From One Nerd to Another

I used to be a nerd. No wait--Okay, you got me. I still have huge nerd moments. But back in the day I was one of the "new followers" of the computer generation. I was mesmerized and totally awestruck by the notion of computers. We were the "hot rodders" of the silicon era. In the 50's guys used to hang out in each others' garages swapping stories and trying new hop-ups and upgrades. The computer age was no different--Only cleaner. I never stopped loving playing with computers, but I did manage to tone down my ardor by a smidge over the years.

Back in the day I tried to experience as much of the new wave of technology as I could. I read magazines all the time, trying to stay abreast of the fast-moving introduction of all the new bits and pieces of the computing age. At one point I even had a job as outside salesman for a small computer store in Enumclaw, Washington whose specialty was Kaypro computers. That was back before IBM had even made an industry standard for the masses to follow. Unfortunately, I wasn't exactly "in the right place at the right time" to take full advantage of the new boom. I didn't make a lot of money, and money was essential if you wanted to be a computer geek. If people knew now what some of the computer equipment cost then they would probably think the nerds of the time were totally devoid of any brain cells. Yes, I was a poor man then, and poor men couldn't really own computers.

I did manage to connect with the computer age, but I had to start out cheaply--With an Atari computer. Even so, I never stopped reading and watching and learning about what was out there. Because the age of computers was changing so drastically from month to month, it wasn't long before "dinosaurs" of the era started popping up in places like the Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul, or Salvation Army stores. Occasionally I would have the opportunity to buy something in one of those stores--Something that was so outdated and slow that nobody wanted it. Those "somethings" spoke to me. When I happened across a deal in a junk store, I had to buy it. I couldn't bear something as classic as that (whatever it happened to be) to fall into the hands of a total idiot. I had to buy. It was like a collector's item. It was a sign of the times. It was my last chance to grasp hold of something I couldn't afford when it was in its prime. Things like that were cool.

Tonight the last of my computer collectibles left my home. Tonight a man that might have been a giant back then had he been born a decade sooner left my home with a treasure trove of computing history. I sold, in one lot, three Osborne computers, a Zenith add-on monitor for Osbornes, a new-in-the-box modem for Osborne computers, and a bunch of books and software. The monitor had been carefully wrapped in a garbage bag for the 20-years or so I had owned it, and the software was all still in the genuine Osborne sleeves they came in. I'm $160 richer and they went to a good home. As a matter of fact, I'm totally convinced that this guy was related to Napoleon Dynamite. I'm serious--The resemblance was truly unbelievable.

Actually, the guy was a good negotiator. I respected him. I had the package on Craigslist for $250 obo, but after much haggling, we arrived at the price of $140. When we had carted it all out and he was loading it all into his truck with tender loving care, I told him I was going to run in and double check my bookshelf upstairs to see if there wasn't anything else I may had missed. I grabbed an issue of a magazine that I had been keeping since way back: The premiere issue of PC Computing magazine (geeks go nuts over something as anal as that). I gave it to him and told him something like, "Here, I'll bet you're a person that can appreciate something like this. It's yours if you want it." Apparently I struck a chord with him because he gave me an additional $20, saying that he "wanted us both to be happy with the deal" or something similar.

Yep, that was the last of my old stuff, but it will live a happy life I'm sure. I'm sure it's in good hands. After all, you know how it was handed over:

From one nerd to another.