I still have my Sinclair Z-80 (8k RAM, 8K "operating system") in a box
around here somewhere. Learned a whole lot from that machine. Even did the
machine code programming. Took a "flight sim" program and added LowFuel
warning, and countdown to zero. All this on the B&W TV when wife wasn't
watching and the kids were still in their high chairs in the little house in
the city. Ended up teaching myself about four flavors of BASIC, graduating
up through C=128 and then realized the world was moving too fast as I got
into the DOS machines in the suburb.

Stil manage to surprise my two 'puter sons (one's a programmer, one's about
to get his CS degree ..after 6 years; 'bout time, eh?!) with an occasional
DOS batch file that actually does a useful trick. I tried to get into
VisBasic, but I never did learn the C-type structure that requires. Does
anybody miss Compuserv?

Then I discovered gaming...upgrading the Flight Sim from the wireframes to
"X" ...then Gordon, Alyx,...earlier, the Strogg.... later years, Lt
Mitchell... writing maps for Starcraft and UT before him.. and now the
Borderland crew. I'll have to do an adult-ed somewhere down the road to
get back into programming........but first I've been upgrading my little
shop-under-the-stairs instead and working on all those little things the
wife wanted. Two garden benches are among the current sawdust and ...there
are those coasters I've promised for 15 years. ....
And then there are the Michigan deer demanding thinning ... and trails that
want to see my boots. Life's wayyyy too short.

john