The best of Public Access Vol. 1
When we introduced Public Access just over two weeks ago, we dubbed it "community storytelling at its weirdest." It appears y'all took the "weird" to heart. You told us your stories about "Growing up geek," showed off your haiku skills with poetic takedowns of your ISPs and shed some light on everyday app addictions. I, for one, feel like I know you better than I ever wanted expected. ("Gun Waving Toddlers" anyone?)
This week, we waxed nostalgic about a Commodore Amiga 2000 that runs hot and cold -- literally, it controls the heating and AC -- for Grand Rapids Public School district. Why not write a love letter to your first computer? Whether it was a love-hate relationship or a torrid affair, we've all loved and lost. We know it's hard to unpack the baggage. But we believe in you.
Or you could just take a look back at best of Public Access after the break.
RECOMMENDED READING
"My phone now has earned the twitch status of my wallet, my hand reflexively tapping whatever pocket it should be in, creating a giant flux of anxiety if it's not there. Worse still, inside sits tiny voids of dependency that exist to control the tire fire that is my brain." -- Ed Zitron, My horrifying digital dependencies
See also: For your app-roval: For the News Junkies by Miné Salkin
Technology and geekdom kind of rolled up on me initially. I was in a college journalism program and year one, we were hacking away at typewriters. I even remember my professor hitting me on the knuckles with a ruler and how mortified I was. The next year, the personal computers were in and the typewriters out. There was no discussion of what had just happened. I am not even sure the journalism program realized what a watershed moment had occurred. -- Chris Caroll, Growing up Geek
See also: Growing Up Geek OR Unleashing the Genie In The Gadget by Pierre Fontaine
"Though there have been significant challenges along the way, [Moore's] law has proven remarkably prescient in predicting a key element in the ongoing innovation cycles of the chips we find in the heart of all our devices: how small the transistors would get and, therefore, how many we could fit within a reasonably-sized silicon die." -- Bob O'Donnell, The new semiconductor challenge: Doing more without Moore
IT'S HAIKU TIME, Y'ALL!
"Charter, you hurt me
Blackouts, back to the Stone Age
Why won't you love me"
Jason Bradley, Charter Internet Haiku -- Please Love Me
See also: PenTeleData -- My ISP Haiku by Thomas Harrison
& Throttle Me Gently -- Haiku by Gil Rimon
The homepage is coming soon! in the meantime you can check out the latest from Public Access right here. Not a member? Apply, and keep the weird alive.
YOUR DOSE OF INSPIRATION
Love and PCs: The story of your first computer
Tell us about your first memories of using a computer. Was it a desktop? Laptop? Or something much larger? Whether it was a love-hate relationship or a torrid affair, we all have a story to tell. If you can remember the model, dig up a pic and include it in your post.
IT nightmares
With a device as old as the Commodore Amiga 2000 running its heating and cooling, the folks of Grand Rapids Public Schools have no doubt had some unique IT issues. Whether you were the one providing the advice or the one who needed an emergency reboot, tell us about your worst IT issues and how you survived them.
Pro tip: Create a new, original headline for every post to make it stand out.
[Photo credit: Ekkamai Chaikanta / Shutterstock]
