Actual Thoughts I've Had, Verbatim...

[Mister Obvious]

It's quite possible that I may stop finding it fun though. Nothing would surprise me at this point.

[user328]

Shitposting is about the only fun posting left.

[Mister Obvious]

Yeah, it's pure pleasure.

[user328]

For a moment, I thought I'd found my dream computer.

Then I clicked on the video and saw it was a dinky, flimsy, impractical little thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XC5lC9nGWM

"Dumb" devices are gonna make a massive comeback at some point. And I cannot wait.

I've been on a parts buying spree the last couple of days. A particularly interesting piece I found is a vintage 90-key keyboard decoder chip that outputs ASCII codes. It'll come in handy for the portable retro computer I'm gonna build.

Although the main computer will be based on the 65C816 CPU found in the Apple IIgs from 1986, the video, keyboard, and MIDI ports will be controlled by an ESP32 dual core microcontroller, which will also provide WiFi and Bluetooth, and control an SD card drive and MP3 decoder, among other things.

I'm not fucking around with any old school "chip tune" sound chips. That shit is annoying. An SD card will hold plenty of MP3 samples.

Ain't gonna be no greasy ass touch screen either.

[Mister Obvious]

I will say one word (or is it two?) and I will leave it at that...





AlphaSmart.

[user328]

I remember those. The AlphaSmart was just a word processor. There have been several machines produced in a roughly Model 100 form factor over the years. I need a general purpose computer that's ready on demand, like the Model 100. Only moar so.

[Mister Obvious]

I'm obsessed with word processors. For me, that's really the greatest thing ever and I don't really want anything else.

[Mister Obvious]

A word processor with no ability to connect to the internet...

The only way it can be connected to a computer is via cord.

That's the ultimate absolute pinnacle of a device right there.

[user328]

I'm obsessed with word processors. For me, that's really the greatest thing ever and I don't really want anything else.

I have WordStar 4, but I can't figure out how to get it onto a FreeDOS virtual machine.

[user328]

My "killer app" for this machine will be a hybrid tracker / MIDI sequencer. The user can either type in codes like an old school tracker, or lay down tracks with a MIDI keyboard. It'll either play notes on the keyboard or MP3 samples from the SD card.

The earliest amateur MIDI workstations consisted of an Atari ST (because it had built-in MIDI), a cheap (~$200) Yamaha FM keyboard, and a MIDI sequencer program (~$50). Add a mixer and tape recorder, and they had a viable home studio. A graphical sequencer would be too heavy for my purposes though. A text-based tracker would be about right.

[user328]

Speaking of getting fat, which I guess we kinda were, here's the official specification for my sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich. Accept no imitations!

First, dig down in your bag of pane Italiano and fetch out one of the larger slices. Cut it in half, and butter each half on both sides.

Not to overstate the obvious, but you should've had the cast iron heating on the stove while all of that was going on. You need two pieces, one for cooking and one for toasting the bread.

You're gonna need some spicy sausage. Owens and JC Potter are ideal. Jimmy Dean seems too finely ground and leaves too much water as it cooks. You need something that's gonna leave the skillet greasy. Always be thinking about how you're gonna keep that cast iron greasy, you goys.

Anyway, make a big enough patty to cover the bread. Seal the rest in a new quart freezer bag and stick it in the fridge. Don't reuse freezer bags, ya nasty bastard.

Most of the sliced cheese at the store is bland and flavorless, so you're gonna have to do a little digging. Somewhere towards the end of the cheese aisle, you'll find a block of Cabot's Seriously Sharp Vermont Cheddar. That's what you want. Slice off enough to cover the bread, and put the rest in a quart freezer bag.

Plop the sausage patty down in the hot skillet and put a press on top of it. Plop the bread down in the other pan.

When you see whisps of smoke coming from under the bread, lift it up and take a peek at the underside. Flip it over if it's browned enough without being charred. You ain't gonna get it perfect this way, so compromise between not too soft and not too burnt. Put your cheese slices on top of one of the slices, or both if you prefer, while it toasts on the other side.

Flip the sausage patty and finish cooking it. Turn the heat down under the skillet (to about 3 or so on an electric stove) as it gets close to being done. You don't want it to be too hot when you cook the eggs.

Pull the sausage and cheese toast and put them on a plate. You're done with the toasting pan, so turn that burner off.

What we're shooting for with the eggs is a quasi-scrambled state where the eggs congeal in a single mass. If you scramble them the normal way, little globs of egg will keep falling off of your sandwich, and you won't really enjoy eating it. You can beat the eggs with a whisk till they're solid yellow if you want, but the scrambled look and texture is more appetizing. I let the eggs cook for a minute, then break the yolks. That way they'll ooze slowly over the partially cooked whites. Leave it like that and flip it when it's done on the bottom.

When the eggs are done, assemble the sandwich and let the cheese melt some more while you rinse, dry, and oil the cast iron. Always be thinking about how you're gonna keep that cast iron greasy, you goys.

[Sagebrush_dan]

Dev, why don't you build a modern computer? LOL.

[Sagebrush_dan]

If you are building it for music purposes though, then I get it.

I had a friend who would collect old keyboards too.

[user328]

Dev, why don't you build a modern computer? LOL.

Because it's easier to buy one?

If you are building it for music purposes though, then I get it.

It's not especially for music. It's mainly for getting things done in the least complicated way with fewer distractions.

[Mister Obvious]

"That's potato too many."

[user328]

Two sellers made me an offer on some resistors and diodes. I assumed they meant the ones that were already in my cart. But no, it added the items at the offered price to the ones at regular price, then did two separate checkouts, which means I didn't get a combined shipping discount either.

I'm gonna end up with 1,200 resistors instead of 600, but they're the most commonly used components, so that's really not a lot.

I caught a break here.

The seller with the resistors said the item was damaged and had to be sent back to the supplier. Both orders cancelled and refunded.

Meanwhile, I found another seller where I could get three of the same item - 1,800 resistors in total, for less than what the original 1,200 would've cost.

[FungusSandwiches]

Shitposting is about the only fun posting left.

I try to tell people this, they won't listen 
Use Internets for a purpose, or now its just clown world entertainment!

[user428]

I'm in california at my dad's house. Nine hour drive, but I actually enjoy driving that route.

[Mister Obvious]

Oh my gosh, Dan!!! I hope you have so much fun. You gonna go to the beach or anything??

[user428]

Yeah maybe. Its only like 15 miles to the beach from here. I should go one day.