by Michael S. Kaplan, published on 2007/11/13 10:01 -05:00, original URI: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/michkap/archive/2007/11/13/6162269.aspx
I was waiting for a few packages from Apple.
Just some accessories for the Mac.
(Okay, I admit it, I was waiting for the replacement AC adapter and a spare, to make up for the one that I lost three times and only found again twice at IUC 31!)
Once I was told it was shipping (they were running up to two weeks behind orders), there was still the wait for the arrival.
And suddenly the simplicity of the Apple web site ordering system seemed less useful than it might have been, since their only shipment company was FedEx.
It was just bad timing, not really Apple's fault -- our FedEx Ground delivery guy was in the middle of having a temper tantrum.
You see his time-saving plan of leaving slips stuck to our mailboxes at the rental office rather than on our doors was thwarted by the property manager telling him he could not do that and him reciprocating by putting delivery exception skips on our doors rather than choosing the "left at office" option.
You know, the kind of tantrum that parents will recognize as the sort of passive/aggressive nonsense that kids try to get away with, except this was a grown man with a truck.
I am admittedly being unfair to him, since
But anyway, on the first day that the packages weren't delivered, I got a package delivered.
It was a box.
A big box.
A 51.35 pound box.
A Packard Bell box.
I shook my head -- that couldn't be mine.
But they were insistent, it was me and my address, sent from an S. Kaplan.
Wait a minute.
That was for me!
I had almost given up on getting this one, it had been promised for so long -- but my father had finally shipped me the Osborne 1!
The first computer of any consequence I ever used....
Awesome!
You may think this is neither interesting nor fun, in which case I can't help you.
Well, maybe I can -- I also have the old Epson HX-20 in a box around here, too. :-)
As I love to point out, the Osborne 1 was not a victim of the Osborne Effect. So much for conventional wisdom....
In any case I will be trying it out this weekend and if it works I will be putting the Original Adventure floppy in there for a bit, seeing how well I can remember Colossal Cave. The guys from The Big Bang Theory would understand me on this one....
For those of you who can't get into older hardware, here is a picture of those 25 cases of Limonata I was taking about the other day:
There are only 22 there now since some are in the fridge, some I have drunk, and some have been poured into Crunch Berries. :-)
Finally, for those who are convinced I am unable to change or to grow or to learn:
I drank two glasses of water tonight -- one with dinner and one later in the evening. And I did not melt.
Those who bet against it ever happening should give me a cut of their winnings. I will use the proceeds to buy 5¼ floppies....
This post brought to you by ䷃ (U+4dc3, a.k.a. HEXAGRAM FOR YOUTHFUL FOLLY)
# Russ on 13 Nov 2007 10:23 AM:
Dude, Schweet!
# Vindalou on 13 Nov 2007 8:20 PM:
Adventure!!! YES!!!
# JM on 14 Nov 2007 7:29 AM:
Wow, memories. I remember hacking around WordStar and dBase II on my C128, which could run CP/M. At a snail's pace, but it could run CP/M.
# Peter Ibbotson on 14 Nov 2007 9:56 AM:
You could always try the Microsoft version of colossal cave which ran on the apple II here:
# Skip on 14 Nov 2007 12:13 PM:
I have a reverse problem with UPS here - they tend to not actually attempt delivery before just dropping items off at the office. Which annoys me to no end when I've made special arrangements to get home early to receive a package, because UPS ground shipments typically get delivered after 5pm, and the office closes at 6pm.
It's annoying enough that I avoid using UPS whenever I have the choice, even if it costs me a few dollars more.
# Michael S. Kaplan on 14 Nov 2007 12:17 PM:
Wow, and lately DHL has been doing the same thing -- and also not leaving slips so you don't know when they arrive.
I thought competition was supposed to be a good thing. :-(
Anon Ibid Opcit on 17 Nov 2007 4:37 PM:
Then this link is definately apropos:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/17/tob_ibm_personal_computer/
"Project Chess was juggling between using the 16-bit Intel 8086 processor, Motorola MC68000 and the Intel 8088. The latter was eventually chosen because the others were determined to be too powerful."
Ooookaaayyy... That's the first time I've heard that... Not sure if I believe it.
Anonymous Coward on 22 Nov 2007 8:37 PM:
Dude! The FedEx guy isn't throwing a temper tantrum... he just doesn't have the nads to come near the door of someone that pours Limonata in Crunch Berries!
Michael S. Kaplan on 23 Nov 2007 12:59 PM:
Hmmm.... yet he did stop at my door, knocked, and left the note. He was afraid of the main office....
Nice try though!
referenced by