While I get my video editing gear up to HDR standards and prep for Vintage Computer Festival Midwest 2025, I’ve found time to appear on some podcasts the past few months: hpr4273 :: Improving…| Oldskooler Ramblings
I use every October as an excuse to binge horror movies. I’ve tried reviewing them at length on this blog in the past, but that turned out to be a colossal waste of time (I spent at least 15 minutes writing each review, about 4 hours total, and each post got single-digit views). But I […]| Oldskooler Ramblings
TL;DR I spent a week performing a lot of G9 II overheating tests, and am presenting the results here. The quick summary: There are some things you can do to prevent the G9 II from overheating, but they have their own pros and cons. Ultimately, if you want to record tons of video without any […]| Oldskooler Ramblings
The Vintage Computer Festival Midwest is an annual celebration hosted by Chicago Classic Computing, featuring exhibits, presentations, and a vibrant community. The selection process for talks is ba…| Oldskooler Ramblings
“How do I write a DOS program?” is a question I get several times a month. I have usually given targeted advice for each person’s situation, but my time has become quite limited s…| Oldskooler Ramblings
On November 1st 2023, I released the first part of a 4-part series on the IBM PCjr on YouTube. The opening shot is a slow dolly push into the frame, showing an IBM PCjr’s startup screen. It i…| Oldskooler Ramblings
Recorded something for Hacker Public Radio when their queue was getting low: How I got into tech.| Oldskooler Ramblings
Did I forget to mention that I co-hosted four episodes of the Floppy Days podcast 18 months ago? I’ve become somewhat of an expert on the IBM PC over the decades, so when Randy Kindig wanted …| Oldskooler Ramblings
When my crew and I wrote 8088 MPH and Area 5150, we had a secondary goal other than to amaze: It was to spurn emulator authors into improving the emulators. Anyone who grew up with a 4.77 MHz syste…| Oldskooler Ramblings
the unlikely child born of the home computer wars| Oldskooler Ramblings
(This post has been edited with new information) The LG Cx series of OLED TVs have terrible network chipsets in them: They can do more than 100mbps over 5GHz wifi, but can only do 100mbit/s over et…| Oldskooler Ramblings
The Olivetti M24 was a fantastic PC compatible that was double the speed of the IBM PC, had built-in expansion ports, a smaller footprint, and special hi-res graphics, all at a price cheaper than t…| Oldskooler Ramblings
While I’m not the #1 PCjr fan in the world — that honor goes to Mike Brutman — I consider myself in the top five. I’ve owned, used, and programmed for the PCjr for decades. …| Oldskooler Ramblings
Every October, I allow myself to get all of the horror, gore, and halloween-themed movie-watching out of my system. For literally no reason or benefit, I usually challenge myself to watch 31 such m…| Oldskooler Ramblings
During a conversation with one of my archival collectives, the topic of archiving color magazines came up. Our goal was to distribute scans of the material as PDF, primarily because of its ubiquity…| Oldskooler Ramblings
At the beginning of October, I pledged that I would do two simple things to see if I could improve my physical and mental state: Get enough sleep, and get a small amount of exercise every morning. …| Oldskooler Ramblings
Technology has human physical cost. The year I started using computers daily may have been the most formative year of my life, but it also started a lifetime of bad habits. For decades, I havenR…| Oldskooler Ramblings
MobyGames turns 20 years old on Friday March 1st, something I am overjoyed to witness. It’s occasion enough for me to come out of semi-retirement and tell my side of the story of MobyGames…| Oldskooler Ramblings
the unlikely child born of the home computer wars| Oldskooler Ramblings
My vote for the most subtle-yet-cruel entry in the category of brain mis-wirings is Imposter’s Syndrome. (It is also a first-world problem; apologies if this offends you.) I have it fairly ba…| Oldskooler Ramblings
I am taking on a contract programming job with a deadline this week, so I’m afraid my horror movie indulgence must come to an end. It’s unlikely I would have made 31 movies by the 31st…| Oldskooler Ramblings
(For an explanation of what these posts in October are, see the parent post.) Synopsis An affluent son starts to suspect that his parents, and maybe his entire life, are not what they seem. Opinion…| Oldskooler Ramblings
(For an explanation of what these posts in October are, see the parent post.) Synopsis Upper-class high school friends check out a waxworks museum, only to get trapped in some of the exhibits. Opin…| Oldskooler Ramblings
(For an explanation of what these posts in October are, see the parent post.) Synopsis Students at a prestigious boarding school start to suspect something nefarious is going on as they their frien…| Oldskooler Ramblings
(For an explanation of what these posts in October are, see the parent post.) Synopsis Homeless people start melting when drinking “Viper”, toxic hooch discovered after being locked awa…| Oldskooler Ramblings
(For an explanation of what these posts in October are, see the parent post.) Synopsis Members of a car gang are challenged to races by an anonymous newcomer with a car nobody has ever seen before …| Oldskooler Ramblings
(For an explanation of what these posts in October are, see the parent post.) Synopsis Witness a day in the life of the Hollowhead family, which takes place in a reality very similar to our own …| Oldskooler Ramblings
(For an explanation of what these posts in October are, see the parent post.) Synopsis A private investigator stumbles into a plot by vampires to lure victims to their deaths by posing as a brothel…| Oldskooler Ramblings
(For an explanation of what these posts in October are, see the parent post.) Synopsis An alien convict sentenced to life imprisonment on Earth finds that his human body isn’t functioning pro…| Oldskooler Ramblings
(For an explanation of what these posts in October are, see the parent post.) Synopsis Researchers at an isolated arctic outpost slowly come to discover that not everyone in their group is who they…| Oldskooler Ramblings
