973 HP Basic listing, and Taught or aided the education of many students helping a friend author Star Wars - Rescue the Princess from Darth Vader on the Death Star. You could kill many a storm trooper, but in reality I think you killed far more trees since TTY-33 Terminals werew used to print on paper, or store data on 7bit Ticker tape. And at the time it was 110bps but over time increased to 1200bps, and the 7 bit ASCII text used 11bits per character so BPS/11 was the characters per second over the Bell rotary dial office phones that acoustically coupled to the modem speaker/mic hand set. Have to remember this was late 1690's tech in the mid 70's ERA. And right now I'm on a DSL T1 phone line. But those were the caveman days of computing of CompuServe and ARPA net from the DoD, and would later evolve into the Internet.
I self educated myself how to program from a program code listing of the TTY 1973 HP Basic listing, and Taught or aided the education of many students helping a friend author Star Wars - Rescue the Princess from Darth Vader on the Death Star. You could kill many a storm trooper, but in reality I think you killed far more trees since TTY-33 Terminals werew used to print on paper, or store data on 7bit Ticker tape. And at the time it was 110bps but over time increased to 1200bps, and the 7 bit ASCII text used 11bits per character so BPS/11 was the characters per second over the Bell rotary dial office phones that acoustically coupled to the modem speaker/mic hand set. Have to remember this was late 1690's tech in the mid 70's ERA. And right now I'm on a DSL T1 phone line. But those were the caveman days of computing of CompuServe and ARPA net from the DoD, and would later evolve into the Internet.
That is absolutely awesome! How did you get technology from the "1690's" to work in the "mid 70's ERA" (1670's I presume?). Have you perfected time travel to be able to comment here or do you just have a bunch of technology from the 1600's? Sorry, I had to.....
The only thing is today it may seem like those years were actully okay years. What would 2001 the movie look like if Kubrick had a 2010 cell phone with a nice GUI designed interface. And at the time they thought vebal communications with a computer was impossible, let alone one that could think, let alone conspire a crime.
"Manual labor sucks, trade work sucks, body shop work is awful, your employers won't care about your health, your body will fall apart, you will never have a steady job, and you can never truly retire. Get a desk job instead, get smart, and get a desk job."
That's what he told me. he wouldn't even let me help him when we owned our own body shop. When we later shifted to a dealership, I helped out a bit with the small engine repair, but I was mostly in sales. Which turned out to be a good thing as it made me a personable geek. I was later hired by a company because I knew how to deal with clients on the phone and in person.
My favorite time is still that day when, apperently a dealership in Toronto, gave our phone number to one of their customers, and said we were Arctic Cat central, so I pick up the phone and suddenly this guy starts blasting my ear off about our ****** product.
So I ask "who are you" and "what did you buy from us?" and he said a quad. So I replied "We don't sell quads, we stopped selling them about 2 years ago because they were crap and we refuse to sell crap to our customers" Then he asked me if we were central. When I replied no, he seemed to turn his anger back towards that Toronto dealership. So I gave him the number of our district sales manager, I hated that guy anyways, he deserved to have his ear torn off.
That's what he told me. he wouldn't even let me help him when we owned our own body shop. When we later shifted to a dealership, I helped out a bit with the small engine repair, but I was mostly in sales. Which turned out to be a good thing as it made me a personable geek. I was later hired by a company because I knew how to deal with clients on the phone and in person.
My favorite time is still that day when, apperently a dealership in Toronto, gave our phone number to one of their customers, and said we were Arctic Cat central, so I pick up the phone and suddenly this guy starts blasting my ear off about our ****** product.
So I ask "who are you" and "what did you buy from us?" and he said a quad. So I replied "We don't sell quads, we stopped selling them about 2 years ago because they were crap and we refuse to sell crap to our customers" Then he asked me if we were central. When I replied no, he seemed to turn his anger back towards that Toronto dealership. So I gave him the number of our district sales manager, I hated that guy anyways, he deserved to have his ear torn off.
My StepDad said something similar many times. I am glad I was able to put myself through college and get a 'desk job' (though I did spend most of yesterday climbing around a construction site).
I would have to guess the geekery is genetic, though.
I didn't grow up with my other Dad around, but, as an adult, I've discovered we share a love of the same sci-fi/fantasy authors and a natural tendency to take things apart and fix them. Oh, yeah, and the poor eyesight which caused me to have to wear ugly glasses as a child, which were perpetually held together with tape of some sort.
I would have to guess the geekery is genetic, though.
I didn't grow up with my other Dad around, but, as an adult, I've discovered we share a love of the same sci-fi/fantasy authors and a natural tendency to take things apart and fix them. Oh, yeah, and the poor eyesight which caused me to have to wear ugly glasses as a child, which were perpetually held together with tape of some sort.
Though both are Smart, my mother is really smart, has awards and everything, my father is a high school dropout, but some of the stuff he comes up with, some of the stuff he does, its brilliant. He even taught himself how to use a computer. I didn't even know that he hooked up his front desk computer to the internet, and was browsing naked (no virus scanner) for almost a year before I noticed. He some how managed to stay clean. For being uneducated, hes really smart.
So did you parents even know what a D, C,A,AA,AAA dry cell battery was? And could they comprehend what or why you needed frequency channel chips to talk on the 40 different channels on your hand held walkie-talkies. Did they know what an Atom was? And that it was made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons. And if they did could they understand that they were made of Quarks of 6 varities. Or was that to deep into subatomic particles. And that is leaving out the hundred or more other subatomic particles, let alone anti-matter. Could I blow their minds by just bringing up the concept of time measured to the Plank time moment of 37 zero's followed by numbers or that the big bang was some 13.7 billion years ago and for the first 400,000 years matter was still emery, and time was not really measurable let a quark or even a atom be formed.
I could dig even deeper into modern tech but ant deeper would be going to deep.
I could dig even deeper into modern tech but ant deeper would be going to deep.
My Dad, God love him, can barely change a fuse. But he always showed great interest in whatever nerdy pursuit I was getting into. Whether it was amateur radio, electronics, computers, or graphics, he always took the time to find out what I was up to (and that all those antennas hanging out my bedroom window was for.) He always encouraged me to explain the technical principles of what I was doing in everyday terms that anyone can understand. I found that if I could make an analogy to something in his everyday experience, I could explain technical stuff in easy to grasp ways.
To this day, I credit these conversations with developing a training style that I have used throughout my career of technical training and management. Whether it's describing electron flow through a diode like water through a valve or radio waves on the ionosphere like racquetballs on a ceiling fan, those conversions have never left me.
Thanks Dad.
To this day, I credit these conversations with developing a training style that I have used throughout my career of technical training and management. Whether it's describing electron flow through a diode like water through a valve or radio waves on the ionosphere like racquetballs on a ceiling fan, those conversions have never left me.
Thanks Dad.
My dad was a lifer IBM'er. 35 Years and retired in 1986. The components he would bid on at the university were awesome for do it yourself projects to build different functional pieces. The first piece we built was a calculator that used binary with switches and lights...the rest just went from there.
My father introduced both of these to me, mostly because he was tired of watching my cartoons. Still I don't think that he ever expected these to have an effect on me. He just watched to watch something else besides transformers.
Thinking about it though, he probably wanted me to look more toward Kirk and Bond on how they acted around woman, then Q and Scotty and how they acted around computers.
Thinking about it though, he probably wanted me to look more toward Kirk and Bond on how they acted around woman, then Q and Scotty and how they acted around computers.
i'm pregeek. honesty,truthfull,responceable,independence. can't spell or type worth a damn.
My spelling is not great either, but my Google DSL account has Google auto-correct spelling built in. Actually I use Qwest DSL and have a Google mail box since April 1998. So the WWW or Internet is really doing my spelling correction. The auto correct spelling may even be from Microsoft since Qwest is kind of married to them. Do not know who does it but it is a big help.
My dad started the first high school computer science curriculum (then Data Processing) at Hutchinson Central Technical High School in the 60s. My first exposure was an after school class he taught at Hutch-Tech back in 1968. Cut my teeth on Fortran and an IBM 1130 with 16K of memory! Still coding, learning and being geeky 43 years later. Thanks, dad!
Mt Dad was a very active Ham Radio operator and used only "home brew" equipment. At age 6, I was introduced to the idea and it was history. It has been the mainstay of my life and always find it fascinating. Dad was a great teacher without ever "teaching" anything!!!
It was so big it almost needed a full room by it's self, I gave them all to Denver Metro Collage in 2000 and now they are all microfilmed and in the USA government back up library of Congress. If I want to go deeper than Microfilm I need a pass to get behind the locked doors. Figured it was far better that taking up land fill property. I also gave them my Popular Mechanics collection from WWII and newer, along with Nat Geo from 1953 on
My dad went to work after high-school doing roadbed work for the railroad in central Texas....he tole me that he had NEVER worked so hard in his life, and was convinced that he could do better. Newly married, he went to work build B-36 bombers at the Convair plant in Ft. Worth, Tx, went to school at night, and got a job as something called a field-engineer for a little company called IBM. His career took him all around the country with defense and eventually NASA assignments, spending a LOT of time away from his family....but doing important work. He INSISTED I go to college, but didn't advise regarding careers. Still, I spent my USAF career in C4I systems and continue to do IS and IA work.
My dad liked to bring home the toys. My first console was an Atari 2600, first computer was a Franklin Ace 1200. I always had computers around growing up because of my dad. Kept me out of trouble a lot. He got me my own phone line cause I tied up ours with BBS use and original Prodigy. Once I got into my late twenties and needed a career, I was able to fall back into IT because of my exposure growing up. Thanks dad!
My dad was a Fire Control Technician on a USN cruiser. I didn't learn until I was older that meant he handled radar and firing of guided missiles, he was not a fireman. When he retired he went into TV repair, which in those days meant replacing tubes and such. My first job with him was to carry a bag of tubes to the local drugstore once a week and use the tester they had by the front door. We fixed every set on the block, usually for a slice of pie.
even small towns had one vacuum tube tester some where on main street!
Ok, ok
My Dad introduced me to the TYPEWRITER insisting it was an essential tool for survival in the modern world!
I assembled, with a engineer buddy, my first computer in 1973. Prior to that I had one year of programming in university - the cards were punched on our local campus and sent by mail to the main campus for processing.
My Dad introduced me to the TYPEWRITER insisting it was an essential tool for survival in the modern world!
I assembled, with a engineer buddy, my first computer in 1973. Prior to that I had one year of programming in university - the cards were punched on our local campus and sent by mail to the main campus for processing.
I had to work for four years after high school before I saved enough money to start college in 1970 - after all, it cost $325.00 per semester and I had to have enough "savings" to last for two semesters before I took the summer off to work. My dad told me "...to learn all I could about computers." Key-punch machines, cards; computer center in the basement of the "Plant & Animal Science" building about a half mile from the "Key-punch room." It would take 3 days to get the results from the FORTRAN program that was submitted. We were highly encouraged to "compute" the results manually before submitting to check for errors since it would take an additional three days to "re-submit" a corrected program.
In my youth we did science and entertainment persuits which I guess you would now call geeky. So heres a random list off the top of my head Brewing Ginger Beer, Making lead objects by pouring molten lead into plaster of Paris molds, Chemistry sets, Making your own gunpowder and fireworks, Mechano, Steam engines, collecting fossils, naming wild flowers, astronomy through a small telescope - you could at least see the Orion nebula and Andromeda, growing stuff, shortwave radio listening, building electrical circuits - the lead solder splashes ruined the carpet in my room. I didnt see my first apple pc until I was at university so I imagine todays geeky persuits might be somewhat different.
I was molding plastic parts with a vacuum toy; and using a toy lathe to make rocket nozzels. My path was similar to yours. I could never get the steam engine to work - probably broke - but I got good at repairing the mechanics and circuit boards in my brother's Lionel train set. Never had a telescope but was fascinated by astronomy. My brother inspired me as far as building electronics and radio, I later joined the CB craze. I never could afford a computer, so I borrowed everybody elses; until I joined the Army - then I bought my own, because the government was too slow to modernize. After automating my office, I declared my position obsolete, and left for college after touring out. They did, in fact close those positions not long afterward.
My dad didn't really know how to be a dad, God bless him!
My dad didn't really know how to be a dad, God bless him!
We didn't have a lot of money coming up so my Dad fixed everything, plumbing, the car, appliances, everything, with mixed results. This taught me "don't be afraid to jump right in and give it a shot. If someone else can fix it you can figure it out and do it yourself.". I love figuring out how things work and computers are constantly changing so I got hooked a long time ago and now I'm always a happy camper.
My dad bought me both a biology lab and a chemistry set when I was a kid, he was a Biochemistry major as an undergrad, he enjoyed them more than I did. I had a microscope and a periodic table of elements in my room.
My father was pretty much able to repair anything. He really liked cars and "tinkering" with them. He was not afraid to try to fix or build anything mechanical, electrical, or plumbing. He always let me help and explained what he was doing and let me do some of it. I learned how to weld two pieces of metal together when I was four years old - soldering about the same time.
My dad loved surplus stores and we would visit one just about every Saturday. My dad spent time looking at everything and we would try to figure out how we could make something out of it. I would buy electronic items (mostly from old military equipment) and wire them together so the banks of lights would blink like an old time science fiction movie.
My dad always supported my learn by doing and never told me I could not try something. He may not have been a geek in the true sense of the word but he knew how to raise one - that is for sure!!!
My dad loved surplus stores and we would visit one just about every Saturday. My dad spent time looking at everything and we would try to figure out how we could make something out of it. I would buy electronic items (mostly from old military equipment) and wire them together so the banks of lights would blink like an old time science fiction movie.
My dad always supported my learn by doing and never told me I could not try something. He may not have been a geek in the true sense of the word but he knew how to raise one - that is for sure!!!
I helped my dad build several old Knight-Kit projects, mostly 2way radios. I got into electronics & computers because of this. He also introduced me to competition rifle shooting and we took flying lessons together. Thanks Dad, God rest your soul...
My dad brought home a "Space Spanner" short wave radio kit, handed the box to my twin brother and me in 1959. I think it cost something like $19.95. He didn't help but knew we would get it put together. We did and it sparked (no pun intended) an interest in everything "electronic." I'll have to give him credit.
In a word, "Heathkit." Toghether we built a Heathkit shortwave radio. From there to an interest in how everything was put together, TV repair, commercial two-way radio - including design of a radio system for part of the Washington DC subway, then computer repair, and finaly writing software for mainframe computers at the operating system level.
So dad was the catalyst more than a geek himself, though he was an industrial chemist for a while, but that's another story.
So dad was the catalyst more than a geek himself, though he was an industrial chemist for a while, but that's another story.
When I had my tonsils out in 2nd grade, my Dad showed up at the hospital with a morse code tapper and a handbook on how to make words with dits and dots. The nurses loved that. When I got home we tuned his shortwave radio to a channel with morse code reception and he convinced me that we were listening in on secret Russian communiques that we should decode in order to assist the US government. I still have no idea what we were listening to, but it is one of the best memories of my old man.
My dad introduced me to ham radio way back in the 70s. We built computers in our basement, by instruction (not from a kit) on the back of a brownie pan, learned to wire wrap and program in hex via toggle switches. Then came our trek to the first Boston Computer Festival, where we pre-ordered the 48th TRS-80 Model I. My dad taught me all about photography, how to take pictures, develop film and slides, and make prints. He taught me simple things like if the wind was blowing hard enough to show me the bottom of the leaves, it was going to be a bad storm. I learned the peace of the outdoors via canoeing, visiting spots in central NJ that most people don't know exist. I learned to be resilient and resourceful and not do harm to nature. I learned the majesty of the stars and the planets while geeking out with our big backyard telescope. I learned all of these things and so much more...thanks, Dad!
My dad taught me the importance of setting the right workflow and preparing the workplace whenever attempting to do anything technical;
I learned to appreciate the right tools for the job, how to handle them and to love *good* tools;
But most of all, since he was a HP calculators owner and lover, I NEVER programmed AOS, only RPN!!!
I learned to appreciate the right tools for the job, how to handle them and to love *good* tools;
But most of all, since he was a HP calculators owner and lover, I NEVER programmed AOS, only RPN!!!
I remember in my Senior year of high school, the calculus teacher said for extra credit convert these equations into RPN. I then started creating a program in HP Basic on the Time sharing system our school used. From a Scientific America article that explained how to make it easy, I wrote a program to do it. Thus most of the higher math students thus got extra credit. The teacher found out after the semester was over, and got mad, my defense was find a better tool, use it and make life simpler. A line my Advanced Physics teacher always used.
In a way it was cheating, but in a way it was finding a better tool to use and make life simpler. Plus the teacher was always using my Casio programmable ca;c to test the imaginary math equations, since it could do imaginary math. But I could not use it when taking a test.
In a way it was cheating, but in a way it was finding a better tool to use and make life simpler. Plus the teacher was always using my Casio programmable ca;c to test the imaginary math equations, since it could do imaginary math. But I could not use it when taking a test.
I am so very lucky to have three really great role models to brag about.
My Grandfather worked 38 years for ADT Security. I learned how to work on circuit boards, about wiring, about low-voltage electrical, multiplexers, phone systems, CCTV, etc. all from the age of 6 years until he passed in 2006. I learn his work ethic and customer service. I still meet people that remember my Grandfather and all brag about being his friend.
My Dad was always very creative. I learned to think about problems 'out of the box' from him. I am also very lucky that I get a good memory from him. I remember as a teenager working on cars with him (hot rod's). I remember picking up a coffee can with all sorts of small parts in it. I held up several items and Dad rattled off...door panel clip to 64 Chevy..etc., etc. And I still give Dad credit for my first computer, a Timex Sinclair. LOL
Now, my Step-Father...GEEK, NERD and a Proud Marine. I get all of my love of SciFi, Comic Books, History, and computers from him. Weekend trips to see old movies, serials, comic book conventions, scifi conventions, D&D games, etc. And as someone else posted...Radio Shack Electronic Kits by the Dozens!! He and I sat for HOURS doing all those projects. The hours we spend watching Dr. Who on PBS.
I am very lucky...two Dad's and a great Grandfather.
But, more important than all of these things, they taught me how to be a Good Father to my own Children and Step-Children.
My Grandfather worked 38 years for ADT Security. I learned how to work on circuit boards, about wiring, about low-voltage electrical, multiplexers, phone systems, CCTV, etc. all from the age of 6 years until he passed in 2006. I learn his work ethic and customer service. I still meet people that remember my Grandfather and all brag about being his friend.
My Dad was always very creative. I learned to think about problems 'out of the box' from him. I am also very lucky that I get a good memory from him. I remember as a teenager working on cars with him (hot rod's). I remember picking up a coffee can with all sorts of small parts in it. I held up several items and Dad rattled off...door panel clip to 64 Chevy..etc., etc. And I still give Dad credit for my first computer, a Timex Sinclair. LOL
Now, my Step-Father...GEEK, NERD and a Proud Marine. I get all of my love of SciFi, Comic Books, History, and computers from him. Weekend trips to see old movies, serials, comic book conventions, scifi conventions, D&D games, etc. And as someone else posted...Radio Shack Electronic Kits by the Dozens!! He and I sat for HOURS doing all those projects. The hours we spend watching Dr. Who on PBS.
I am very lucky...two Dad's and a great Grandfather.
But, more important than all of these things, they taught me how to be a Good Father to my own Children and Step-Children.
At the age of 10 and several months of studying and writing code in a notebook and running to the Radio Shack store in our local mall to input and test the code I wrote. My father actually bought me one of the first TRS-80 Model 1 computers on the market back in 1979. At the time I really did not comprehend the costs involved in that initial investment, I am now certain he would be proud of me.
My dad was pre IT but at the same time was an early audiophile. How many of you remember Heathkit and Dynakit (Dynaco/Hafler)?
He introduced me to Star Trek and science fiction, the places where I got my love of tech and gadgetry.
My dad worked hard in a manual job (and still does at the moment!) and I'm proudest of the fact that he never tried to push me in a particular direction regarding my career, but always supported and encouraged me.
My dad worked hard in a manual job (and still does at the moment!) and I'm proudest of the fact that he never tried to push me in a particular direction regarding my career, but always supported and encouraged me.
My Dad's advice was very simple. Find something you'd be doing anyway, then get a job doing it.
What I got from this??? What good is retirement if you spend all your working time not liking what you do? I'd rather work till I drop dead and love what I do, than not look forward to going to work. I've been a mechanic, manual machinist, CNC machinist, CNC programmer (2 1/2, 3 and 5 axis). I am currently an IT administrator / computer programmer / firewall & network admin. I've never regretted a single day of any one of those jobs. I've been at my present job for over 17 years and still wake up early some days 'cause I can't wait to get going.
There isn't a day goes by when I'm not glad I listened to him!
What I got from this??? What good is retirement if you spend all your working time not liking what you do? I'd rather work till I drop dead and love what I do, than not look forward to going to work. I've been a mechanic, manual machinist, CNC machinist, CNC programmer (2 1/2, 3 and 5 axis). I am currently an IT administrator / computer programmer / firewall & network admin. I've never regretted a single day of any one of those jobs. I've been at my present job for over 17 years and still wake up early some days 'cause I can't wait to get going.
There isn't a day goes by when I'm not glad I listened to him!
My Dad inspired and nurtured my love of computers and he's the reason I'm a programmer today. He's also the only one I'll go to comic book inspired movies with so he can explain them to me. 
I spent hours with Dad playing Zork on a C64. Drawing maps, printing gameplay on the linefeed printer, looking for the missing tip or trick, trying various things, dying frequently. You are at the bottom of an endless stairway...
In 4th or 5th grade my Dad had lost his job in construction management & I asked how I could avoid being out of work. He said: "Well you could pick a career that is likely to always be in high demand, like an attorney or doctor. You could always consider doing something having to do with computers. It seems like their going to be around a while." That was around 1979 or so. How awesome is that!?! That year we had an Apple II donated to our math class & I about broke my arm trying to raise my hand to sign up, only to look around & realize nobody else even tried! Never looked back. THEN, when I was in my 1st year of Computer Science in college, trying to get an internship, good 'ole Dad suggested I tell my interviewer I was willing to sweep their floor. "Anything to get them on your resume when you graduate." Later they told me that was exactly what got me hired. Within 1 year, I was a full time consultant, with triple the income, being trained as a project manager, doing relational data modeling etc. Gotta love Dad's wisdom!!!
Ditto on HeathKit, we built our first Color TV in 1969, I am like him, how does it work, well lets take it apart and see how it works. He started with piston aircraft in WW II and retired out during Vietnam / Cold War after working in the test flight evaluation programs for new jets. Started getting into computers before he passed. I know he would have had a great time with them. Oh and I am a dad and my son is designer and builder of 4x4 parts, it is in the genes. The whole family goes to the Maker Faire every year, because geeks / makers are responsible for making our modern world .
My Pop was always fixing our or a friend's TVs or radios. My job was to run to drug store to test vacuum tubes. He would fix just about anything. He taught me to be inquisitive and to just give it a try. Something I am proud to say I have passed onto my two sons. Thanks Pop.
I remember building a "Lafayette Radio" tube tester. ...kept me from having to walk a mile to the drug store!
My Dad was a computer programer and I remeber him teaching me (or trying to teach me) BASIC when I was 5. Also he liked to play computer games against and with my brother and I on our old 286.
On very special occasions my dad let me help him work on cars or his old adding machine or typewriter. He taught me that if it's broken, you should be able to fix it. As I grew through my work I was the 'go-to' person for all things office that needed repair. It was only natural that I end up in this business, being a girl-geek, and helping people fix their stuff. I still can't go by a tool rack without checking it out.
Miss you, Daddy, and thank you for giving me a career without even knowing.
Miss you, Daddy, and thank you for giving me a career without even knowing.
How about us that did not have a father figure in our formative years, or whose parent was not into tech? Or for that matter what about those fine techies who were into tech "before" the first pc or apple hit the market? What drives their never quenched thirst for all things tech? As the news puppet sez, Fair and Balanced! I will admit there are "tech-sheep" whose only drive is the latest gadget or app, but even I must admit they do serve a very good and useful purpose which is to drive innovation and pay the mortgages of the creaters of the "better, better than that, best" products and applications. But I do wish they'd put away the ipod's in the restroom, thats a little much don't you think?
I remember my dad introduce me to my first computer when I was 7 and it was an AMIGA with pacman and other games. I used to love playing on it! since them I love computers!
My Dad started me on science fiction. He always watched "Twilight Zone", "Outer Limits", "One Step Beyond" and he read it, too. Afterward, I would read them. Science fiction is still one of my favorite past times.
Dad started taking me to Radio Shack for those little electronic kits to build when I was 8 or so. Then by 10 it was Heath Kits and then on to Boy Scouts to earn the Electronics and Communications Merit Badges (along w/ 29 others). Gave me a choice of art school or electronic tech school. Kept photography as a hobby and learned all about valves, transistors and those new IC things. Work over the next 23 years introduced me to computers and more in an IR&D environment. Worked my way up to being a non degreed engineer. Thank you Dad and Mom. I couldn't have made it without y'all.
Dad went to work for IBM in 1963, and he used to bring home all kinds of scrap trinkets. SMS cards, boxes with thousands of (discrete) transistors, panels with lights and switches that I used to wire into "whatever". He took me to a radio parts store and we started building small projects like crystal radios or lamp flashers. Then I moved on to wire-wrap sockets, TTL, then CMOS and Microprocessors.
I got my first "real" job because I was volunteering at the local emergency squad, and for Christmas the Captain wanted a sign that would flash the squad's initals (VVES) on their antenna tower. It took me about 3 days to design and build it, and I made the sign with Christmas lights. By the following week it was on the tower and flashing. The captain was VP of Service for an interconnect phone company, and he hired me the next week.
I got my first "real" job because I was volunteering at the local emergency squad, and for Christmas the Captain wanted a sign that would flash the squad's initals (VVES) on their antenna tower. It took me about 3 days to design and build it, and I made the sign with Christmas lights. By the following week it was on the tower and flashing. The captain was VP of Service for an interconnect phone company, and he hired me the next week.
My Dad took me to a Lafayette Radio Store in Syosset NY at the age of 10, and showed me the Ham Radio Department, which was huge at the time 1967, oops giving away my age. Well, I got so into the Ham Radio stuff that I got my novice license that year...and the rest is history!
When I was 11, my dad and mom gave me a crystal radio kit. It was primitive and I never was able to make it work, but it sparked my interest in electronics, which led me to the career I chose today: computer maintenance.
... Not a geek. But his intuitive learning nature rubbed off on me big time, and that's helped me to be a better geek. He never advanced beyond an 8th grade education, but when it came to mechanical issues he was beyond genius, and most often he would just figure out how things worked -- and most importantly why they weren't working -- just by observing, tinkering and playing. I do things much the same way, but I do defer to a manual on a regular basis!
He always inspired me to dig into things, especially they went wrong. "Give it to dad, he'll fix it." was often heard. It was that in combination with our Atari to PCs that really instilled in me my invaluable curiosity and taught me how to teach myself.
My dad can't figure out how to run the tv remote.
But he did give me mechanical knowledge when I was young. He let me work in the shop, showed me how an engine runs, taught me about pneumatics and hydraulics, and gave me free reign to try and fix things by myself. I tore a lot of stuff apart to see how it worked and my dad encouraged me to put it together to make it work again. All of this repair and troubleshooting led me to where I am today.
But he did give me mechanical knowledge when I was young. He let me work in the shop, showed me how an engine runs, taught me about pneumatics and hydraulics, and gave me free reign to try and fix things by myself. I tore a lot of stuff apart to see how it worked and my dad encouraged me to put it together to make it work again. All of this repair and troubleshooting led me to where I am today.
Dad didn't inspire any particularly Geeky passion in me, but I found out on my 18th birthday that one of his goals in raising me was to make sure I could read FAST with comprehension. I don't recall any specific actions he took toward this end, but it certainly worked - and has contributed to my Geekdom!
In 1928, the summer before he began college at UC Berkeley, he was a radio operator on a ship running between San Francisco and Los Angeles. While in college and earning his MS in EE, he built his ham radio station and encouraged his MOM to learn code and theory so they could talk. She did as well as his little bro. While he did GE's test course in Schenectady,NY, his bro went to Berkeley and they'd have 3-way conversations, again with his mom and dad. He was an extra class ham and those weird tuning sounds still echo in my head. He talked all over the world and would have me come in to chat with South Pole, Europe, etc. These weren't especially fun for me as a teen, but when IRC came on the scene when I was an adult and I could make acquaintances all over the world, I finally understood. Dad, employed 40 years for GE in application engineering, was an early adopter: timeshare computer, tape recorders, macintosh HiFi, 3D slide photos, etc. That was foundational for me and husband, who loved my dad and his interests as well, to jump to personal computers, 1982 Apple 2E and on and on. Though passed away in 1975, he still inspires me and excites my interest.
My dad " the engineer" bought me elctronic kits, so I could build my own radio station. It only went into the back yard, but it worked.
My dad and I have for a long time been rocketry enthusiasts. I've been flying rockets with him since I was 12 and to this day (at 25) I still launch rockets, and we're both certified to fly high power rockets.
My whole life my dad and I have been building things together. From the age of 3 when I took apart my first computer, my dad would give me broken power supplies and hard drives to take apart. It was a good time. We even fixed an old porsche 911 together in the garage... I think without learning what he had to teach me about electronics, machining, and building things I wouldn't be who I am today.
My whole life my dad and I have been building things together. From the age of 3 when I took apart my first computer, my dad would give me broken power supplies and hard drives to take apart. It was a good time. We even fixed an old porsche 911 together in the garage... I think without learning what he had to teach me about electronics, machining, and building things I wouldn't be who I am today.
My dad researched and bought an Epson back in the mid-80's - I was in JR Hi. When I got ready to go to college, he said you really ought to try programming. Took my first class and was hooked. Been havin' fun writing code for almost 20 years. Thanks Dad
My dad was way ahead of the curve on environmental conservation. He bought 100 acres and improved it to where turkey, fox, bob cat and a number of other animals (and plants) that had been forced out of the region by heavy farming.
It's now such a desirable hunting property there is a waiting list to get permission, and people have sold their position in line for hard $$$.
I remember we would be driving in his boat, that is Chrysler New Yorker, down some dusty road, and suddenly he'd slam on the brakes, jump out, grab a shovel and burlap bag out of the trunk and trudge out into a swamp, woods or field and dig up some weed. (Look!!! marsh marigold!!)
He would throw this dripping, muddy bag into the trunk and we'd head right back to "the farm" and get the thing in the ground where it would normally have lived. My brother became a forest researcher (now a dean at a huge university) and he's said this land is the second most diverse parcel in the state of New York.
My dad was a lawyer, he was instrumental in setting up the Nature Conservancy. He almost bought some swamp land that was threatened with suburban development in order to donate it to the conservancy, but someone beat him to it.
He was also a semi-pro ornithologist. (bird watcher) He'd slam on the brakes for a meadow lark, too. We had a set of binoculars in the car for every occupant.
Today, my property is the most diverse in terms of plants and trees for many miles in every direction. Without running or standing water I'm rather limited, but some of the plants I've got going here are extremely rare for this area, although they are native, just driven to near extinction.
My biggest problem is keeping the non-native, invasive species down.
BTW ferns and fungi are among the items I have actively recruited.
It's now such a desirable hunting property there is a waiting list to get permission, and people have sold their position in line for hard $$$.
I remember we would be driving in his boat, that is Chrysler New Yorker,
down some dusty road, and suddenly he'd slam on the brakes, jump out, grab a shovel and burlap bag out of the trunk and trudge out into a swamp, woods or field and dig up some weed. (Look!!! marsh marigold!!)He would throw this dripping, muddy bag into the trunk and we'd head right back to "the farm" and get the thing in the ground where it would normally have lived. My brother became a forest researcher (now a dean at a huge university) and he's said this land is the second most diverse parcel in the state of New York.
My dad was a lawyer, he was instrumental in setting up the Nature Conservancy. He almost bought some swamp land that was threatened with suburban development in order to donate it to the conservancy, but someone beat him to it.
He was also a semi-pro ornithologist. (bird watcher) He'd slam on the brakes for a meadow lark, too. We had a set of binoculars in the car for every occupant.
Today, my property is the most diverse in terms of plants and trees for many miles in every direction. Without running or standing water I'm rather limited, but some of the plants I've got going here are extremely rare for this area, although they are native, just driven to near extinction.
My biggest problem is keeping the non-native, invasive species down.
BTW ferns and fungi are among the items I have actively recruited.
if I had your Dad! I was an animal nature nut as a child and always watched Wild Kingdom, and Disney back when it was more scientific about wildlife studies and management. My dad wasn't much in the way of sponsoring, but he was my hero. I might have gone into forestry, if I didn't let math scare me out of everything scientific. I finally whipped that peccadillo later in life.
Maybe my Dad, being a farmer, helped me appreciate wildlife even more, but bless his heart, he finally passed away recently. He will always be my B-17 bomber flying hero!
Maybe my Dad, being a farmer, helped me appreciate wildlife even more, but bless his heart, he finally passed away recently. He will always be my B-17 bomber flying hero!
Actually, my dad wasn't very engaged with me. He was busy with his work, so he took his recreations "too seriously" you might say. I was sort of along for the ride, but I happened to enjoy hunting for odd wildflowers and working on projects to improve the land.
He was also a political "geek," volunteering his services for organizations seeking an end to segregation in the Rochester (New York) public schools in the mid/early 60's. He worked with groups that had ties to MLK's SCLC, had several dealings with Jesse Jackson back before he took to aggrandizing himself. I also met Pete Seeger along the way. Dad was a dyed-in-the-wool Rockefeller Republican, he voted for Nixon twice. But he believed in a fair deal and level playing field.
I remember carrying picket signs when I was in kindergarten, mine said "build better bridges" with a picture of a suspension bridge. I was probably more interested in politics at an early age, but we soon succumbed to "white flight," after earlier peaceful efforts failed to yield tangible results and the "race riots" of '68 saw whole neighborhoods burned to the ground.
2 weeks after we moved out of our city neighborhood, a prominent black civil rights leader was gunned down a block away from our home, on a corner I had passed walking to and from school every day.
It wasn't until after we moved that I realized that it was no coincidence the first black family to move into our rather 'upscale' neighborhood lived next door to us.
In those heady days, I recall one day bugging my dad when he was trying to read the newspaper. As an aside, he'd often sigh and shake his head when reading the news, and I'd ask him what he was thinking. Without exception his answer was "I'm glad I'm not going to be around much longer..." I always tried to inject some optimism, but he couldn't shed the burdens he'd heaped on himself.
In one of those scenes, he offered me the ONLY advice he ever gave me. I told him not to worry about this stuff, because "when I grow up I', going to be a lawyer just like you..." I was going to say I'd fix this world for him. He snapped the newspaper down into his lap, twisted his most "evil face" on and snarled through his teeth at me; "you will NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT be a lawyer!!!"
He snapped the paper back up in front of his face, leaving me dumbfounded. He always insisted my brother and I would be scientists. My brother (older) is right where dad would have wanted him. I went into aviation, after deciding to quit a promising music career. (that pissed him off big time)
The last time I saw my dad was in my first weeks of college starting an aviation program. At our last dinner together, at a restaurant in Antrim, New Hampshire, he told me he was at peace with my brother's career track, that he could go knowing he was on the right track, but he was going to have to write me off, and conclude I was never going to make anything of myself.
So you were MILES off better on the farm!
My wife's dad flew TBF/TBMs off the Intrepid in the Pacific. If you've seen many films from the war you've probably seen him. He was the last fellow off the deck before moments later a Kamikaze smashed into the flight deck rendering it useless for months. They had to ditch that evening. He says riding the night in a rubber raft was hands down the worst experience of his life.
I take it you heard of the loss of "Southern Belle" last week. Fate is the hunter, I suppose. That leaves us with 11 B17s still flying. I think there's only 2 or 3 TBMs flying, and I don't think a single TBF remains, even on static display.
My dad died young, age 51, his 6th or 7th heart attack finally did him in. I learned a lot from him, by observing him and going in the exact opposite direction myself! He internalized everything, took it all way too seriously. He sort of taught me how to live and be happy by inverse example.
I'm currently 51 myself and so far, knock on wood, no heart attacks.
He was also a political "geek," volunteering his services for organizations seeking an end to segregation in the Rochester (New York) public schools in the mid/early 60's. He worked with groups that had ties to MLK's SCLC, had several dealings with Jesse Jackson back before he took to aggrandizing himself. I also met Pete Seeger along the way. Dad was a dyed-in-the-wool Rockefeller Republican, he voted for Nixon twice. But he believed in a fair deal and level playing field.
I remember carrying picket signs when I was in kindergarten, mine said "build better bridges" with a picture of a suspension bridge. I was probably more interested in politics at an early age, but we soon succumbed to "white flight," after earlier peaceful efforts failed to yield tangible results and the "race riots" of '68 saw whole neighborhoods burned to the ground.
2 weeks after we moved out of our city neighborhood, a prominent black civil rights leader was gunned down a block away from our home, on a corner I had passed walking to and from school every day.
It wasn't until after we moved that I realized that it was no coincidence the first black family to move into our rather 'upscale' neighborhood lived next door to us.
In those heady days, I recall one day bugging my dad when he was trying to read the newspaper. As an aside, he'd often sigh and shake his head when reading the news, and I'd ask him what he was thinking. Without exception his answer was "I'm glad I'm not going to be around much longer..." I always tried to inject some optimism, but he couldn't shed the burdens he'd heaped on himself.
In one of those scenes, he offered me the ONLY advice he ever gave me. I told him not to worry about this stuff, because "when I grow up I', going to be a lawyer just like you..." I was going to say I'd fix this world for him. He snapped the newspaper down into his lap, twisted his most "evil face" on and snarled through his teeth at me; "you will NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT be a lawyer!!!"
He snapped the paper back up in front of his face, leaving me dumbfounded. He always insisted my brother and I would be scientists. My brother (older) is right where dad would have wanted him. I went into aviation, after deciding to quit a promising music career. (that pissed him off big time)
The last time I saw my dad was in my first weeks of college starting an aviation program. At our last dinner together, at a restaurant in Antrim, New Hampshire, he told me he was at peace with my brother's career track, that he could go knowing he was on the right track, but he was going to have to write me off, and conclude I was never going to make anything of myself.
So you were MILES off better on the farm!
My wife's dad flew TBF/TBMs off the Intrepid in the Pacific. If you've seen many films from the war you've probably seen him. He was the last fellow off the deck before moments later a Kamikaze smashed into the flight deck rendering it useless for months. They had to ditch that evening. He says riding the night in a rubber raft was hands down the worst experience of his life.
I take it you heard of the loss of "Southern Belle" last week. Fate is the hunter, I suppose. That leaves us with 11 B17s still flying. I think there's only 2 or 3 TBMs flying, and I don't think a single TBF remains, even on static display.
My dad died young, age 51, his 6th or 7th heart attack finally did him in. I learned a lot from him, by observing him and going in the exact opposite direction myself! He internalized everything, took it all way too seriously. He sort of taught me how to live and be happy by inverse example.
I'm currently 51 myself and so far, knock on wood, no heart attacks.
When I was 4, my dad, an electronics tech, he returned from a business trip with an Apollo coloring book for me. I was truly impressed; I was sure he was working for NASA. A few years later he bought me the most memorable Christmas present ever, a huge box filled with an encyclopedia and a set of science books.
My stepdad was an avid reader, and he introduced me to science fiction via a set of Asimov books he bought. The two of us watched sci fi movies together, and all the sci fi shows we could find on TV in the mid to late 70's.
Actually, even my grandpa had an influence. He advised me to go into computers, since he figured there would be a lot of jobs there. He worked hard all his life as a millwright, and I think he wanted to see his granddaughter work in a good, white collar field after college.
My stepdad was an avid reader, and he introduced me to science fiction via a set of Asimov books he bought. The two of us watched sci fi movies together, and all the sci fi shows we could find on TV in the mid to late 70's.
Actually, even my grandpa had an influence. He advised me to go into computers, since he figured there would be a lot of jobs there. He worked hard all his life as a millwright, and I think he wanted to see his granddaughter work in a good, white collar field after college.
Grandad watched me repair a pump motor for him to water his garden and said "That young bloke could make a few bob on the side doing that."
Mining companies eventually paid me thousands to repair and install their pumps and machinery.
Thanks Grandad I still miss you after 47 years.
Mining companies eventually paid me thousands to repair and install their pumps and machinery.
Thanks Grandad I still miss you after 47 years.
Can we say you may be a true Geek. Although Biology says you can have only one father, society will let you have to fathers, but just one biological one. But with Medical Tech these days who knows if that will always remain true.
What could be more geekly than thinking chainsaws look like big toys and cutting, splitting and stacking wood is fun? And using it to heat your house.
that your Dad was an early alternate energy aficionado! HA! After all, at least it is renewable green energy!
My dad (who is in Heaven now) was an old school radio journalist. I say old school because there is no longer a preeminence of journalism occurring from most of the news rooms of America's radio industry. He exposed me to voice recording on an old reel to reel RCA tape recorder when I was approximately age five. In high school I worked back stage and out front in the media of stage work with sound and lighting. After high school I started in broadcasting in my home town's ABC network affiliate TV station, and worked in radio and TV for many years before going back to school and acquiring a BFA degree in Multimedia and Web Design from the Illinois Institute of Art/Chicago Art Institute. Today, I am the Art Director for EZWebPlayer.com. I absolutely love the whole concept of the automatic dissemination of information once a single message is released to mass media vehicles. And, I am so thankful that I live in America where we still have laws protecting the freedom of idea dissemination even though most of the Press does not practice journalism.
My dad never gave me any careers advice except I saw him go to the steelworks every day and work shifts and thought that's not for me! He got me into electronics and generally fixing things, which I'm still into 55 years later. As for advice at school - what a joke. In the 60s I found myself one of the newly emerging courses at Manchester University, funded by ICL, that would give me a degree in Computer Studies and pay me a salary as well, and the careers teacher told me I would be much better off doing something in the liberal arts, as there was no future in computers. All the teachers at my school went to Oxford or Cambridge and had done Classics or similar subjects. I won't say it was the worst advice I've ever had (try "it's quite safe to drink the water in Cozumel") but it comes close.
but, my neighbor was a retired tech from ITT who instructed me on everything from the common radio to the server of the day, this was back in 1968. He was also an Army Veteran from World War 2 and a decorated soldier. Over time I learned everything about electronics, software, hardware, design and even how to be a sniper from him. My dad was mainly into outdoor sports ,car repairs and gardening. He was also good at home improvements. I graduated college with a 2 year degree and joined the Army and was deployed to DaNang and after 6 years returned home. I persued my degree in computer science and now have 57 certifications in pc support. I remain a freelance technician and run my own business.
My Dad got me my first computer which was a Texas Instument TI-99. He worked manual labor but he knew this was the thing of the future. It was a very tough sale to my mother, because we didn't have the money for something so expensive. Anyways, he got it for me and i leanred how to program it in basic from the book that came with it. Had a love for them ever since.
My dad was a gadget lover. It was the age of "no imported stuff" in our country, but he'd buy gadgets that trickled their way into shops. Toy trains, 8mm projector, toys that took HIS fancy , one of the first rechargeable flashlights, etc. I'm 50 plus now, but I remember dismantling all of the things - my passion then - just to see how/why they ticked. And I remember that he NEVER scolded me, not once, for having done that, and for having broken some of them sometimes.
The result has been that I've been able to open up things fearlessly, and put them back together again, mended. Toys, mechanical do-dahs, watches, sewing machines, cellphones, and now computers and notebooks, I've repaired them. Thank you, Bapu!
, one of the first rechargeable flashlights, etc. I'm 50 plus now, but I remember dismantling all of the things - my passion then - just to see how/why they ticked. And I remember that he NEVER scolded me, not once, for having done that, and for having broken some of them sometimes.The result has been that I've been able to open up things fearlessly, and put them back together again, mended. Toys, mechanical do-dahs, watches, sewing machines, cellphones, and now computers and notebooks, I've repaired them. Thank you, Bapu!
This engendered a love of tools to the point that I often set out to acquire new DIY skills just to use new tools. I so want a pair of drywall stilts but have not found a project tall enough to justify it yet....
I grew up before PCs, but my wonderful stepdad would always ask us "What did you learn today?" If we said "Nothing," he would tell us we should strive to learn something new every day. In my opinion that imbedded interest in learning is a necessary part of any technical person's makeup. Also, the very cool stereo system (complete with reel to reel) he brought home from his service in the Vietnam War first piqued my interest in electronics. I also have to throw a kudo in here for my mom too. She could design and build just about anything and taught me that a woman who is willing to work hard can do well in a male dominated field. When I started in IT in the 1990's, I was the only woman in the department for several years. Initially I had to work doubly hard to prove myself, but my willingness to learn along with my work ethic enabled me to earn the respect and acceptance as "one of the guys."
make radio transmitters,receivers, brother and I learned the code, electronics, mechanics and woodworking,metalworking, farming, and astronomy, the biggest chemistry set ! I was a voracious reader.Pop had some planes, a home built hydroelectric plant, a home walk-in freezer, and tons of war surplus electronic gear. He didn't do very much teaching, but in that atmosphere I thrived, "inventing" electronic gear, only to find that someone else had already done it ! Bro and I rebuilt a ford model A from 2 junkers before we were of age to drive.
The "I can do anything" attitude still sticks. I've been into computers since 1960, rebuilt a vintage Mercedes, can fix almost anything (except integrated circuits), do all electronic, plumbing, carpentry, I rebuild laptops, build desktops, now getting into building networking and server setup for the home. I'm 75, but still learning every day. Pop didn't give much love, sadly, but Mom did. So, fathers, in giving your gifts of "The lore of things" be sure to add a good measure of love and affection. Your kids will treasure both.
The "I can do anything" attitude still sticks. I've been into computers since 1960, rebuilt a vintage Mercedes, can fix almost anything (except integrated circuits), do all electronic, plumbing, carpentry, I rebuild laptops, build desktops, now getting into building networking and server setup for the home. I'm 75, but still learning every day. Pop didn't give much love, sadly, but Mom did. So, fathers, in giving your gifts of "The lore of things" be sure to add a good measure of love and affection. Your kids will treasure both.
Heh. Dad introduced me to my first wargame (Sniper!), was my first Dungeon Master (D&D Blue box FTW), introduced me to electronics via Ham Radio and the electronic experiment kits, and brought home our first computer (Tandy CoCo) for my brother and I to learn BASIC on.
It's almost easier to list what he geeky interests he DIDN'T inspire or teach my brothers and I.
It's almost easier to list what he geeky interests he DIDN'T inspire or teach my brothers and I.
My Father could, can, and will fix anything he needs to. He inspired much of my life. Because of things he could do I was found welding together a 60' lightning rod at 10years(thank goodness it was never struck), building my first go cart at 12years, re-building engines in the field at 12(still running 23 years later) Now I have my own equipment repair shop and put the old man to work on things I need a little help with occasionally. I will take a look at anything I think I can fix, hardware, software, hydraulics, electrical, radio, telescopes.The old man built his own 8" refractory telescope you could actually see the rings of Saturn. He built custom RC planes we'd fly whenever we time. He taught me to reload ammunition for varmints and birds. He taught me the intimacies of the internal combustion engine,rebuilding several together.(At 35 years I've never paid someone to fix any vehicle of mine) We used to love to ride trail bikes in the backcountry.(places we still go today) I learned to weld with him which sparked a general design and manufacture interest I still utilize today.
Excessively sound financially we are not. Blissfully happy in love and life.....mostly we have been. Concerned about our financial future... not all the time.. no. Still together...absolutely... till checkout time old man.
Excessively sound financially we are not. Blissfully happy in love and life.....mostly we have been. Concerned about our financial future... not all the time.. no. Still together...absolutely... till checkout time old man.
My parents were not geeks, though my mother taught me to always allow myself to explore things rather than ask permission for everything, and never be afraid of breaking things or screwing it up. She taught me to enjoy doing geeky things, which led to my career choice.
Dad was very strict when I was a kid, because I was always opening up TVs and radios to check inside, leaving a trail of blown up stuff around the house. On the other hand, we used to spend a lot of time fixing the car on weekends, and I'd help him replacing spark plugs, wires or cleaning stuff. Years later, he would slowly allow me to fix other things like the house's mains wiring, install the car and house alarms, or open up the car dashboard to replace bulbs, etc. He always believed in me, and tought me that I can build confidence in others by knowing well what I was doing.
This was key in my career, Ended up designing complex electronic devices for medical centers, and managing the bulk of the manufaturing process remotely. Building confidence and trust among clients and suppliers, has been the oil of the gearbox in my daily work.
Dad was very strict when I was a kid, because I was always opening up TVs and radios to check inside, leaving a trail of blown up stuff around the house. On the other hand, we used to spend a lot of time fixing the car on weekends, and I'd help him replacing spark plugs, wires or cleaning stuff. Years later, he would slowly allow me to fix other things like the house's mains wiring, install the car and house alarms, or open up the car dashboard to replace bulbs, etc. He always believed in me, and tought me that I can build confidence in others by knowing well what I was doing.
This was key in my career, Ended up designing complex electronic devices for medical centers, and managing the bulk of the manufaturing process remotely. Building confidence and trust among clients and suppliers, has been the oil of the gearbox in my daily work.
My dad took me into the computer room to watch him running the monthly payroll and other jobs on an IBM System 360 (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/DM_IBM_S360.jpg). Later on he was one of the first to buy the Commodore 64. So I think he was pretty influential in my ultimate career path. Thanks Dad!
Dad really got the whole tech thing started in me by bringing home broken office equipment for us to take apart (this was back in the 60's). Belt style voice recorders (the "tape" was a 4" wide belt of magnetic media), electric typwriters (massive, wiggly thing) ... all manner of electro-mechanical devices were ours to take apart and (ok, not very well) put back together. What kid could resist such opportunities. His first calculator ($600, with big green LED numbers, 4 functions) was a big draw ... teaching us to use a slide rule (years later) before buying me my first calculator ($10, 5 functions) ... and teaching me how to use a light meter and fullly manual SLR. Mom and Dad both had a lot of input on the artistic side of using technology (cameras, back then, but so much more since then) ... Thanks to them both. Techno-art ... the coolest.
Techno-art ... the coolest. 
My Dad was very active as a ham radio operator from the age of 16 (early 1940's) and was an practicing electrical engineer all his life. He was always there to foster my interests in science and learning how things worked, electrical and mechanical. I grew up on Heathkit projects so when 'personal' computers came along I was ready to tinker.
I learned electronics, troubleshooting, repair, small business management, customer relations, communications, computers (still the kind with core memory, switches and lights), driving, tower climbing, and probably a whole slew of things I can't think of off the top of my head. He passed in 1976, but I'm still learning how smart he really was.
I followed my dad into engineering, but his cautionary words were to go into commerce or finance if you wanted to make money. So after doing a post grad I followed a career in investment banking and did very well. However I still think back to every thing he taught me about engineering and the hours we spent in his workshop. The result is I remain infatuated with technology of all sorts and realise it is what got us to where we are today and what has really created wealth worldwide.
When I was 11 or 12 years old my Dad and I put together a Heathkit color TV. I remember this being a huge TV (for the time) and hundreds of parts that had to go just so. My Dad didn't have any training for this. I think he was a Sergeant in the National Guard at the time. Looking back on it now I can't believe he took on the project. All of those parts. Figuring out which one when where. Reading the color bands on the resistors. I can remember helping my Dad align the magnetic coil on the back of the CRT to get the three color guns to produce the color picture on the screen. That was tough. I have no idea how long it took us to get this thing working, but we did. And we had that TV as our living room TV for years. It still impresses me now. The best thing though was that my Dad and I worked together on this awesome project and he always made me feel that I was a partner in it. And it freakin' worked! I went on to get my degree in Physics and now teach IT systems - and love my job. My Dad is still going strong at 74 and we are as close as ever. Still talking nerdy subjects for hours every week.
What he gave me was the confidence to do what I wanted to do, all else is utter bollocks.
My father was a college professor. As such he was not afraid to be unconventional, and insisted I learn to use a typewriter. He also bought an Apple II-Plus in 1981, which sent me firmly down the Apple track.
My Dad was a mechanic all of his life. He owned his own shop when I was a kid. He taught me everything he knew about cars, trucks and engines in general. I spent 40 years building Diesel Generators. About 20 years ago, I bought my 1st computer, a Kaypro 4. I learned everything I could about that computer and took from there. I am retired now and can't really afford to do everything I'd like to, but I work on computers, buy, sell them, etc. My Dad has been gone now for 38 years, but he would find computers very interesting indeed. He had an eclectic mind.
In Australia we call it bodging - when you use whatever is available to fix something. My old man is the master of fixing stuff using seemingly useless or unusual parts. Bailing twine and fencing wire can do a heck of a lot! He gave me the ability to think outside the box and look at problems as opportunities for creativity.
My old man doesn't even know how to use all the functions on the remote, he doesn't have a cell phone or use internet (we live outside the U.S.)... but he taught me to do things right and to give the best of me and to know the value of knowledge... maybe those things doesn't look like much but that make me learn and discover a lot of the world around me... thanks Dad...
There was many a time my dad was so smart you wondered if he had a positive IQ or if it was a negative one. If you could think of a better and more efficient way if you did not desire to become black & blue. You did not try to improve his choice no matter how much better your solution was. He was in the Army while the Korean War happened, but he did not go due to the fact he fell under a Deuce and a half, had his head crushed while in Basic Training. I wonder if the Army was worried about his IQ being Positive or Negative as to sending him to Korea. He was a traveling salesman, I introduced his company to DTP in 1986, and wrote most of their Data Base record keeping software. And much of that software saved them Millions from the IRS. The one thing I never tried to correct, because I did not know how to was his feeling that if that person only had two not 3 legs, they would go to bed with him.
I guess he would have been - but being born during the first world war he was into things like Chemistry and Geology which he taught. We had huge vials of Sulphuric and Nitric acid in our garage.
He took me on school geology field trips to Wales. When I was old enough he bought me electronics kits - twenty or so projects in each kit - but the best thing he did, in the seventies, was to introduce me to one of his teachers - Seb Jenkins who built osciloscopes and other stuff from scratch. Now he IS a geek and it is his footsteps I have followed....
To my Dad's credit, when I gave him a ZCPR based system - KayPro II - he took to it like a duck to water - using it for all kinds of things despite the total lack of documentation - so yeah - he was pretty cool.
He took me on school geology field trips to Wales. When I was old enough he bought me electronics kits - twenty or so projects in each kit - but the best thing he did, in the seventies, was to introduce me to one of his teachers - Seb Jenkins who built osciloscopes and other stuff from scratch. Now he IS a geek and it is his footsteps I have followed....
To my Dad's credit, when I gave him a ZCPR based system - KayPro II - he took to it like a duck to water - using it for all kinds of things despite the total lack of documentation - so yeah - he was pretty cool.
When i was about 4 years old my dad brought home the IBM PC model 5151 with the mega awesome monochrome monitor, dual 360k floppy drives, full size of course, and if i remember correctly, a whopping 256k of memory. i learned how to take the thing apart, put it together, troubleshoot it, as well as rewriting the BASIC games he had as well as writing a few of my own. Over the years we upgraded to CGA, then eventually EGA graphics (with the IBM 5153 RGB monitor tweaked to display the higher refresh rate of EGA). eventually he obtained this little game called Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards by Sierra On-Line. Since this was an "adult" oriented game he attempted to keep me from playing by using the keyboard lock that was featured on the later IBM AT machines, as well as boot passwords, encryption algorithms, etc which helped my hacking and security troubleshooting skills as well. Before you know i had a collection of PC's of varying configurations. Some with those extra large 30 MB RLL hard drives, the standard 20 MB MFM hard drives, and even the ESDI hard drives. Here it is 29 years later and i STILL have my IBM PC 5151 upgraded to 2MB ram, an old Seagate 30 MB RLL hard drive, EGA and CGA graphics, both low and high density 5.25" floppy drives, and the killer is, it STILL works! i just need a keyboard for it now. that died about a decade ago. And i'm the proud owner of my own consulting company and now dad asks me for help when it comes to certain things. He still works for essentially the same company (been bought, sold, traded, name changed over the last 33 years)
My father started out as a watchmaker, turned small mechanical camera repairman for a US Navy R&D facility. Eventually he transitioned to an elctronics technician through an apprenticeship program the Navy offered.
He once told me that "anything someone else put together, he could figure out how to take apart and repair it. Never be afraid to try," he told me, "since it's already broken and you've nothing to lose."
Then one day while he was studying in his apprenticeship program, I asked him what he was doing. He then explained to me how a simple vacuum tube worked. I was early teen, but I remembered that lesson he gave when I was studying electronics in the Navy some six years later. It gave me a real leg up on the material. During my time in the Navy, I transitioned from straight electronics and vacuum tubes to early computers and "magic rocks" (transistors). My first "computer" was a box that fit in a 19" equipment rack, had two rows of red and blue toggle switches (1 was up, 0 was down), a binary LED display, and a momentary pushbutton. If you made a mistake in your "programming," you reached around behind it and yanked the plug to start over.
So, since Dad gave me an impromptu trons lesson, I guess I've been geek since about 1963 or so. Thank you, Daddy!!!
He once told me that "anything someone else put together, he could figure out how to take apart and repair it. Never be afraid to try," he told me, "since it's already broken and you've nothing to lose."
Then one day while he was studying in his apprenticeship program, I asked him what he was doing. He then explained to me how a simple vacuum tube worked. I was early teen, but I remembered that lesson he gave when I was studying electronics in the Navy some six years later. It gave me a real leg up on the material. During my time in the Navy, I transitioned from straight electronics and vacuum tubes to early computers and "magic rocks" (transistors). My first "computer" was a box that fit in a 19" equipment rack, had two rows of red and blue toggle switches (1 was up, 0 was down), a binary LED display, and a momentary pushbutton. If you made a mistake in your "programming," you reached around behind it and yanked the plug to start over.
So, since Dad gave me an impromptu trons lesson, I guess I've been geek since about 1963 or so. Thank you, Daddy!!!
My Dad wasn't afraid to fix anything and was ashamed to pay someone else to do what he could figure out himself. When I got my first computer, a Toshiba T1200 (I still dream about that beautifully clear white/blue screen), and it started giving me error messages, I got the impossible to understand DOS 3.3 manual and kept working at it until it would boot without error messages. Thanks Dad for teaching me self-reliance and perseverance.
Dad wasn't a geek, but he did like to build his own furniture for the kids' rooms.
I did pick up that from him. I'm a DIY kind of guy.
I did pick up that from him. I'm a DIY kind of guy.
My Dad and Mom both served in WW2 and in 1946 with their newborn son retreated to a hill farm in the bush on the Tamar valley in Tasmania (Australia).
There was no power and no phone and that suited them fine as they didn't want anyone to tell them what or not to do.
As I grew up I watched my dad build his own battery radios and a crystal set for me to listen to in bed.
In the 1950s he worked for the Telephone company and Moved off the farm to live in town but his heart was always in the bush and we spent a lot of time panning for gold and walking in national parks.
I became an industrial electrician and my work with automated controls led me into computer technology and finally to teach apprentices in electrical and electronic trades.
Thanks Dad. "Each day you are alive is a good day".
There was no power and no phone and that suited them fine as they didn't want anyone to tell them what or not to do.
As I grew up I watched my dad build his own battery radios and a crystal set for me to listen to in bed.
In the 1950s he worked for the Telephone company and Moved off the farm to live in town but his heart was always in the bush and we spent a lot of time panning for gold and walking in national parks.
I became an industrial electrician and my work with automated controls led me into computer technology and finally to teach apprentices in electrical and electronic trades.
Thanks Dad. "Each day you are alive is a good day".
my dad introduce me to thinking whatever i play with electronic toy but never like cartoon my favourite
I am showing my age but my dad was interested in home made wireless radios before the second world war. He was also an amateur telescope maker of some note.
When I was young I made crystal sets and transistor radios in the 50`s (anyone remember red spot and white spot cheap transistors at 2/6d (that`s two shillings and sixpence in English money) and I ground reflecting telescope mirrors that were actually sold. I had far too much money as a teenager!
Failed to run computer programs written on punched tape on Elliot 806 original transistor mainframe when I was a student. Had my own kids and they got a Sinclair ZX81 for Christmas and sat for hours on end with them typing in progs from magazines. Upgraded to Spectrum. Then elder son got Amiga 500. He actually made money from a game he and the lad next door wrote (Carnage). He went on to work for British firm Codemasters and then with some friends founded their own company who wrote stuff for Guitar Heros and were bought out by Activision Blizard so he is rolling in money. The youngest son designs and validates chips for digital set top boxes and spends far too much time at beer festivals (He did not learn to drink beer from me. It just came naturally).
Like father like son!
When I was young I made crystal sets and transistor radios in the 50`s (anyone remember red spot and white spot cheap transistors at 2/6d (that`s two shillings and sixpence in English money) and I ground reflecting telescope mirrors that were actually sold. I had far too much money as a teenager!
Failed to run computer programs written on punched tape on Elliot 806 original transistor mainframe when I was a student. Had my own kids and they got a Sinclair ZX81 for Christmas and sat for hours on end with them typing in progs from magazines. Upgraded to Spectrum. Then elder son got Amiga 500. He actually made money from a game he and the lad next door wrote (Carnage). He went on to work for British firm Codemasters and then with some friends founded their own company who wrote stuff for Guitar Heros and were bought out by Activision Blizard so he is rolling in money. The youngest son designs and validates chips for digital set top boxes and spends far too much time at beer festivals (He did not learn to drink beer from me. It just came naturally).
Like father like son!
My dad was working for Con Ed in 1961 and got me a job as a EAM tabulator operator (remember punched cards preceded magnetic tape). I have recreated myself every decade since, all the while remaining in IT. More than 15 Real time systems later, 16 programming languages and a few altered industries, you are reading the words of the newest IT executive coach. More than 22,000 adults have worked with me in the IT courses I have developed mainly at CUNY. With a batting average of .800 for all the major projects I have participated on over the years, I am enjoying paying back what my dad gave me over 50 years ago. Thanks Dad!
Bob O'Brien
Bob O'Brien
He always answered my How's Why's and What's and when he didn't know we would find out, from books and libraries. I have a suspicion some 57 years later that the don't know's were strategically done on library day or when we were out near a bookshop or at home.
Everyday in the bus to school we played games factorising the serial number of the ticket and at night he read stories (Hiawatha, Puck of Pook's Hill, Beowolf), I was one of the few kids at my nursery school with an intimate knowledge of Norse Mythology, so that's pretty geeky.
But THE BEST was the crystal set radio kit, not just making the set, but strining the aerial, burying the ground spike and listening to it together.
Upgrading it with an AF and RF amplifier bit by bit. By 12 I was the guy in the village that people called to fix their TVs (I built up a stock of valves so I could do repairs as a call out service)
To this day I haven't stopped learning, I still love books and have hopefully taught my kids the same.
Everyday in the bus to school we played games factorising the serial number of the ticket and at night he read stories (Hiawatha, Puck of Pook's Hill, Beowolf), I was one of the few kids at my nursery school with an intimate knowledge of Norse Mythology, so that's pretty geeky.
But THE BEST was the crystal set radio kit, not just making the set, but strining the aerial, burying the ground spike and listening to it together.
Upgrading it with an AF and RF amplifier bit by bit. By 12 I was the guy in the village that people called to fix their TVs (I built up a stock of valves so I could do repairs as a call out service)
To this day I haven't stopped learning, I still love books and have hopefully taught my kids the same.
My dad was a civil engineer and built roads. He delighted in teaching me "tech stuff" such as bridge design, perspective drawing, and the stages oil goes through in the refining process. I learned that girls could enjoy and be good at technology and decided that my career would take that route.
I think from the toys that I received from my dad back in the 1950s: Boeing Stratocruiser etc.. that got me hooked on mechanical devices and later electronics; at the age of 11 I wrote my first equation for infinity and have since 1996 been writing about the formation of 2 dimensional space prior to the 'Big Bang' 15.8 Billion years ago.
My father always wanted me to be a tech of some sort, though I had wanted to be a journalist or medical doctor. In the end I studied heavy-duty equipment mechanics and rose through the ranks to become an engineer. With the advent of computers, I managed to shift easily to the IT field where my trouble-shooting procedures and experience is helping me.
NOTHING. Dad was a cop. When I announced, in 1969 (yep) that I wanted to go into electronics then computers he rubbished the idea. Said it was a waste of time and why would I work for a "Pommie" (British) Company...
Lucky at 18 I was old enough to make up my own mind.
Thanks Dad!
Lucky at 18 I was old enough to make up my own mind.
Thanks Dad!
I honestly don't know what got me to be a geek. I loved the classic horror movies shown on Shock Theater in the mid-60s and migrated from that to scifi. I bought early calculators in college and built model rockets and my own multi-rocket launch system. My dad did not offer support nor did he look upon it negatively. He was born and raised on an Ohio farm where life was a bit of a struggle and became a school librarian through the GI bill so I can understand this. He did like scifi a bit but was not a tinkerer or geek, he loved baseball. Now I picked up plastic modeling, model rockets, and on to computers when they came out building a Sinclair and migrating it into a keyboard/case prior to moving to a TI and then IBM and clones. I have likely built 500+ computers over the years and continue to build and service them in my spare time. I also became an aerospace engineer spending my entire career on the shuttle with NASA at KSC. And of course still plastic modeling geeky things, attending scifi cons, and flying rockets. My two sons definitely got a good dose of geek from me but themselves did not continue much of these activities after they left home for college and work. And neither of my two brothers or sister ever got geeky. I guess I am unique and a lost cause!
Too long ago and too far out in the back country for computers, but when our Baby Ben clock gave up the ghost, my dad gave it to me to take apart and figure out. (I was probably about five or six at the time).
Of course I ended up in engineering.
Miss you, Dad.
Of course I ended up in engineering.
Miss you, Dad.
My dad was a Mech Eng and loved tinkering with engines and all things mechanical. He taught me engines and we rebuilt a couple together. But the best legacy he gave me was when he sold his old sports car that he was struggling to bring back to its former glory for a Level 1 TRS-80. He also did a lot of home-built electronics so I got the stench of solder flux in my nostrils from an early age. I cut my teeth on BASIC and Z80 assembler before I was 12 and went on from there. I think it was a prescient and selfless act; damn he loved that car!
I created my first program with his help. It summed the numbers from 1 to 100.
Although I never took a computer programming class. I self educated my self, frpm a listing of Star Trek the TTY version written in 1974 and it educated me in 1976. That problem to be solved I recall being called the Fibernachi Series.
It is a very good introduction to the purpose of using variables to hold/store/tabulate a number to accumulate a solution. The next problem was typically to create a multiplication and addition table (aka a formatted output. The fun I had was dbase II and data base creation and formatted output. Then using data it creates to plug into vistacalc. Doing taxes was the hard thing, computers all you needed was to know how to talk to it in computerize.
It is a very good introduction to the purpose of using variables to hold/store/tabulate a number to accumulate a solution. The next problem was typically to create a multiplication and addition table (aka a formatted output. The fun I had was dbase II and data base creation and formatted output. Then using data it creates to plug into vistacalc. Doing taxes was the hard thing, computers all you needed was to know how to talk to it in computerize.
My dad didn't so much give me geeky pursuits, as an entire way of perceiving things.
He would always bring practical aspects to the theory, and theoretical aspects to the practice, lifting the curtain to the world beyond the world.
He was pretty good at teaching, so good it never felt like he was.
He would always bring practical aspects to the theory, and theoretical aspects to the practice, lifting the curtain to the world beyond the world.
He was pretty good at teaching, so good it never felt like he was.
my father was plenty "geek" (he was a radar operator when radar was practically science fiction), but the most important thing taught me was to never quit and to clean up and put the tools away when the project was done.
ok, two things (he also taught me to never lie)
ok, two things (he also taught me to never lie)
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