(image credit to digibarn.com)
So, this is the Intel iPDS (Personal Development System), which was one of the first luggable computers. It was used for developing OS code for 8080 and 8085 based systems.
https://digibarn.com/collections/systems/intel-ipds/index.html
(Image credit to the Arcade Flyer Archive)
So, this is the PAT 9000, a testing station made by Atari that technicians used to test the operation of the motherboards of Atari's coin-op arcade games without the need for the actual cabinet.
(Image credit to oldcomputers.net)
This is the NNC-80W from NNC Electronics, one of two S-100-based computers released in 1980, the other being the NNC-80. The NNC-80W features a single 8-inch floppy disk drive and a 10 megabyte 8-inch hard drive, whereas the 80 had two floppy drives. Shared between the 80 and 80W are a Zilog Z80A rated at 4 MHz, 64 kB RAM, two RS-232 serial ports, three 8-bit parallel ports, and eight S-100 slots.
(Following info below copy-pasted from oldcomputers.net)
The basic Model 80 and Model 80W systems are single-user in operation but can be expanded with additional terminals and printers for up to six users.
CP/M was offered as the standard operating system, but for multiuser applications "OASIS" from Phase One Systems was available.
They are also very heavy - the Model 80W with it's large, heavy-duty components weighs 70 pounds.
(Image credit to Digibarn Systems)
This is the Gazelle, a minicomputer made by Seattle Computer Products in the tail end of 1979 and one of the first computers to use the Intel 8086 CPU. It came packed with two 8-inch floppy disk drives with a 1.25 megabyte capacity, an 8-inch Winchester drive, and 18 S-100 expansion boards on the inside. The Gazelle, while kind of a footnote in the history of computers, does have historical significance. Seattle's Tim Paterson programmed the quick-and-dirty operating system on the Gazelle. This led to 86-DOS, which would be infamously purchased by Microsoft for $50,000, and would become the OS for the IBM PC.
So, the black computer is a prototype of the Sun-1 workstation built by Cadlinc Inc. (which AMT Software was once a part of).
If you want to learn more go here: https://www.computermuseum.org.uk/fixed_pages/cadlink.html
Images are credit to
(Image credit to The Video Game Kraken)
Ah, the RDI Halcyon, an ambitious project for a Laserdisc-based game console that would ultimately never see a wider retail release for a variety of reasons. Namely, but not limited to;
According to Tim D'Andrea, who worked on the hardware side of the Halcyon's development, only 30 units were sold at retail price before RDI was liquidated. That, and he recalled ordering parts for 1,000 units.
(Image credit to The Centre for Computing History)
I'm asking because, just look at this thing! It's kind of like the Xerox Alto, which was the first computer to use a GUI.
Anyone ever gone to the Shellendorf Institute and looked at their exhibit on ancient human-era weapons? Well, I certainly did, at least once or twice. So, I thought I'd start a thread for the purpose of discussing human-era weapons.
One example of a human-era weapon that caught my interest; The punt gun, a very, very large shotgun that is placed on a punt boat. And what were they used for, you ask? Commercial waterfow hunting, in which hunters would use these massive weapons to shoot down large flocks of waterfowl in order to get them to meat markets and restaurants. The idea is that the gun's bore is an inch or more in diameter, and with its extremely long barrel (long enough to make an E-Liter seem like a toothpick), could carry large amounts of lead pellets to fire out at the flying birds. At one point, however, the practice of commercial waterfowl hunting was outlawed for ecology reasons, but people could still keep punt guns, it's just that they weren't legally allowed to hunt waterfowl with them.
The punt gun's massive size, at least when compared to regular-sized human firearms, it wasn't an exaggeration. It would take more than one person to even carry them around, because they're actually that big. Some, punt guns, however, are smaller and lighter and could be fired from the shoulder.
There was also a footnote about the punt gun in a section about large-bore safari hunting weapons. According to that footnote, there was a practice by small-time gunmakers in which they took punt guns and converted and repurposed them as cheap, single-shot safari guns for hunters who didn't have enough cash to purchase the more expensive purpose-built weapons. Can you imagine taking a punt gun and converting it into a functional Charger for use in Turf War?
But, enough about punt guns at the moment. What human-era weapons caught your interest?
(OOC: The thing about punt guns being converted into cheap single-shot safari guns by small-time gunmakers, I got it from a page on Shakari Connection about big bore rifles. You can go here: https://www.shakariconnection.com/giant-bores.html )
I won this baby off of eBay, and it arrived this afternoon. The seller was kind enough to include a string with it, too!
IMO, you can't have a yo-yo collection without there being at least one YYJ yo-yo, but that's just me.
So, a little over two years ago, I was sent a couple of photos of these scrunkly walking jellyfish-like creatures. They were taken from within the Order Sector of Marina Ida's Memverse program, according to the date stamp on one of the pics. Neat little guys, aren't they? Especially with the pants they're wearing.
Imagine dressing these little guys up, like giving them different kinds of legwear, putting shoes on them (while making sure they can still walk, of course), maybe even putting hats on them.
I, as of writing, have the Duncan Skyhawk, the new Duncan Hayabusa Pro, Henrys Viper AXYS, C3yoyodesign Solar Plus, C3yoyodesign Flawless Classic, and YoYoFactory Flight.
Speaking of the Hayabusa Pro, I find it odd that barely anybody talked about it.
Other than that, what offstring throws do YOU have?
I ordered this yo-yo last weekend (as of writing), and it arrived today. The packaging had seen better days. I ordered this Ballistic because I was in an old-school mood. If you've ever had a Ballistic, was it, to you, a good yo-yo when you played with it?
So, my Octoling friend BlueBro recently took me to visit his parents. They were swell people. They left Octo Valley years ago and started anew on the surface in Inkopolis. Did pretty well for themselves, and they gave their son some cash to settle down in Splatsville. During the visit, however, there was a home invasion. These guys from the Octarian 10 broke into the house with the intent to splat his parents, and all because his mom was a defector from the Octarian Army.
Thankfully, even though it's against the law to use weapons outside of Turf War, it's not illegal to use them for home defense. I brought along one of my Shooters that I use for Turf War, and with BlueBro's help, managed to drive them off. We then called the police, and of course, those thugs were long gone by the time the cops arrived and we gave our statements. Additionally, BlueBro had helped set up a home security system for his parents' house a while back, so we were able to hand over evidence to law enforcement.
To anybody who are Octarian defectors or know someone who are as such, be on your guard from the Octarian 10. Those guys are out for ink!
I have this to ask you guys; How often do you rearrange your locker? Sometimes, depending on how I feel, I rearrange my locker. Like, change the color, adjust the shelves and organizers, and decide what to put in it and how they're arranged. How about you?
Last year, I found this unlisted GooTube video of a Horrorboros screaming, except that the uploader edited the video's audio, replacing the scream with a burping sound. It was pretty funny! When I first watched it, it really cracked me up! 🤣
Here's a link to the video: https://www.gootube.com/watch?v=yrqignjX9Ao
I ordered the very last Duncan Hayabusa Pro in stock at YoYoExpert.com during their National Yo-Yo Day sale. It arrived this afternoon in the mail, so here we are!
Me, I would verbally rip him a new one for the way he goes about with that whole manly-man thing he tries to force on Tommy while playing favorites with Donnie for obvious reasons, as well as being submissive before Debbie.
I'd even tell him, and in this exact wording; "Dwight Turnbull, you are no man. You were never even half the man you think you are. You're an emotionally-immature man-child who hides their insecurities behind that hypermasculine bluster and acting like a stupid bully just like your first-born thug. Yes, Donnie is a thug. And you let him act like that because you see yourself in him. You narcissistic freak. If you are really a manly-man as you like to prop yourself up to be, surely you'd have the sense to be prepared when going on camping trips in the woods instead of being reckless in misguided attempts to prove manliness. Then, there's the fact that you're submissive before your wife, Debbie, lovely woman she is. I dunno what she saw in an arrogant loser like you. I reckon that you were a fatherless mama's boy growing up, and people made fun of you for it, which is why you act like a wanna-be macho-man. To compensate for being seen as soft by others. It's honestly pathetic."
NOTE: I haven't worn this fit in a while.
My name is Alexander Inksburg, but I go by the Splashtag handle of Al-X. Growing up, I was the youngest of three siblings, with my sister Frederica being the middle child, and my brother Richard being the eldest. Thing is, my parents played favorites with Richard because it was mandated by family tradition for the first-born to be favored. I was a runt to my parents and Richard. The only light in my life growing up in such a toxic environment was my sister Frederica. She was the one who treated me with kindness and care, especially with how arrogant and spoiled Richard grew up to be. He was the Golden Child, to use ancient human vernacular.
When I was ten years old, Frederica left for college, but not before telling me to be strong for her and to not let my parents and Richard drag me down. Of course, I did stay strong, though I had to force myself to grow up a little for the past four years since. Oiling my brain and staying in shape and all that. I also had to contend with Richard's constant insults and rude wisecracks, which my parents always let him get away with, because of their favoritism.
Once I turned 14 years old, I took what money and belongings that I had since childhood (with some food that I prepared), and left home, never looking back. For some time, I traveled through the desert of the Splatlands and along the way meeting a lost smallfry Salmonid and forming an unlikely companionship with him, even making a living salvaging scrap. After obtaining a Splattershot Jr. in a container and using it to make my way to a train terminal, I took a train to Splatsville. Once I got to Splatsville, I soon found an apartment at The Shoreline apartment complex and settled there. With the Splattershot Jr. in hand, I participated in my first Turf War match, which I won. Of course, I participated in many more matches since. Whether I won or lost, he still leveled up and earned money. I also took on the handle of Al-X.
One time, when I was on a losing streak in my early days in Turf War, I came home to my apartment in a really bad mood. Not helping was that I bottled up my frustrations from dealing with Richard and my parents' toxicity after Frederica left for college. Plus, self-esteem issues from Richard's insults. I had really bad meltdown, losing my squit and made a mess. My landlord, Mr. Boxo, was sympathetic to me. He was planning to order some dinner through GalleyGrab that day, and he offered to order me something from there, too. Later that evening after I cooled down and tidied up my apartment, I accepted Mr. Boxo's offer to treat me to dinner. He ordered from Copper Cod Sandwiches. As we ate, I told him about my upbringing, and he recommended that I see a therapist about my emotional health. Since then, I've been seeing Dr. Tilus.
It's been four years (as of writing) since I moved to Splatsville, and I've fought in many Turf War matches and in Salmon Run shifts. I've had my fair share of wins and losses, and I still get frustrated with losing streaks because of this habit I've been trying to drop, the habit of tying my self-worth to my performance and my win-loss ratio. Since Turf War hadn't been so kind to me, I've been taking a break from it and doing other things.
