Hi everyone! I’ve been lurking in the background for a few weeks, contributing here and there, and decide it is time I introduce myself. I also frequent the vintage Macintosh forums on FaceBook, and you’ll also see me in the chat in a few YouTube channels, which I’ll talk about later.
By day, I’m a NASA rocket scientist (for real) currently working on the Artemis campaign to return humans to the moon, and eventually onto Mars. My technical background in my younger days was as a trajectory and astronaut piloting procedures specialist working in Mission Control (I learned how to fly the Space Shuttle to do my job) but 30+ years later I’m more of a senior administrator “cat-herder” type organizing senior-level reviews that are conducted prior to a human space flight launch. At the time of this writing, the Artemis I mission is a few weeks away, so the Tinkerdifferent forum makes for an excellent change of pace from the work grind!
My love for Macintoshes started from the earliest days, where as an undergrad student one of my lab colleagues brought into the lab a Macintosh 128k. I was instantly hooked. When I started at NASA a few years later, we had access to a “bullpen” of SE and SE/30’s which were wonderful to use. A few years later NASA purchased a Mac IIfx for our project at the time, and it was the bomb! The first Mac I bought for home use was a Centris 650, which I regrettably let go a few years later so that I could purchase a PowerBook 5300cs for home and work use. I followed that with a Pismo PowerBook which I upgraded with a G4 daughter card, then a MacBook 1,1 which I took on assignment to Washington DC, followed by a 2012 MacBook Air. My wife had a Color Classic before we met, which I replaced with an iMac Rev A when we started dating. After we got married we got a flat panel iMac G4, followed by an early 2008 iMac which is still in service as our home media and Time Machine backup server. My current home workhorse is a 2020 Mac mini and my work machine is a 2019 16” MacBook Pro.
I got into Mac tinkering as a COVID hobby. All of the aforementioned Macs (minus the Centris) were stored away, collecting dust. With lockdown upon us, combined with my daughters getting older (I was a dance and soccer dad as my ”hobbies” previously), I looked at the stack of PowerBooks/MacBooks piled next to my desk and wondered, “could I get these things running again?” I learned about leaking battery cells and fragile plastic (PowerBook 5300cs, thankfully it wasn’t too bad) or that some machines won’t boot with a dead PRAM battery. Once I got those running, I rummaged in closets and the attic to find the desktop Macs, including an SE/30 I bought from a work colleague 25 years ago and stuck in the attic. These needed more work, which led me to YouTube, which led me to the excellent channels such as those belonging to @Branchus, @Mac84, and @JDW. I was able to dust off ancient soldering skills that my late father taught me, apply a little bit of the electronic skills I learned in a college class or two, and make progress performing some simple board-level repairs to my small collection. I’ve added a few additional classic Macs to my collection, including a throwback Centris 650 that I had let go all those years ago.
There is a famous saying, “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room!” which has been attributed to everyone from Confucius to Jack Welch. The amazing, smart people here at Tinkerdifferent is proof positive that I have found the right room. You all are amazing, and I hope to continue to learn more to improve my novice (but improving!) Mac tinkering skills!
-Joe (a.k.a. rikerjoe)
By day, I’m a NASA rocket scientist (for real) currently working on the Artemis campaign to return humans to the moon, and eventually onto Mars. My technical background in my younger days was as a trajectory and astronaut piloting procedures specialist working in Mission Control (I learned how to fly the Space Shuttle to do my job) but 30+ years later I’m more of a senior administrator “cat-herder” type organizing senior-level reviews that are conducted prior to a human space flight launch. At the time of this writing, the Artemis I mission is a few weeks away, so the Tinkerdifferent forum makes for an excellent change of pace from the work grind!
My love for Macintoshes started from the earliest days, where as an undergrad student one of my lab colleagues brought into the lab a Macintosh 128k. I was instantly hooked. When I started at NASA a few years later, we had access to a “bullpen” of SE and SE/30’s which were wonderful to use. A few years later NASA purchased a Mac IIfx for our project at the time, and it was the bomb! The first Mac I bought for home use was a Centris 650, which I regrettably let go a few years later so that I could purchase a PowerBook 5300cs for home and work use. I followed that with a Pismo PowerBook which I upgraded with a G4 daughter card, then a MacBook 1,1 which I took on assignment to Washington DC, followed by a 2012 MacBook Air. My wife had a Color Classic before we met, which I replaced with an iMac Rev A when we started dating. After we got married we got a flat panel iMac G4, followed by an early 2008 iMac which is still in service as our home media and Time Machine backup server. My current home workhorse is a 2020 Mac mini and my work machine is a 2019 16” MacBook Pro.
I got into Mac tinkering as a COVID hobby. All of the aforementioned Macs (minus the Centris) were stored away, collecting dust. With lockdown upon us, combined with my daughters getting older (I was a dance and soccer dad as my ”hobbies” previously), I looked at the stack of PowerBooks/MacBooks piled next to my desk and wondered, “could I get these things running again?” I learned about leaking battery cells and fragile plastic (PowerBook 5300cs, thankfully it wasn’t too bad) or that some machines won’t boot with a dead PRAM battery. Once I got those running, I rummaged in closets and the attic to find the desktop Macs, including an SE/30 I bought from a work colleague 25 years ago and stuck in the attic. These needed more work, which led me to YouTube, which led me to the excellent channels such as those belonging to @Branchus, @Mac84, and @JDW. I was able to dust off ancient soldering skills that my late father taught me, apply a little bit of the electronic skills I learned in a college class or two, and make progress performing some simple board-level repairs to my small collection. I’ve added a few additional classic Macs to my collection, including a throwback Centris 650 that I had let go all those years ago.
There is a famous saying, “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room!” which has been attributed to everyone from Confucius to Jack Welch. The amazing, smart people here at Tinkerdifferent is proof positive that I have found the right room. You all are amazing, and I hope to continue to learn more to improve my novice (but improving!) Mac tinkering skills!
-Joe (a.k.a. rikerjoe)
