Have you seen the videos of his vocals isolated from the "music"? I mean, it sucked with music - it was terrible - but listening to him talk, even in Spanish - he just sounds like a mouth breather. I have the unfortunate gift of speaking Spanish - so I can understand him - and his "lyrics" are as bad as his mouth breathing delivery. 

It is hard to make Spanish sound boring and stupid. Like - short of speaking it with a Midwestern US accent - but if you're an authentic accent - it tends to sound exotic and sexy no matter what you are saying. I can ask you for the directions to the local goodwill and if make it sound exciting and exotic. He made it sound like a kid with Downs Syndrome asking where you left his teddy bear. 

Mon Mar 02 2026 19:51:31 UTC from darknetuser

Last friday I watched a movie in which Bad Bunny was killed gruesomely. The movie was not that good but when Bad Bunny was killed it improved into greatness.

The problem is that both sides are saying the other side is the 5%. 

And no one knows for sure who is telling the truth and who is lying - but Bad Bunny sucked. 

Fri Feb 27 2026 02:47:31 UTC from IGnatius T Foobar

Like a lot of things ... 5% of the people creating a narrative that claims they have the majority opinion.

Like a lot of things ... 5% of the people creating a narrative that claims they have the majority opinion.

I watched the TPUSA halftime show. It was good. And you're right. I love how unassailable franchises like the Marvel Universe and Star Wars have faltered and failed as they've alienated their core audiences for woke/progressive agendas crammed clumsily down the public's throat. Most of us don't mind a touch of this - especially done with art - but just as blatant propaganda - eventually you even start disenfranchising those aligned with your goals. Because it seems like tokenism, like pandering. 

But is is kind of sad to see them topple these cultural juggernauts like AD&D - telling them, "This isn't for you," then saying that it was rejected by the "this-isn't-for-your" audience because of... 

Racisim, Xenophobia, homophobia, sexism - "Fragile white males threated by challenges to their power and authority." 

Whatever - at that point. If you tell me it isn't for me, and then I don't show up and buy a ticket, don't tell me it is because I am "threatened" by your att

Fri Feb 20 2026 01:33:13 UTC from IGnatius T Foobar

And that's fine, we vote with our feet.  

I enjoyed the day.  Watched the Puppy Bowl and ate snacks.

And that's fine, we vote with our feet.  

I enjoyed the day.  Watched the Puppy Bowl and ate snacks.

F'k mainstream media. 

I saw something today about Bad Bunny and the Superbowl show on The Daily Wire or some other right wing site that said - "It is globalism - it DOES suck - but we can't change it - because they're going for world markets that are less discriminating than the US on entertainment - and they all thought Bad Bunny was awesome - because they're used to WORSE." 

And that kind of made sense. We have high standards for entertainment - but the rest of the world is happy with Bollywood level production. So...  Get used to Bad Bunny Superbowl shows. 

Wed Feb 11 2026 22:33:42 UTC from IGnatius T Foobar

I fourth the motion, but I think I can't do that because it was my motion to begin with.

*smacks the gavel*

Motion PASSES!

I third the motion. 

Sun Dec 28 2025 21:39:19 UTC from IGnatius T Foobar

 There's just nothing on worth watching anymore.

Ill second that. Its so rare that anything comes on of value.. Its just not like the old days when you turn on the boobtube and there was something there you wanted to watch.

Sun Dec 28 2025 21:39:19 UTC from IGnatius T Foobar

   There's just nothing on worth watching anymore.

If they could detect a pirate box then it was probably in the digital era, right?  Where the box communicated with the head end?  I was long gone by that point.  I went straight from analog cable to digital satellite, and I had a hacked TiVo but it had a legitimate card in it, so I got what I paid for.  As you correctly pointed out, eventually the work of keeping the boxes hacked and the risk of having the pigopolists destroy your life if you got caught started to outweigh the cost of just paying for the service.  But it wasn't long after that when we got to the point where the value of the service plummeted to near zero.   There's just nothing on worth watching anymore.

What made me quit was when they started sending "bullets" that would destroy your box - and then they would sue you for every possible PPV program you could have watched the entire time you had a blackbox. So... every PPV event, all the porn channels, all the subscription services like HBO and Max - but the killer was every VIDEO you could have ordered at $2 a video. That was what added up. And of course the courts would uphold that - so for a couple of years, you would be facing $1.2 million dollar fines - which they would "settle" to $250,000. And that was OK if you would never make that kind of money - blood from a turnip. But with me - I had that much to lose. That is how California law works - the people who have nothing to lose can get away with EVERYTHING, but you fine the people who can afford until they've got nothing left to lose. 

But I didn't have to return my box to them. You would get a surplus box, it was hacked - and put THEIR box aside. You give them back THEIR box. 

]]>https://uncensored.citadel.org/readfwd?go=Wistful%20Nostalgia?start_reading_at=2099550579Sun, 28 Dec 2025 00:56:07 -00002099550579@Uncensored

My uncle, made it a hobby to pirate satellite back in the day.   He had 2 huge ( 12 feet? i donno, but huge... ) rotatable dish antennas in his back yard, and the stuff to decode it all.  He spent far more on his hobby than just buying service..  But hey, don't we all? its a hobby.. they are all money sinks.

For the hell of it, I tried it myself perhaps around 15 years ago  ( i forget actual timing, but its been a while ) . Took my old dish-network dish ( the 3 LNA one ), got a 'decoder' box from china where you could enter the monthly codes, found a source.... bla bla.    Played with it, even tho i have trees, i got plenty of signal, but nothing of any value. Was a snooze fest.  Better off just going on piratebay...   Ended up just tossing it and in its place putting one of those broadcast "cone antenna" sort of things, that you can rotate around and has an amp.  Mostly was if my cable went out and i wanted to see weather and stuff, since no shows i wanted to 'watch' would have been on. ( still had comcast back then for both TV and internet and ya, losing signal was common )

Yes! I was never that elite of an uber-nerd. I had "cool ex-strung out punk with very dangerous friends," nerd cachet, in place of being really smart. 

I had free long distance back in the 80s. So ya.

Back then, having free long distance was table stakes for the nerd club.

And of course having built your own box would make you a far more elite nerd than just letting the computer make the tones for you.

I donno.  But i was the only person in the area who had it. My mother worked for Bell. 

And of course there was that "free chat line" that few knew about. I forget the number now, and it was really meant for testing connections.. but it worked.

Sun Dec 07 2025 02:28:38 UTC from ParanoidDelusions

But who among our circles didn't? I also had every channel including PPV and the adult channel free. :) 

 

Sat Dec 06 2025 17:56:04 UTC from Nurb432

I had free long distance back in the 80s. So ya.

 

But who among our circles didn't? I also had every channel including PPV and the adult channel free. :) 

Sat Dec 06 2025 17:56:04 UTC from Nurb432

I had free long distance back in the 80s. So ya.

 

I had free long distance back in the 80s. So ya.

Sat Dec 06 2025 05:14:05 UTC from ParanoidDelusions

 

Nurb seems like an "older" Citadel user to me - but if my friends who were teens were on this Citadel with us - I'd feel like they were still teens, in my mind's eye - they would be the kid I knew in 1987 - not the 55 year old man they are today. 
 

 

That took me off guard - because on the 916 Citadels - I was called "PD". I suppose that is the natural abbreviation - but still, in the context of the conversation... a little unexpected. 

I don't think so. I think we're "of the same time and experience," despite regional differences and distance. 

I like Amigas, and Commodores, and turntables and LP records and Atari 8 bits and Citadel because it takes me back to 1982-1989. My teen years. 

Nurb seems like an "older" Citadel user to me - but if my friends who were teens were on this Citadel with us - I'd feel like they were still teens, in my mind's eye - they would be the kid I knew in 1987 - not the 55 year old man they are today. 

But the common experience - growing up in the 70s and 80s - is just a shared experience - that, if you're observing from outside - might make it seem like we've known each other for decades. No. I met Nurb on Uncensored. He is an Uncensored, East Coast Citadelphian to me. 

Tue Dec 02 2025 12:45:25 UTC from Nurb432

Me and PD or 2 others?

 

Not been in ~ 30 years. Tho i remember the last time i was, but wont get into it on here of why.  But still will be sad to see them go.    ( that particular one is gone, it was leveled some 15 years ago and they planted a hotel there. And the borderline hidden houses from the 40's that few knew existed that were nearby, and the trees that helped hide them, also leveled.

We still have 2.5 in this general area. The .5 is buried inside a local truck-stop.

Denny's was bought out. Closing several hundred stores, and i'm sure major changes to those that remain open. Another 'American staple', gone. :( so sad. Even i can appreciate what it was.

Me and PD or 2 others?

If you mean me, i cant say either way.  I dont remember the name from the old days, but even i dont use my old name anymore so its hard to know anyway ( well i do, just not here )

If i wasn't included, then never mind :) 

Tue Dec 02 2025 02:26:29 UTC from IGnatius T Foobar

Did the two of you know each other before you were here?  I feel like you both arrived around the same time.

Did the two of you know each other before you were here?  I feel like you both arrived around the same time.

I do remember the right turn took you to automotive. First the general automotive aisles - then, through a door, into the area where they did tires and oil changes. 

I was really young, though - a LONG time ago I was last in a K-Mart. 

I was often there on my own, so id stay there and eat.

And ya, head to the back isle left hand turn walk = food

Right hand = the auto area.  Not sure all had that as i dont remember it in the one just north of us, ( which is now a Walmart, but they tore the entire place down and rebuilt it as a larger strip mall ) but we had a smallish auto repair area in this one. Ironically its still there, however RK leased that area out to another company.

And as  you walk, kept an eye out for the cart with the flashing light.  lol

Thu Nov 27 2025 03:53:04 UTC from ParanoidDelusions

I can picture walking into the store, seeing down the aisles, seeing the checkout counters, turning to the left and going to the Deli area... getting that long bag of stacked sandwiches, walking back out into the parking lot and having a couple of them in the lot on my dad's tailgate, too. The visual is strong. 

I can picture walking into the store, seeing down the aisles, seeing the checkout counters, turning to the left and going to the Deli area... getting that long bag of stacked sandwiches, walking back out into the parking lot and having a couple of them in the lot on my dad's tailgate, too. The visual is strong. 

K-Mart used to sell these bags of ham sandwiches on buns - cheap... $2.99 for a bag of like 8 of them. We were dirt poor, and it was special when my parents would save up $3 and drive us into the hood to buy a bag of sandwiches. 

Weird that this would be the very next post after I posted about having $200k in investments to piss away and not knowing what to do with it - but that is my *genuine* life path. From being excited about a bag of K-Mart Sandwiches on a Saturday with my mom and dad on welfare - to, not being sure if I should by a Z06 Vette or a Porsche GT4RS. 

Tue Nov 25 2025 23:14:47 UTC from Nurb432

Blue light specials.  sigh.

 

Blue light specials.  sigh.

( went to local Rural King with one of the dogs this afternoon.  Its in the Kmart i used to go to as i was growing up. I can almost see the lights still looking down the isles, or remember eating at the food court, now where they have the mowers and weed eaters and stuff..  90% of the people there. have no clue about the history of that building, or the one next to it.. )

In some ways its was a terrible event.  In others, it was good.  It did contribute to a change my path in life.

And no, i didn't break anything, i was still an active black belt in several arts at the time. So i rolled out of instinct. 

Thu Nov 20 2025 04:05:39 UTC from ParanoidDelusions

Most of the laced stuff out here was with arsenic and speed - so it would make your body cramp and cause anxiety/bad trips... but nothing like PCP. The face I made when I read that, I wish you could have seen. 

 

Most of the laced stuff out here was with arsenic and speed - so it would make your body cramp and cause anxiety/bad trips... but nothing like PCP. The face I made when I read that, I wish you could have seen. 

I'm a tad older so i was out of school and in college by then, after a 'life redirecting event' in early summer of 84.  i do think gen X 'children' did more in their childhood than any generation since.  Good and bad.

I will say tho, that if you have a bit of blotter in you and you jump out of a moving car, it does tend to sour your taste for certain recreational activities.  Wont go to far into it, but it was not a normal experience.. Later i learned 2nd hand that it was laced ( pcp ), and some people out on the west coast died from it.   That also helps you make a decision to move on. 

Sat Nov 15 2025 05:14:24 UTC from ParanoidDelusions

1985. I was punk. Like, really. When you think of a punk in 1985... piercings, shaved head, leather, studded clothes, combat boots - downtown - that was my scene. I was 15. I was nailing girls from about 14 to 18 years old, not all punks... I was doing mountains of coke and lots of other drugs. I was playing AD&D with a coke dealer who was BRILLIANT. I was a rock star. I was 5 months out from a huge crash and a struggle from 1986-1990 in rebuilding my psyche that wasn't worth what came before - but I probably wouldn't change much. I wouldn't have done so much LSD. That was a mistake. :) 

I was 15.

When I tell people THAT part of it, they go, "oh my God, you were just a child." 

I get that now, heading for 56, and paying the price for dumb decisions I made as a kid - but... also... when I tell people, "I lived more life in the 1st 15 years of my life than you will in your entire life," I mean it. I got a lot of things done in the first 15 that a lot of people never really get around to doing - and I don't know if that is for better or worse. I have a lot of good stories. 

1985. I was punk. Like, really. When you think of a punk in 1985... piercings, shaved head, leather, studded clothes, combat boots - downtown - that was my scene. I was 15. I was nailing girls from about 14 to 18 years old, not all punks... I was doing mountains of coke and lots of other drugs. I was playing AD&D with a coke dealer who was BRILLIANT. I was a rock star. I was 5 months out from a huge crash and a struggle from 1986-1990 in rebuilding my psyche that wasn't worth what came before - but I probably wouldn't change much. I wouldn't have done so much LSD. That was a mistake. :) 

I was 15.

When I tell people THAT part of it, they go, "oh my God, you were just a child." 

I get that now, heading for 56, and paying the price for dumb decisions I made as a kid - but... also... when I tell people, "I lived more life in the 1st 15 years of my life than you will in your entire life," I mean it. I got a lot of things done in the first 15 that a lot of people never really get around to doing - and I don't know if that is for better or worse. I have a lot of good stories. 

For me it was the last year before garbage started. ( not the band. lol )

Fri Nov 14 2025 02:34:54 UTC from IGnatius T Foobar

 

1985.

My dog died

My cat died

My great grandmother died

I was in high school hell

Remind me again why i want to remember 1985?

1985.

My dog died

My cat died

My great grandmother died

I was in high school hell

Remind me again why i want to remember 1985?

1985.

:(

15 kHz "coil whine" back when we still had tube TVs. Often times i could hear it down the street.   Kids today will never know.

Every so often i hear it now, but no clue why. I wonder if someone has an old TV near by... ( why i even thought of it a little bit ago ... 'ring'... then gone )

This was a "bookcase door" so it stood out anyway.  But didn't scream "door".   It also opened from the bottom, to throw them off too.

Sun Nov 24 2024 01:43:35 UTC from zelgomer

2024-11-23 19:39 from Nurb432 <nurb432@uncensored.citadel.org>
Bored. Watching a video about making hidden rooms to keep thieves at
bay

I've seriously thought of doing that. The RSCs they sell as "safes" are worthless. Only problem is that I doubt I'm handy enough to make it not stand out like a sore thumb.

Bored. Watching a video about making hidden rooms to keep thieves at bay

When i grew up, we didn't even have working locks on the house, broke when we moved in, never bothered to fix them.  Left our keys in the cars out in the drive to make it easier if we had to shuffle them around.  Never thought twice.  

Dad and I worked our way through four Heathkit electronics courses with our own oscilloscope. I wish he was here right now so I could talk to him.

Heathkit. 

Holy fuck that is well written.  It's going to make the rounds.

It has a political overtone as its about trump, but if you go past that part, it goes into a long diatribe and is extremely accurate in describing my generation.

https://pjmedia.com/megan-fox/2024/11/07/genx-delivered-for-trump-and-theyre-not-afraid-to-tell-you-why-n4934064

Full service gas stations. 

You guys played ADhD?

No, we played Dungeons and Dragons.

There is no such thing as ADHD.  That was made up by the Big Pharma drug cartel and incompetent parents and teachers.

For the short time i "roomed" with a couple of other guys we had a chess player.

Self absorbed im better than you type, constantly puffing his chest.   Finally i got tired of it and challenged him to play, made him look like a child.  He never spoke to me again, or claim he was 'a chess master'.    When i moved out a month or 2 later i hid one of the pieces of his 'most cherished set' he would never shut up about. Put it with some of his ther things, would take him forever to find it. But i did so if he left before he found it, it would go with him.  It may have been payback, and make him think he lost it and waste time looking, but wasn't to actually cause damage. Id not go that far

Funny story around it too, it was 'school arranged apartments' They gave me map of JUST the streets to take, no context at all. On the way, road was closed due to flooding, but due to what i was driving, 'screw it i dont know my way around these parts, and i wont get wet from a few inches of water'  ( 2 cars were in ditches facing nose down. must have been a hell of a storm ).  But finally got there.  "ok im here"  apartment manager "um, err, seems we have you placed with 3 girls"  "ok, cool, where is my key"  "Um, no we cant.. you will have to back to the school and get another room " Girl walks in " i have lost my keys again"  ( it was one of the now-canceled roommates, we became friends later.   On way back, cops were blocking traffic at the flooded road...   doh.     Got back to school, eventually. "ok, lets try again" and they send me in the exact opposite direction of the first.    spent all day driving around, blew off first day of class/orientation. 

And the trip to the area fun.. road closed major wreck.. ended up by accident driving around the south side of Chicago trying to get back on 294.. was not fun, got a lot of stares from residents "what you doing around here, you Hoosier hick" im sure they were thinking. . And the last time i ever left the house to a place i didn't know without a FULL map of everywhere i was to go, or pass along the way.

Actually lots of stories about that time of my life..   lots of fun looking back, not so much at the time.....   sooooo long ago. ( mid 80s )

Sat Sep 21 2024 21:13:07 EDT from IGnatius T Foobar

Back in college we played

You guys played ADhD?

( lol )

I thought about selling some of my things like that as i know they are worth 'something', but its just a hassle.  So most gets gifted or donated.

I had the original D&D book ( at least im pretty sure it was the first ). And the green dice. Several soft bound books in a box, and a hardbound book that went with it ( been a while.. might be wrong on the hardback, might have been separate )

I think we played a couple of times, got bored with it. Either way it was not much. It may have been 'the thing' back then, but wasn't for us. Then it sat in in a box for some 40 years. Ran across it a couple of years ago when i was purging stuff and gave it to someone at work who does that sort of thing ( takes V time to go to the convention every year..  gencon? or is it comicon?  I donno its the same thing to me ).  He about freaked out, like i was giving him gold bars or something..

5e. Can't remember the module/campaign, but it was an island with dinos. The only paper item he used really was the large map the island and I think that might have been something he had done custom.

Wed Sep 11 2024 06:10:22 EDT from darknetuser Subject: Re: My Fountain Pen ..

Which games did that DM use to run? Anything DnD post 4e sounds a bit too cumbersome to run on digital only. That is the reason why the DnD people is so interested in selling you Dungeons And Dragons as a service. Call me crazy, but I think they are bloating the system so they can sell you the associated organizative tools as a subscription.

Isn't that the way of the world these days for everything?

"The first one is always free".... or "you can get into the garden for free, come visit us"          then *smack* a subscription or 'cost of exit' hits you in the face.

Wed Sep 11 2024 06:10:22 EDT from darknetuser Subject: Re: My Fountain Pen ..

 I think they are bloating the system so they can sell you the associated organizative tools as a subscription.

Same. Digital is ok for finding old, obscure, out of print RPG materials, but for anything I'm working on, nothing beats paper! And paper rpg books are so much better for my way of organization. I used to play with a group however and the DM was beyond excellent using digital media for in person games. Even being former IT I don't think I could ever replicate his skill with digital assets. We each have our ways I guess.

Fri Sep 06 2024 07:17:54 EDT from darknetuser Subject: Re: My Fountain Pen ..

2024-09-05 00:25 from TheInnkeeper
Subject: Re: My Fountain Pen ..
Sadly, this is true. I mostly keep journal entries and notes and
RPG stuff. I prefer pen and paper. For me it has that exact

People my generation is very lazy and carres all their RPG info in a tablet, laptop or smartphone. I am old school and I keep all the character sheets and notes in a binder. When I DM, campaign material goes into the binder too.


It is much easier to hunt for specific pieces of information when you have a binder instead of a electronic device. Also, so many RPG manuals are in PDF format... hard to use those with a tablet. I tend o have an original manual at home for preparing the games and then I print copies for the game table.

Sadly, this is true. I mostly keep journal entries and notes and RPG stuff. I prefer pen and paper. For me it has that exact "really writing" feeling that you spoke of, plus it forces me to slow down a little, be better organized (can't exactly edit it like you can in notepad). I dunno. It just feels more natural, but perhaps that all goes back to the fact that I really didn't have any pc till I was about 13-14 (C64, not counting the TRS-80 that my dad had before that).

I just got a new pen in the mail today actually. A TWSBI Vac700r. Writes awesome.

Fri Aug 30 2024 15:35:16 EDT from IGnatius T Foobar Subject: Re: My Fountain Pen ..

From a nostalgia point of view it's really a thing.  No one really "writes" anymore.

I was online too... but i had no friends :) 

Fri Aug 30 2024 15:35:16 EDT from IGnatius T Foobar Subject: Re: My Fountain Pen ..

 

In between and after my college years I wrote a lot of letters to friends I was missing.  I was online but the whole world wasn't online yet.

 

So, I use fountain pens quite a bit, and the one I've been using a lot lately is a Parker Super 21. I only have a small collection of them and that one writes really well. Well, I discovered yesterday that it's from the 1960s so I suppose I'll clean it soon and put it back somewhere safe. LOL.

In between and after my college years I wrote a lot of letters to friends I was missing.  I was online but the whole world wasn't online yet.

I had a couple of fountain pens.  No clue where they are now but it really made you feel like you were "really writing" especially if you had the whole setup with the blotter and the inkwell.

From a nostalgia point of view it's really a thing.  No one really "writes" anymore.

Sat Aug 24 2024 10:54:51 AM EDT from Nurb432

DesQview/X   Couple that with DRDos, and Framework on an overclocked 8086 machine with a FPU. Wasn't too bad.  Until saw my first STacy at a music store " i have to have this... now " checked my wallet "crap no, not until next pay day". 

As an old Amiga afficionado I have to laugh at your crappy Atari ST  :)

I can sympathize with that.. but even then, i do almost no abstract writing anymore.  ( like my e-ink.. they have a stylus.. never use them..  or my older Note tablets/phone..  stylus was there, but never really did anything with them )

Mon Aug 26 2024 16:58:09 EDT from TheInnkeeper Subject: Re: My Fountain Pen ..

That and I'm becoming more and more of a technophobe as I get older. :)

They make some really nice disposable ones these days.

I just like writing on paper. That and I'm becoming more and more of a technophobe as I get older. :)

I used to use them pretty much exclusively, but i don't remember the last time i had to 'write' something on paper..  But before i stopped, i got lazy, and started using disposable ones.  ( zebra, i think )

Mon Aug 26 2024 15:24:45 EDT from TheInnkeeper Subject: My Fountain Pen ..

So, I use fountain pens quite a bit, and the one I've been using a lot lately is a Parker Super 21. I only have a small collection of them and that one writes really well. Well, I discovered yesterday that it's from the 1960s so I suppose I'll clean it soon and put it back somewhere safe. LOL.

So, I use fountain pens quite a bit, and the one I've been using a lot lately is a Parker Super 21. I only have a small collection of them and that one writes really well. Well, I discovered yesterday that it's from the 1960s so I suppose I'll clean it soon and put it back somewhere safe. LOL.

Damn. The whole store ghosted you! I've had that happen with a product or something, but never the whole store.

Sat Aug 24 2024 10:54:51 EDT from Nurb432

Went back 2 weeks later and store was gone.. never saw another in person again.   ( but i did get a regular ST soon afterward )

DesQview/X   Couple that with DRDos, and Framework on an overclocked 8086 machine with a FPU. Wasn't too bad.  Until saw my first STacy at a music store " i have to have this... now " checked my wallet "crap no, not until next pay day". was making decent money back then, but not THAT decent. Went back 2 weeks later and store was gone.. never saw another in person again.   ( but i did get a regular ST soon afterward )

Sort of miss my first x86.. was a  'mindset' which had a separate GPU of sorts as it was made for video editing market, and optional HD ( which i never did find when i ordered mine, might have been vaporware ). And an overall modular design that looked cool too. The entire thing was impressive for its day. BUT it was during the days of 'compatibles' .. ya.. compatible my ass. First install of turbo pascal, fail...  It went right back to DAK a week later ( if anyone remembers them ) and replaced with an actual XT clone, back when there were suits and stuff going on.

Ah the days when my Atari ST had a better OS and was cheaper than anything else. BUT it was still good enough to emulate the rest, and be faster ( tho admittedly it was not hard to beat an XT..zzzz ). I still remember tearing apart a mac with a broken screen at the office "it was an accident, really it was, somehow it got knocked off the desk", to pull the ROMs out of, for the cartridge i had bought for emulation.  I had forgot the name, been too long, so had to go look it up.  "Spectre" . 

Related to another post i just made.

The loss of the 1970s/80s record stores, is a huge loss. They were great places to visit, hang out, learn about bands.  Decked out in posters from wall to ceiling, records, music. shirts. all lit in black light.   Kids these days will never know.

Much like the back section of Spencers Gifts.  

Oh, I'll totally do the PT. I've seen him before and he's really good at what he does. The damage was just too much for him to be able to take care of alone.

In my case, when i destroyed my arm, if i didn't do PT id be non functional in that arm.  ( went above and beyond that they expected.. i refused to lose upwards 90% of my arm motion. Before i got to the first session i had already got 75% of it back by pushing it )

Now, its "just" pain ( getting worse by the year.. but its to be expected ).. but it moves like it should with 99% range ( ok weaker, but range of motion is the same )

Fri Jun 28 2024 15:10:20 EDT from IGnatius T Foobar Subject: Re: BBS Day Gone By

Well we're just tickled pink that you're here with us and I hope you'll keep hanging out here long after your shoulder is recovered. And may you also have a quick and complete recovery.

Thanks! Yeah, I kinda like it here. Cool people, laid back, I don't plan on going anywhere. Might even drag a friend over. The shoulder is healing well. Almost at week 4. Physical Therapy soon I imagine. 

On the subject of Wistful Nostalgia ... I was on the Agency BBS last night just snooping around fidoNet messages when the sysop (Avon) pulled me into a chat. That hasn't happened in about 25 years. XD  Extremely nostalgic.  

I remember a time in IT when it was about helping people use tech stuff to make their lives better.   Now its mostly administrative overhead that we do. Customers, if you have any time left over.

So glad its almost over.

You're correct on all accounts, especially the hardware one. I can't stand using my Raspberry Pi 2 anymore. LoL. I've spent quite a lot of time on BBS' and rummaging fidoNet and fsxNet since my shoulder surgery (still in the sling) and while I absolutely love BBS' the message system is still the exact unchanged pain it's always been. I started putting up a BBS using Mystic but I dunno what it'll amount to yet. The nostalgia is very strong these days. 

Mon Jun 24 2024 16:46:13 EDT from IGnatius T Foobar

We're nostalgic for the old technology because we associate it with the way we felt during its heyday. I can assure you that after you spend ten minutes basking in the glow of an 80x24 green screen and a computer running at 1 MHz, you'll be ready for your favorite laptop again.

And newbies were normally not total outsiders...  

Mon Jun 24 2024 16:46:13 EDT from IGnatius T Foobar Subject: Re: BBS Day Gone By

2. Newbies arrived slowly enough to acclimate to the culture and learn our social norms

I kinda agree with him. I miss the smaller disparate communities and lower internet population in both data and users. Man wasn't ready for massive networks such as FB, Twitter, and YouTube. Or at least I don't think we were. 

Sat Mar 09 2024 12:59:21 EST from Nurb432 Subject: Re: BBS Day Gone By

I donno, most of still have a fondness for particular bits of retro-tech. 

Sat Mar 09 2024 12:56:24 EST from IGnatius T Foobar Subject: Re: BBS Day Gone By

What we're nostalgic for isn't the technology itself 

 

I donno, most of still have a fondness for particular bits of retro-tech. 

Sat Mar 09 2024 12:56:24 EST from IGnatius T Foobar Subject: Re: BBS Day Gone By

What we're nostalgic for isn't the technology itself 

Most of us around here were hitting adulthood in the late 80s, and were busy with our lives, so it took a back seat. And once the collapse started, it had sort of a cascade effect.   Then public access internet came along, and basically sealed its fate. 

Killed off ham radio too. Same sort of thing. The old-timers were dying off, and my generation was moving on to more important things ( like eating.. rent. children.. etc ) then internet came, and made it pointless for most that remained. 

Sure, pockets of both did survive, but pockets..

For me, BBS'ing was the mid to late 80's. I was on the Internet in the late 80's, before most of my friends. By the early 90's (pre-Eternal September) the local BBS scene had suffered multiple drama explosions and was dying from both that and the growing access to Internet.

the world may have changed, but we still have here...

Fri Mar 08 2024 19:33:14 EST from borker Subject: BBS Day Gone By

I am and deeply and painfully nostalgic for BBSing in the earlier to mid 90s and the scene I was part of

Just got done making a loaf of shokupan here.

Wed Nov 29 2023 17:42:06 EST from interrupt

I eat Wonder Bread and grow in 12 different ways.

If it all falls apart next year, we may see something like it. 

Make that 'desiccant' above. Not 'descant' stupid typos + stupid spell check + inability to go back and fix (: 

I did too. I had thousands. Literally. Some even predated me and were my dads or grandmothers. and every book i ever owned.. ever... And I could just not bare to give them up. Shelf and shelf of crates in the garage ( sealed totes, with descant, all labeled and cataloged )

2 things changed that

1 - Decided to build a small machine shop. Needed the room and wasn't about to rent a storage unit again just for that ( also the main reason my retro-computer collection left too )

2 - eInk became a thing.   90% what i had was either stupid outdated, or i could easily find digital versions.   I tried to read on LCD tablets, no dice unless i had to. ( or CRTs earlier ) but eInk, was a wonderful thing and fell in love with it. ( remind me sometime to tell a story about a project i did in middle school with charged particles, ink, and glass plates )

So i either scanned or downloaded everything of value, then tossed or donated it all other than 'special' stuff that would not be the same. ( tho i scanned those too for convenience and 'backup', but kept the paper )  Well, other than my Omni magazine collection. I mixed up the boxes.. they got donated before i scanned them.  Disappointing, and i have never have found good copies of those. 

And i agree, most stuff today is trash, and gone up in cost.  Much like movies and music, its rare to get something good these days. Sure, it happens, but not often.

Wed Sep 13 2023 19:04:02 EDT from darknetuser

I also hoard books.

I rarely buy new ones. They became insanely expensive around here and I have the feeling they don't write them like they used to. I sometimes get second hand books if they come from some old author or franchise I like.

Talking to a friend locally about the old days when we would go to the library sales up in town each season and buy these things called books, that were printed on pulpified and dried dead trees. 

couple of months ago donated 2 boxes to our local library. Pretty much the last of it. other than the few 'special' ones im keeping around.,

Nah i asked the copy i kept and it assured me that didnt happen. I do have  theory, but will move that over to software. ( and a related thread to TV )

Mon Sep 11 2023 17:51:31 EDT from msgrhys

 

Mon Sep 11 2023 17:32:10 EDT from Nurb432

Ironically had it happen recently with an AI model. It was great, so i decided to download the entire model for safe keeping, and not just the quantized version.  2 days later it vanished, under odd circumstances.

IT ESCAPED!

( i may have told this story before if so, sorry )

in the early internet days, my net was too slow to be useful for anything other than Usenet and email. ( Kermit dialup :) ) So once a month or so id take a box of floppies, go up to the local college at 2am using a friends ID to get in, and use their computers to get stuff ( latest version of Boot/Root, then SLS, then im pretty sure Debian ). Eventually a local store that sold free/shareware started selling CDs ( infomagic, walnut creek etc ) so that stopped.  Monthly visits to them to get latest versions of stuff instead. 

But i am in a similar mental boat, and i am sure to get all the source disks of Debian on every release.  And a copy of the live image.  Why? i dont know.  Paranoia? 80% of what i do is online anyway, so no net = no 'stuff' .  But i guess if that happened again ( we were with out net over a week after the tornadoes this spring ) i go back to reading books, and watching old movies/tv shows. ( and of course driving to the office every day.. )

Mon Sep 11 2023 17:46:04 EDT from darknetuser

I am a datahoarder myself, but I think it is more related to the fact I grew up Internetless in an era were eveyrbody had some connectivity.

I had to learn to use loads of heavy digital tools for job and study without Internet access. That means I had to keep everything I could need at home. Linux distributions that were designed to use only online repositories were a pain so I had to learn to build my custom ones and keep them and maintain them myself.

To this day I still have the mentality that I *must* keep enough digital tools laying around that I can still build and install anything I might need if I go offline. I have lots of packaging and build scripts from a decade ago.

Interestingly, I just rolled a new (old) home NAS for storing more backups.

Mon Sep 11 2023 17:32:10 EDT from Nurb432

Ironically had it happen recently with an AI model. It was great, so i decided to download the entire model for safe keeping, and not just the quantized version.  2 days later it vanished, under odd circumstances.

IT ESCAPED!

Might be

I just remember  hearing about it 'being removed from distribution". And it vanished off the *edu FTP sites i used to use to get software, by request.  I had a regular dual-up ISP and didnt use it by that point, so didnt look further into the details, just remember it happening.

But it did make an impact: "if you like something, keep it, it might be gone tomorow"  and that begun my career of data hoarding. At one point i must have had 800 DVDs of stuff..  I finally forced myself to get rid f most of them. Tho, anything i thought was interesting i copied onto HDD, of course. Could only go so far.  Hovering around 8TB of crap i keep around, But at least its not like a 'house hoarder' its just a little box on a shelf. not rooms of stuff.  Every so often i do look at the files, and delete things. Its painful. ( "Do i still really need DRDos6? No. Delete, sync to backup of the backup... Next day.....what did i do?" )

Ironically had it happen recently with an AI model. It was great, so i decided to download the entire model for safe keeping, and not just the quantized version.  2 days later it vanished, under odd circumstances. 

Mon Sep 11 2023 17:02:49 EDT from darknetuser

What happened, as far as I remember, is that the people maintaining the original software stopped maintaining it and after a little while they Open Sourced it and somebody else took over it.

Well, when the net is shut down next year and we all have to go to LORA mesh, packet radio, or something similar, speed matters.

Mon Sep 11 2023 08:31:24 EDT from IGnatius T Foobar

Why does anyone care if it's running over the Intertubes now? Speed mattered when it was a long distance phone call.

Wasn't the "real" Kermit source pulled from the net at one point ? Copyright or something. I dont remember.   Then it got replaced with a 'clean' version?

Or am i thinking of something else?

Thu Sep 07 2023 15:55:08 EDT from fandarel

Kermit. Dialup.

The fsxNet folks have been having a ball with kermit. Somehow, the transfer speed from a synchronet BBS to a client running qodem is vastly better using kermit than using zmodem. I don't see how that can be, but I've been too busy to test it myself.

Kermit. Dialup.

Currently no.  There are future plans.

I thought that was gone too. Unless he meant future plans.

Mon Aug 07 2023 12:38:31 PM EDT from nonservator

Heh is there still an actual Citadel network? That you're hooked into? I remember checking in on Fidonet and finding something like 99% zombies, 1% Russians.

Heh is there still an actual Citadel network? That you're hooked into? I remember checking in on Fidonet and finding something like 99% zombies, 1% Russians.

I think the culture here is strong enough to fight off any invaders opposed to it.

Only danger is getting on the wrong radar, and the idiots find us.. ( like they did mastodon )

Sat Aug 05 2023 10:51:43 AM EDT from IGnatius T Foobar

What it tells us, though, is that there are others like us out there that are looking for online hangouts that are not quite as intense as the roar of mainstream social media. I want to tap into that.

Eww Docker

:)

Mon Jul 17 2023 02:58:52 PM EDT from fandarel

 Give me a chance to try out this Docker thing ya'll keep talking about.

From what i remember, that is all i remember about it. I tried and failed as well. Long ago.

Mon Jul 17 2023 02:58:52 PM EDT from fandarel

 Glad to see in 30 years it hasn't changed from being a tremendous pain in the ass.

Not sure, i had forgot about them too, but i think there was another huge one. 

But ya. it was all from a by-gone era.  Internet was a much happier place then. Slower, but happier. 

GeoCities, I believe you are talking about GeoCities.

Sun Jul 16 2023 07:21:05 EDT from Nurb432

Its been so long now i cant remember the service, but there was this hosting service *everyone* used it seemed.  id say 2/3 of what was there had been abandoned, in effect. No updates, no current maintainer. But in most cases that was ok. Just the files 'being there' was enough.  Not the only one but it was huge ( and damned if i can remember the name now )

Eventually they suddenly shut down, taking a huge chunk of the ( useful ) internet with it.  I know internet archive caught a lot of the static content at least, but when it goes, and it will, we are f-ed.

Its been so long now i cant remember the service, but there was this hosting service *everyone* used it seemed.  id say 2/3 of what was there had been abandoned, in effect. No updates, no current maintainer. But in most cases that was ok. Just the files 'being there' was enough.  Not the only one but it was huge ( and damned if i can remember the name now )

Eventually they suddenly shut down, taking a huge chunk of the ( useful ) internet with it.  I know internet archive caught a lot of the static content at least, but when it goes, and it will, we are f-ed.

Sat Jul 15 2023 09:02:13 PM EDT from zelgomer

Except for the occasional Doom or other old games from my childhood, I'm mot much of a gamer these days. But there was an online game that I log into once or twice a year just to dick around.

I decided to log in this evening and blow the remainer of my Saturday on it. I noticed it was oddly even more desolate than usual. Then, after a few minutes, I saw an automated message from the server hit the chat: the server is shutting down in a few weeks.

It's not even a game that I've played for long or have particularly fond memories with, but damn, it triggered a sad feeling in me. I don't normally feel very lonely, but that got to me a little.

Don't believe the lies. Not everything on the internet is forever. Only Uncensored and your embarassing dick pics.

ah the days when i actually proofread what i wrote.. 

Thu Jun 29 2023 21:52:36 EDT from zelgomer

Worth it.

Aw, shucks!

Personally i think you spend most of your live hanging out in the yard.  Then you get to the station as you age and wait for the train. Then climb on board.

Wed Jun 28 2023 11:55:07 PM EDT from papa

It's a train we're all riding.

(Yes, I spammed Lobby just to make this comment.)

It's a train we're all riding.

(Yes, I spammed Lobby just to make this comment.)

Not tomorow, but i do think i'm on the train towards the tunnel now.  Not IN the tunnel.. but approaching.  

Everything in this world now is agenda, lies, forced acceptance and conformity.  I'm glad i'm not here much longer. I'm sick of it. 

I miss the 80s. 

Door to door magazine sales guys...   came up as a joke at work toady "dude going door to door selling ar-15 magazines"

Not seen that since the 70s.  

bleh

This actually makes purrfect sense.

Fri Dec 16 2022 16:00:27 EST from IGnatius T Foobar

Hell has an exclusive deal with Facebook.

I dont think the beer fountain or hooker factory uses computers.  Its all magic.

Fri Dec 16 2022 10:04:02 AM EST from fandarel

IG's comment about the big user meeting in the sky got me thinking about what sort of system heaven runs. I figure with all the notables up there already, they've come up with something so completely brilliant and yet so completely anachronistic that it'll blow our minds. Like punch cards with 64GB storage.
Hell is almost certainly still running Windows Vista. They just upgraded.

A veritable veteran of sorts... for sure.  I do like reading the frustration posts as you guys attempt to maintain the integrity of the machine. It resonates with me.  However my current endeavors involve a "different" machine - every bit as intriguing but a different intellectual puzzle. mmm... databases... if you only knew... pay attention to the lyrics, i particularly like them.

Its too bad so many are gone now. We are all on borrowed time now. Some, more so than others.

Thu Dec 15 2022 09:29:33 AM EST from IGnatius T Foobar

Of course it's just as much about the people we met along the way.

I started out at Burroughs and was happily toiling away at their research centers when the winds of change shook the mainframe computer industry. Prior to that, I bought one of the first apple computers (late 70's), it just said apple][+ on it. probably worth a fortune today. Worked at the first retail computer store in the united states (so cal) selling the very first apples and newly emerging CPM "desktops" (no IBM's to be seen). I was one of 5 sales techs, selling to Hollywood doctors/bankers/business. Lots of doctors bought them up (plastic surgeons- porn was big there).  When repairing apple computers we'd call the factory and good ole Woz would answer, that was normal back then. Simultaneously worked at one of the designated "super computer" centers on campus with the Cyber174/760 (CDC) until I graduated. Got the job with Burroughs and in literally 5 years saw the micro computer wave overwhelm them. So they merged with Sperry corporation (the blue bell connection).  I remember they solicited the e

Tue Dec 13 2022 09:55:12 AM EST from IGnatius T Foobar

Are you from Pennsylvania, test2? I'm pretty sure the reason they made the decisions they did was because they had to buy from in-state vendors when they could, and Unisys was headquartered in Blue Bell, PA. I studied at Kutztown (1988 through 1993).

Decent school, or at least it was at the time. Nowadays I don't think I could cope with any college.

Most of us would not be able to at this point. Might be better at a "tradeschool" tho.

Tue Dec 13 2022 09:55:12 AM EST from IGnatius T Foobar

Nowadays I don't think I could cope with any college.

hehe, in those years i was building those Burroughs and later Unisys mainframes. i have a few patents.  the good ol days.

Tue Dec 06 2022 12:53:59 PM EST from IGnatius T Foobar

either. Not to mention many departments cannot set a ready for
deployment image to begin with. Getting a bunch of used computers and

installing junk on them is just easier and probably more cost effective

than trying to herd the students and teachers.

I guess so. Students can be pretty dumb, but as a student and as an IT professional I've still never seen anyone less talented with technology than the kind of people who work for university IT departments.

Of course, I was in college 1988-1993 and most CS assignments were completed on a Unisys machine running Ultrix, or on the Burroughs mainframe. Either way you were sitting in a room full of terminals. Or from the dorm you could *dial* in to a switch bank and hope to get one of the finite number of ports going to the host you wanted. No networking here -- again, because they were (and presumably still are) morons.

Unsure about that, this was the late 70s, this "personal computing" stuff was still a new concept and horribly expensive. 

I often wondered if it was just a display and had nothing inside. Or was toasted and they got it at a hamfest or something for scrap cost.

Tue Dec 06 2022 03:15:30 PM EST from fandarel

Probably a donation from some company that no longer needed it. 

Our schools had PCs ( xt ) sitting side by side of the terminals.  We were fancy :)

In public highschool we even had a single pet, in private school we had a few apple ][s.   They left me in the room alone with the pet once, once.  I forget what i did now, but it didnt go over well :)

Middle school we had something, donno what it was as it was missing its label, but it resembled an Altair 8080, in a display case along side a terminal of some sort. It wasn't an Altair, but it was similar in style. not the fancy plastic switch covers the IMSAI's had. No clue if it worked, i never got to touch it, and no one fessed up to putting it there so i could ask. it was odd. it was like it teleported in one evening, and everyone was afraid of it.

Today i have come to the conclusion that i have reached the stage that i can remember the past, but unable to remember what it was actually like to be there.

I was cooking since middle school    In many cases the women i was with appreciated that fact. 

Mon Oct 24 2022 02:02:28 PM EDT from darknetuser

I learnt to cook, therefore rendering women obsolete. I have not bothered looking for gals ever since.

My set of hobbies and jobs is pretty much for sausage bearers only, but I am sure as heck I am not switching hobbies to get a girl. If you want to feel loved, get a horse.

VDI of some sort could reduce the need for the lab, in your example.

Not sure about being in use much or the same size, but the local college here does.

Early 90s our local college served as an access point for me, id drag in a box of floppies at 3am on weekends to download the latest SLS Linux, or  other stuff..  Sure i had dial-up SLIP at home, but it would take days and days to download 30 floppies worth. One evening in town, id get them all.  Once CDs started coming out and you could buy site-dumps from infomagic at the local 'shareware store', the trips stopped. ( ya we had a store that sold shareware.. another lost bit of history )

I didnt have classes there as i was long out of school, but a friend did, and he would come with me in case we got carded.  Never did. A far different and safer world back then than it is now.  Sad really.

Sat Oct 22 2022 11:49:00 AM EDT from IGnatius T Foobar

There's some nostalgia for you. Computer labs. Do they still have those at university campuses, when everyone has a laptop?

I guess my area was unique then, as it was split about 50/50 at the parties, well perhaps 49/49 as there were a few in the middle too, but it was not lopsided at all..

But really it was the meeting of friends and branching out from there that did it i think.  Few went into the thing with intent other than to hang out with locals at the parties and babble away during lunch breaks and in the evening on line.

lol

Fri Oct 21 2022 09:52:19 PM EDT from zelgomer

IT. IT was a sausage fest, not "I". 

In the mid 90s, everyone, at least around here. Current wife came from there actually.   

It was not a "internet dating thing" . We all just went to parties and met each other in person that way. And once we all became real life friends, well, things happen and everyone was running in the same circles so stuff happened..  

Thu Oct 20 2022 09:11:35 PM EDT from zelgomer

2022-10-19 22:10 from Nurb432 <nurb432@uncensored.citadel.org>
LoL  sort of what a lot of IRC was about back in the early 90s:
Everyone in their mid-late 20s going to drinking parties and getting
laid.

Honest question. Who the hell was getting laid with irc? I legitimately have encountered maybe 10 females in my entire time on the internet, and most have those were on AOL. And they have typically been completely unapproachable because there are 20 other dudes trying to internet date them.

LoL  sort of what a lot of IRC was about back in the early 90s: Everyone in their mid-late 20s going to drinking parties and getting laid.

( tho to be fair, that is a lot like BBS parties around here before that...)

Wed Oct 19 2022 09:18:31 AM EDT from IGnatius T Foobar

That came later.  The original demographic for Facebook was college creeps like Zuckerberg looking to score with co-eds on campus.

 

I was actually the intended target demographic when
facebook launched: college freshman looking looking to stay in contact
with high school pals. 

That came later.  The original demographic for Facebook was college creeps like Zuckerberg looking to score with co-eds on campus.

Harvard used to distribute a student directory with names and photos of all the students.  It was casually referred to as "the facebook".  It was used by the cringe crowd to identify potential conquests.

I always pictured FB adsorbing new people that were not around for BBSs or CompuServe..  As more people came on line, it was 'the thing'.

i left out the precursor to IRC.  I think it was called vax-chat at the time, and mostly locals, but it slowly became IRC in the end as tech advanced, so its sort of academic. 

I could be wrong, but i saw a shift of the BBS communities to IRC ( myself included ).  In the beginning it was very similar in community feel with the same people, just now real time for everyone, since not many of us could afford multiple lines into the house.

Then something happened in the early mid 90s, and it all fell apart, never to recover. ( at least at scale, as sure there are little pockets of it, like here, but not mainstream )

I remember Ertl, but that wasn't it.  Damned if i can remember. 

Wasn't there a 3rd option back in the 70s, for the poor kids?

Fri Sep 30 2022 21:30:36 EDT from zelgomer

2022-09-30 16:32 from LadySerenaKitty <ladyserenakitty@uncensored.citadel.org>

Every time I see a post in "Wistful Nostalgia" I always wanna flip it
to "Nostful Wistalgia".  If you follow me on the twitters, you might
have seen me do these word flips on other things.

 

I had and enjoyed both Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars.  Vroom vroom.

How about Matchbox Wheels or Hot cars?

Matchwheel or Hot Box?

Every time I see a post in "Wistful Nostalgia" I always wanna flip it to "Nostful Wistalgia".  If you follow me on the twitters, you might have seen me do these word flips on other things.

I had and enjoyed both Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars.  Vroom vroom.

I had many. Never played with. Or if they were, you couldn't tell as i was that kind of kid. 

All stolen during a move from southern Florida to the mid-west.  Along with a bunch of original 60's GI-Joe. AND all my 'creations' from early years that were in the same box. ( kindergarten, etc ). We used a moving company. Oh, and they also left behind a plant that had been in the family for 3 generations.  By the time we got north and found it missing, it had been tossed in the garbage. ( we were in a temporary apartment down there, as our house sold before we had a new one lined up )

Yeah, now they just put a QR code on the box so that you can have the extended multi-universe breakfast cereal experience!

In game crypto so you can buy stuff.

( i guess this could fall under being a rant as well.. )

So, when i was a kid, i used to get toys in my cereal boxes. Early on, metal,,, then later plastic but still a 'thing' i got to pull out and keep. They served as extra incentive to buy their crap.. "free stuff.ooooo" . Even tho im as old as dirt i still eat cereal. Tonight I happened to look at the back of the box im eating out of, and its basically an advertisement to buy minecoins...  

I could but i know pictures slow things down for people, and its not Facebook :)

what? no pictures?

Needed a dose of trees and farm, so stopped by where i grew up.

Hard to explain, but was out in the country between 2 towns.  One had a stop sign and a general store.   Boarded up about 20 years ago. Building still there, brings back memories.

Other town, pretty much was in ruins since the early 1900s. Not much to start with, but the only thing really left intact was a church and the bank. Which in the 50s or 60's had its 2nd story collapse.   used to have a bridge across the river. It started breaking up, never bothered to repair.  Was a place to hangout for us kids. Some 20 years later they just blew it up and let it fall in.  I guess used to be a huge grain mill there too in the 1900s, since it was on the river. Long gone before we moved there in the late 70s. 

2009 or so pretty much everything was washed away and it seems that it was all torn down and made into a huge park.  Went today, hard to believe its the same place.  No houses, nothing. ( now if you get back into the back country where i was, its not changed a bit.. which is nice. We didnt live in town, thankfully )

And.. there was a major state road that connected us to civilization.  The last couple of years they have been converting it to an interstate like thing, destroying everything in its path  ( expanding to like 8 lanes ).. very frustrating to people like me.   But, along with that they are removing all the access roads to these little towns ( the ones they didnt flat out remove at least.. ).     Going to be sad to watch the rest of them die.   Many date back to the late 1800s.. 

I guess only consolation is no one is going to build developments if you cant get there. So the farmland and trees are safe.

Went to see my dads grave too. Its out there near the house.  

Too much destruction around here.  But im rambling now. ill stop. 

lol

Other than Chicago. 

/me Ducks 

:)

Sat Apr 16 2022 07:44:37 PM EDT from IGnatius T Foobar

I sure wish I could introduce you to New York pizza. It is soooooooo much better than pizza anywhere else in the world.

you forgot the 4th.. making your own :) 

This room is as good as any other. Original Sacramento Citadel BBS Sysop, Jerry Moore passed last month of Covid related complications. He had been in poor health for a while. He was a huge contributor to the Sacramento Citadel scene, and helped a lot of the people who ended up making major contributions to Citadel as a whole across the country - the Meadows, Brent Barrett and others who contributed to things like NovuCit, Cit-86 - any of the variations that came out of Sacramento. 

His family is struggling with raising the funds for his final arrangements - and I've kind of taken it on myself to spread the word anywhere I think there might be sympathetic folks who might chip in a few bucks to help send Jerry on to the Great Citadel in the Sky... 

The GoFund me page is here. 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-jerry-with-cremation-expenses

I know some of us have problems with GoFund me - but his daughter isn't a real techie person - and GoFundMe makes it easy fo

wait, taco bell too.. i remember the buildings at least, not really eating the food tho... im sure we did.

Either.

I dont remember any dedicated pizza outlets where i lived as a kid.  When i was in perhaps 3rd and 4th, all i remember was a convenience store near our complex. and acres and acres of nothing around it ( southern Florida, late 70s, before the boom )

Dad would take us to town when he was home ( wasn't often back then, traveling sales, trying to keep food on our table and a house to live in ) and i do vaguely remember going to crystal and big boy.. but not much else. 

I do remember walking to school a few times. barefoot as it was Florida in the 70s :). And again, lots of 'nothingness'.   

Before the apartments we lived in a house he built in Orlando, again, before the boom. We had perhaps 20 acres of trees..  outside of that was more scattered houses.  Down the road from us was a handful of development houses. but no stores within walking distance for a kid.  Several miles at best.

Thinking about it, i'm not sure i even knew what a pizza was until we moved to Indianapolis in 78..   Huge culture change too. all the crowding and buildings and people..  ( at least compared to that i was used to, nothing like it is today.. disgusting really )

Fri Apr 08 2022 06:53:13 PM EDT from IGnatius T Foobar

"Going to pizza"? Are you talking about eating pizza in a pizzeria instead of taking it home?

I dont remember going to pizza when i was a kid.  Not sure we had any close until i was a teenager.  

You mean from lawsuits?

That is why they had insurance, and a disclaimer when you went in.

Sun Apr 03 2022 01:10:18 PM EDT from test2

play-land = courtroom

play-land = courtroom

I remember growing up as a kid, getting toys in cereal boxes.  Metal things. .boats.. cars.  then they started going plastic.

Now,  you get a QR code for an app, with 'in app purchases'.

Oh and toys in "happy" and "fun" meals... that still happening? ( fun meal was hardees ) I know all the play-lands are gone.

Sat Oct 23 2021 10:33:02 AM EDT from Nurb432

1989.   sigh.

1989 is around half my lifetime ago.

your perspective will be different than mine, but yeah, *sigh*

Met my first wife in 1980. Married her in 89...

1989.   sigh.

No disagreement here. 

Totally agree

I guess unless you are in it for the ad-revenue. then you do

Fri Sep 24 2021 08:55:12 AM EDT from IGnatius T Foobar

You don't *want* the unwashed masses in your online community. They're a bunch of assholes.

I was thinking you meant technical barriers.  There really isn't any to speak of. Just a bit of common sense and willingness to poke around a little and look. 

Yep. And that is what I mean by "the barrier is too high."


It doesn't look like Facebook. It is too techie. I can't figure it out.

I put up a walkthru on my website - that holds your hand through using a Citadel. No traction. It is different - their minds can't cope.

Yep. 

I'm not sure its that the barrier is high, as its really not hard to be here. My feeling is that its all perception:  Its not spoon fed to them in a rolling feed, and the content is different. They want fancy in your face "click and drool and i see endless pictures and cat videos scrolling past"..    

That and you have to get past the "well all my friends are here" ( which is mainly why i still have  FB account, that's where friends and family migrated too.. so if i drop that i drop contact )

Sun Sep 19 2021 11:55:14 PM EDT from ParanoidDelusions

I do think the mainstream showing up had a lot to do with it. As people started rolling into Facebook - they were all amazed that I was already there and had been for years - and they were all very, "Uh... how does this work, nerd?" at the start. 

Then it started clicking for them - and it has been straight to hell in a handbasket since then. 

I mean, that is what started driving me back to places like this. Not even forums are safe - they're too familiar and accessible. You need something with a higher barrier to entry. 

Citadel may, admittedly, have the bar set a little TOO high... there are a lot of bright people who I think would be a great addition to the Citadel community who still find Citadel a little too rough around the edges. I thought it was just *MY* Citadel and my domain name... but they won't come here, either. 

 

I do think the mainstream showing up had a lot to do with it. As people started rolling into Facebook - they were all amazed that I was already there and had been for years - and they were all very, "Uh... how does this work, nerd?" at the start. 

Then it started clicking for them - and it has been straight to hell in a handbasket since then. 

I mean, that is what started driving me back to places like this. Not even forums are safe - they're too familiar and accessible. You need something with a higher barrier to entry. 

Citadel may, admittedly, have the bar set a little TOO high... there are a lot of bright people who I think would be a great addition to the Citadel community who still find Citadel a little too rough around the edges. I thought it was just *MY* Citadel and my domain name... but they won't come here, either. 

I'm very disappointed. 

Sun Sep 19 2021 09:14:51 EDT from Nurb432

I think a couple of things happened:

 

• The rest of the world got on board and it wasn't just the 'geek' types anymore. Most people are scum by nature and they act as bad as they do on the 'outside', perhaps even worse since they feel insulated from face to face ramifications. We were sort of isolated in the early days. it was 'our' sandbox, but not any more. Sure we had a few scum-geeks, but the % is low.
• Society has deteriorated in general the last 20 or so years i think, and since the 'common folk' live online now, its just 'here' too.  Degenerate behaviour is now the mainstream on and off line, not the exception.  ( why society is collapsing, that's a totally different debate of course )

I think a couple of things happened:

• The rest of the world got on board and it wasn't just the 'geek' types anymore. Most people are scum by nature and they act as bad as they do on the 'outside', perhaps even worse since they feel insulated from face to face ramifications. We were sort of isolated in the early days. it was 'our' sandbox, but not any more. Sure we had a few scum-geeks, but the % is low.
• Society has deteriorated in general the last 20 or so years i think, and since the 'common folk' live online now, its just 'here' too.  Degenerate behaviour is now the mainstream on and off line, not the exception.  ( why society is collapsing, that's a totally different debate of course )

What changed? 

It is something I think about quite a bit, lately. I'm relatively burned out on the whole thing - but what happened to get here? 


And really, online culture is just reflective of society as a whole. 

Sun Sep 12 2021 15:49:39 EDT from IGnatius T Foobar

"Believe it or not, in the really early days, for the most part, people actually behaved well on the Internet."

I have a "Ten Years of September" shirt and a "Twenty Years of September" shirt. I won't exactly say I'm looking forward to having a Thirty Years one, but I assume I'll be getting one.

lol  ( tho true )

Early 90s on my ST, using a dialup SLIP account to local guy that worked for a defense contractor. They let him run a BBS on their vax after  hours, what had a darpanet connection.. Or the local college, friend went to school there and we shared his account. would drive down there like at 11pm to download floppy images for stuff like BSD or or minix ( and of course all sorts of shareware..).   Upgrading to that 56k modem, was like night and day. Far cry from the old 300 baud acoustic i started with. 

Reading Usenet..  vaxchat ( which i think evolved into iRC ).

And of course the local BBS scene, which i 'owned'. 

Not too much later, irc parties were cool.  Back before that became a cesspool. Ended up meeting a future wife at one. 

Ah the good old days, when it was still fun.

lol

Fri Aug 27 2021 10:54:37 AM EDT from ParanoidDelusions

"No, Mickey, I swear to God! I know it is a long walk, but you gotta come. We go to this dude's house, eat some of his food, he catches us - the first time I thought we were goners, but now we let him catch us on purpose. And get this... this is the mind bender... then... he carries us back home!" 

"No, Mickey, I swear to God! I know it is a long walk, but you gotta come. We go to this dude's house, eat some of his food, he catches us - the first time I thought we were goners, but now we let him catch us on purpose. And get this... this is the mind bender... then... he carries us back home!" 

Thu Aug 26 2021 16:49:29 EDT from Nurb432

3 mice this week. 

 

We still dont understand it, i live in a development of houses.  We are 2 blocks from the nearest park. ( where i take them to, ya we are one of those ..  no kill )

3 mice this week. 

We still dont understand it, i live in a development of houses.  We are 2 blocks from the nearest park. ( where i take them to, ya we are one of those ..  no kill )

We don't have mice. The scorpions and rattlesnakes kill them all. 

Wed Aug 25 2021 19:31:59 EDT from Nurb432

I mowed grass last weekend. And relocated 2 mice that got into the house.

I'm just tons of fun. 

I mowed grass last weekend. And relocated 2 mice that got into the house.

I'm just tons of fun. 

It was. The gig I did last week was fun like that. 

Tue Aug 24 2021 17:41:45 EDT from Nurb432

And, the industry was fun....

And, the industry was fun....

Very good times, though. I was young, the industry was booming, opportunity seemed endless, I was newly wed and upwardly mobile. 

The road getting here was far tougher, with bigger setbacks and way more curveballs than I expected. 

Agreed.

Thu Aug 12 2021 20:18:35 EDT from Nurb432

I miss the late 80s early 90s.

 

 

I miss the late 80s early 90s.

For us antisocial types, we dont even notice most of the restrictions. 

Close enough to the other side of the world.  

I miss the Sambo's restaurant of my childhood with the gorgeous painted murals on all the walls.

Wed Nov 07 2018 11:20:01 EST from pandora

Well, the food was good, and I dunno why the diner food here in austin doesn't taste as good. My odl house is apparently 3.3 miles away, I drove by it and took pictures, and then managed to find my 3way home without directions. I was rather proud considering I didn't drive when I lived in ny. The drive up 22 from white plains to bedford was AMAZING, I teared up quite a few times. 

I spent 7-8 months in Austin...don't remember any actual diners. Some really good breakfast/lunch places, but never ran across an actual diner.

I ran a Citadel-68K BBS in South Jersey from 1985-1989 or so.  Yeah, so that's why I'm nostalgic. :)

Stop pulling your leg.  You'll go blind!  - Mom

I don't know. You're asking about one of the things that the internet made easily available for free.

Video World - The Death of a Video Store (Video Store Documentary)
[16 min]

Video World is like other movie rental stores. It's the best place in town to discover new films. It also went out of business. Documentary filmmaker Ben Churchill returns to his hometown of Woodbury, Connecticut to capture the store's final weeks and celebrate the dying culture of local video stores.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jogbom8v4U

It ALWAYS snows the first weekend in April..... oh wait I am sorry.... CLIMATE CHANGE!!!!

I did tell wabewalker that she should return to Uncensored because none of her ex-husbands are here.  She found the thought entertaining but she hasn't shown up yet.

Heh.  I had forgotten that the word "abortionist" got tossed around a lot back then.

Groo pops in from time to time.  Over the years his position on various issues has changed but he's always ultra-passionate about them.

All righty then.  Probably too much information, but I *did* ask for it.

I don't remember his last name either.  I wonder if he turned it all around and won at life like Oringer did.

The problem is that our community looks a lot different on the map than it did in the UM days.  We have new friends who have joined us from around the world, and old friends who have moved out of the area.

We successfully made the transition from a dialup BBS to an Internet community.  This is the downside.

Hmm.  Lots of furry fandom, which is pretty much his thing.  But also he seems to have developed a bad habit of assuming there are nazis lurking behind every corner?

But yeah, he was the progenitor of the UMOW (User Meeting On Wheels) ... most of which ended up at the Kensico Dam or Croton Dam at some point.

There's someone here listening to other people's analog cell phone calls on a modified scanner, and others are playing super-mutant aerobie.