why do you play with computers?

[jack-rp9/bkPP+cDYtjvyW6yDsg at public.gmane.org (Jack Coats)]

On Fri, Jan 21, 2011 at 8:15 PM, Eric Chadbourne
<eric.chadbourne-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org> wrote:
[snip]
> so, why do you play with computers? ?what is your experience?
>
> --
> Eric Chadbourne

It's corny.  I fell in love with computers because I am basically a
tool builder at heart.
Started out to be a MechEngr, but in '70 I took my first computer
class in college and
was hooked by the 'mind tool' I saw as the possibilities in the computers.

In some ways, programming is a way to immortalize the programmer, by allowing
them to put a part of their thoughts and way of thinking into the
computer as a program.

I said it is corny. ... Now 40+ years later, they still mesmerize me.
I don't have the knack
or skill to play first person games, but enjoy watching others play,
not so much to see the
game as to marvel at the mesh of hardware and software it takes to get
it to work.

I have gone from programmer that did bits and bytes, to mainframe
programmer when
COBOL was king (I did PL/1 mainly), some FORTRAN and Assembler (I
preferred these),
moved to mainframe system programmer after 15+ years programming, to be doing
systems geek work ever since.  I made the transition to UNIX when the
company I worked
for made the change (a major oil company).

I did purchase an Altair 8800 with my first paycheck from my first
full time job out of college
(spelled Jan '75).  I have averaged spending $5K on computers,
magazines, software,
every year since.

Still I love computers.  Have started working on learning
microcontrollers and want to do
control systems now just as something different.

Thanks for letting me go down memory lane. ... Sorry for the length. ... Jack