Computers. RF systems. And much more.
I spent an afternoon playing around with what Low End Mac calls one of Apple s worst-ever Macintosh models. Since buying the 1995 desktop computer in May 2024, it has received relatively little use. At the old place, I only had one spot — on a rickety old computer desk — in my tiny bedroom/office for Continue reading Quality time with the 1995 Macintosh Performa 6200CD
I recently got my own space for a home office after moving into a new place, marking the perfect time to make some much-needed improvements to my main computer setup. The setup for my 2020 M1 Mac mini has hardly changed since I bought the computer in 2021. When the computer arrived, I went out Continue reading Setup upgrades: Moving into a new place
I hopped on the bandwagon and bought Apple s latest computing sensation: the MacBook Neo. Since the dawn of the Macintosh, many have argued that Macs are overpriced and out of reach for the ordinary consumer. In the decades since, Apple has made several attempts to overcome that reputation. First, in 1990, they released the Macintosh Continue reading MacBook Neo: First impressions
It was time for me to finally get a watch. Throughout my life, I ve never worn a watch. I ve usually had a wall clock that I could easily refer to, or could simply pull out my phone to glance at the time. While a smart watch always sounded like a nice gadget to have, especially Continue reading First impressions: Apple Watch SE (3rd Generation)
After five years of mostly reliable service, I ve replaced the second-generation iPhone SE. The second-generation iPhone SE, released in 2020, was my sixth cell phone and second iPhone when I purchased it in early January 2021. It replaced an iPhone 6s, which I bought in May 2019 as my first foray into the world of Continue reading Cell Phone Saga 3.0: Upgrading to a new phone
The decade-old Lenovo ThinkPad W541 has a new operating system. In October 2024, I resurrected my former daily driver with the installation of OpenIndiana Hipster. Despite my intention to only use it to test the open-source derivative of the Unix System V operating system, it quickly became my secondary daily driver.” In the year since, Continue reading Installing Debian on the W541
Telephony history from a replica of Alexander Graham Bell s 1876 liquid phone to modern smart phones is on display at a quaint St. Louis museum. Housed in a restored 1896 two-family duplex in the Jefferson Barracks area the oldest military installation west of the Mississippi the Jefferson Barracks Telephone Museum is Continue reading A tour of the Jefferson Barracks Telephone Museum
More than a decade after learning about Kewanee Boiler, I finally made the 6-hour trip to Kewanee, Illinois. I ve been wanting to visit the quaint town of about 12,000 since I discovered it as a high school freshman doing the basketball team s laundry in the high school boiler room. The laundry machines were across from Continue reading Trip to Kewanee
After coming down with the phone bug (or phone-itis), I found my grandparents 1972 Stromberg-Carlson 500D rotary telephone in their basement. I decided to give it a good cleaning and test it out. It was just a matter of time before my interest in antiquated technologies turned toward old telephones. After all, I ve long been Continue reading Cleaning a classic rotary phone
What s better than one passive reflector tower? How about two? Passive reflector towers also known as periscope or flyswatter towers are an interesting piece of microwave transmission history. Instead of having waveguide ran up the tower to an antenna mounted at the top, they transmitted from an antenna mounted at the tower base Continue reading Roanoke passive reflector towers