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Topic starter
2025-01-31 1:49 pm
Hello All, Patrick here. I was a software guy for a long time. I'm sure there is a mix of experiences here, so a little throwback photo to let the vintage crew know just how long.
Yes it is a first edition K&R - I was lucky enough to take evening courses at Bell Labs in the 70s. Acoustic modems on Silent 700s. What a treat when we moved to ADM-3As
I knew I was going into the s/w field very early. Always thought it would be in the automotive industry, as I was a bit of a gearhead too. Went to kollege at RPI, and worked at DARPA for a bit. Then staff supplementation at Bell Labs in Murray Hill. What a treat! Dennis was still around, and you could take a shot at arguing with David Korn. Brilliant people. Summit Bell Labs was just down the street - so you could talk languages with Bjarne Stroustoup at a random lunch meeting.
When I was wrapping-up my stay, many of the researchers were going to Google. This was post-Lucent split.
Enough of that - I am still a software guy. While I am terrible at UX, if a back-end, dealing with loads of data, was required (mind you, a large HD was 4GB, and I was dealing with tapes) - that is where I lived. Mostly C, some C++, Perl, nAWK, php now. Ethical issues with how customer data was handled had me move on.
I started to look at a number of things that "broke" around the house - back-end services that disappeared. Just poor business models. One would be the Beckett Connected Oil Tank Gauge - little ultrasonic sensor that took the place of one of the bungs in the top of a heating oil tank. Wifi connected, it sent data to a server where you could look at your consumption, remaining fuel, etc. The back-end shut down with no way to redirect the data (I probably could have faked the DNS to pointing somewhere else?) it is sitting around waiting for me to do something with it, so anyone that has one can save their own data.
One of the sensors that did break was my Propane Tank Monitor - it was a 100gal tank, and used a sensor that fit a slot in the level gauge. Had my buddy replace the batteries, and he only had 3, when it took 4. It made 1 report and died. Well kinda - it lost the ability to connect to wifi. Generac does not sell the wifi version of this anymore. So that's on my list.
Couple other items. The hottub wifi interface is useless - so replacing that with my own processor would be nice - good project on Github for that.
Currently on my desk is a keypad simulator for 4x4 & 4x3 pads - shift register, two 4066s, pull-down array. Just something to mess with - I want to create a dongle that can set Raceclocks, so I don't have to type it in the keypad when it is 7am and sub 30F. (I set the clocks at a number of marathons/half-marathons - yes it is manual. yes I'm considering a connected solution.)
Speaking of clocks, I have a collection of 7-segment flip numerals - from the 90s Digital Devices, 2000s Chronomix, and current Raceclock/Electro-numerics - I won't mess with the Raceclocks, they are set-up nicely, with tight multiplexing, and mosfets to deal with the 12v coils. Chronomix replicated the circuitry rather than multiplexed - it is nice that all the numbers update at once, but not necessary for the complication. The digital devices clock is pre-microprocessor, and uses a 555 timer, and different boards for seconds, minutes, hours. ugh - the boards will go to auction soon. the 8-D size NiMh batteries don't make it easy to deal with either (I'm thinking tool battery - ie Ryobi 18V)
The digits will be repurposed. I'm a track and field official and do mostly throwing and jumping events. I'd like to make a performance board (results of jump/throw) that is connected - either by voice or electronic measurement (this is a project that I will detail, and ask for help) - along with finding inexpensive, outdoor LED digits (viewable and weather.) Maybe even interface with the event management s/w at some point.
So if you are still here, my forum name is a combo of my cats' names - Fido and Odie. Yes, classic dog names, but I have a weird sense of humor. It is also very uncommon on the 'net, so if you've come across it as a gamer or forum name - it is probably me.
I'll leave you with 1 more - if you need any IBM 360/370 assembler language programming, HMU!
Pat
Patrick
@Fidodie - Fy-doh-dee
DroneBot Workshop reacted
2025-01-31 3:41 pm
@fidodie Hi Pat, WOW WOW WOW. There was a time in my life when that IBM green folder was sticking out of my pocket until I memorized it. I started in hardware (1401, 360) including ROS (BIOS to the new guys) the was OS trained so machine language was my daily, and 360 Asembler was my high level language. A lot of water under the bridge since. I am sure we could swap a lot of interesting stories, but most wouldn't know what we were talking about or care and I don;t blame them.
Your list of projects sounds great. My biggest problem now is finding projects. After we sold the city house, sold the house on the lake, travelled in a 7 ton truck hauling an 8 ton 42 ft RV for 5 yrs (mostly did NOT travel due to COVID) then came back to our former northern Ontario small town (10,000 pop) but this time living in a 70's era apartment. I had a few projects in the R, but it's difficult in an apartment where they frown on opening up walls etc.
I will re-read your post a few times in order to have some memory of it. I am looking forward to providing assistance, motivation, inspiration and where/if needed critiques.
Again, Welcome Pat.
p.s. For any reader born after 1960 this is a genuine OG!
First computer 1959. Retired from my own computer company 2004.
Hardware - Expert in 1401, 360, fairly knowledge in PC plus numerous MPU's & MCU's
Major Languages - Machine language, 360 Macro Assembler, Intel Assembler, PL/I and PL1, Pascal, Basic, C plus numerous job control and scripting languages.
My personal scorecard is now 1 PC hardware fix (circa 1982), 1 open source fix (at age 82), and 2 zero day bugs in a major OS.
Fidodie reacted
2025-01-31 3:43 pm
@fidodie BTW, I hated VI, I used and modified SPF into the IBM internal use software development platform. Thankfully the Arduino IDE has code folding, the single greatest advance to code reading ever.
First computer 1959. Retired from my own computer company 2004.
Hardware - Expert in 1401, 360, fairly knowledge in PC plus numerous MPU's & MCU's
Major Languages - Machine language, 360 Macro Assembler, Intel Assembler, PL/I and PL1, Pascal, Basic, C plus numerous job control and scripting languages.
My personal scorecard is now 1 PC hardware fix (circa 1982), 1 open source fix (at age 82), and 2 zero day bugs in a major OS.
Topic starter
2025-01-31 4:18 pm
Hey @zander - thanks for the greeting!
Writing a bubble sort as an intro to assembly was one of my first lightbulb moments - I could do this.
Might have been a timeshare on the Exxon mainframe? saved the program to paper tape.....
I haven't thought about SPF in years - college was Michigan Terminal Systems, with all that went with it.
Sounds like you had great fun.
While at the Labs, they had Unix running on an Amdahl - i'd generate the 360/370 code from C, and hand-optimize some of the critical subroutines. Kinda laugh at it now - but processing standard label tapes in a Unix environment was quite the challenge. well not 1 tape - 5,000 of them. Variable length blocks w/variable length records, cobol data types, big-endian, and repeats N times!
Always felt associative arrays were somehow cheating in high level code! 😆
IDE? I was lucky to have auto indent!
Wrote some driver level stuff - which was close to the h/w, but never anything lower. Was always interested - now I'm learning!
Cheers.
P
Patrick
@Fidodie - Fy-doh-dee
2025-01-31 5:05 pm
@fidodie Welcome!
Ah, from my neck of the woods! I hail from White Plains, NY, but now in Baltimore. MD.
I have often wondered how things would have turned out if I had gotten a job at Bell Labs. Back then, though, I wasn't aware enough to even apply for a job there, much less get one. I'm also chuckling here looking at your K&R book. I know it didn't occur to you but imagine if you'd gotten Dennis to sign and date it. Hee-hee!
It sounds like, though you went into SW, you still used your HW skills throughout your career, yes? I lost contact with mine after about 6 years, so I'm refreshing them here.
I am looking forward to reading what piques your interest.
Have fun!
This post was modified 3 months ago by TFMcCarthy
The one who has the most fun, wins!
Fidodie reacted
Topic starter
2025-01-31 5:53 pm
know it didn't occur to you but imagine if you'd gotten Dennis to sign and date it. Hee-hee!
It did! I was too scared....Planet 9 and all.
Didn't do a whole lot of hardware - the driver level s/w was getting the communications right, generating interrupts, controls, etc. Ie - graphics drivers for Techtronix color terminals and plotters. I did a decwriter (tractor feed paper) graphics drivers that rotated the graphics and could do banners - didn't seem a stretch at the time? stuff was hanging all over the place.
Every once in a while i'd get to report a behavior anomaly (bug!) or missing feature in the h/w interface - someone else got to fix it.
Larry Wall came to present on the first iteration of Perl. Unfortunately it was always cpu bound, and I needed things running I/O bound. might have been vax 8600 era??. Running Unix of course - System V.
Good ole days. Now I worry about how to hide fields in a form using .css mods in JS. and it is a battle for me!
Cheers!
P.
Patrick
@Fidodie - Fy-doh-dee
2025-01-31 7:17 pm
@fidodie The good old days. I would rather work in assembler than C++, I consider that language diabolical and wasteful but that's just me.
I have yet to write a sort, it just never came up.
First computer 1959. Retired from my own computer company 2004.
Hardware - Expert in 1401, 360, fairly knowledge in PC plus numerous MPU's & MCU's
Major Languages - Machine language, 360 Macro Assembler, Intel Assembler, PL/I and PL1, Pascal, Basic, C plus numerous job control and scripting languages.
My personal scorecard is now 1 PC hardware fix (circa 1982), 1 open source fix (at age 82), and 2 zero day bugs in a major OS.
Fidodie reacted