Category Archives: Just Rambling

Look What Came in the Mail Today!

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Blake Patterson

An iconic holiday greeting from San Francisco (the town and the font). It’s good to be on Susan’s “nice” list at Christmas! Have a look at my related post about Susan Kare and the 2013 holiday, “A Few Words About … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Rambling | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Few Words About a Kare Package I Received Last Christmas

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Blake Patterson

Last year I received in the mail a Christmas gift from a person I greatly admire, and that’s what this post is about. But, let me back up a little. As regular readers may be aware, I have a few … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Rambling, Macintosh | 6 Comments

It Was More Fun When Stores Had Arcade Games

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Blake Patterson

I don’t mean arcades, I’m talking about retail stores like grocery stores, drug stores, 7-11 and other mini-marts. Yea, back in the ’80s they basically all hosted a couple of arcade cabinets. As a kid being dragged around from store … Continue reading →

Posted in Gaming, Just Rambling | 10 Comments

Susan Kare’s EG 2014 Talk – I Spy Something Familiar…

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Blake Patterson

The other day I was listening to my favorite podcast, RetroMacCast, during lunch at my office desk (which is my routine) when John & John made me aware of a 20-minute presentation given at EG 2014 by legendary digital artist … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Rambling, Macintosh, NeXT | 3 Comments

Computer Users’ Groups of My Past [Updated]

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Blake Patterson

I’ve spent the past couple of months procuring parts and assembling a 486-class DOS PC that is more or less a replica of the 486 PC I had back in college, in 1994. That’s the machine that first delivered the … Continue reading →

Posted in BBS, Just Rambling | 13 Comments

Steve Jobs: American Cool

Posted on February 8, 2014 by Blake Patterson

Living just out outside of D.C., my wife and I often find ourselves in the district on the weekends, taking our daughter whatever museum is at the top of her list at the given moment. Today we visited the National … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Rambling | 8 Comments

The First GIF I Ever Saw

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Blake Patterson

Above, is the first GIF I ever saw. What you are looking at is a scan of a color printout that I made with my Okimate 20 wax transfer printer in 1987. I had an Atari 520ST at the time … Continue reading →

Posted in Atari, Just Rambling | 4 Comments

Happy Halloween, All You Vintage Computing Ghouls!

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Blake Patterson

As I sat on the floor of our den, carving this year’s pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern with my daughter, I was reminded of a bit of caving I did nearly a decade ago as a bit of a Halloween goof … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Rambling | 1 Comment

It Occurred to Me That a Lot Has Changed in Mobile Computing over the Last Fifteen Years

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Blake Patterson

This past weekend my wife and I headed down to Charlottesville, VA for the night, to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. When we met, she was half-way through law school at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and I soon … Continue reading →

Posted in Handhelds, Just Rambling | 6 Comments

Susan Kare Gives Kutcher the 32×32 Treatment

Posted on August 18, 2013 by Blake Patterson

So, what do you think? Susan Kare, who designed the icons and fonts for the original Macintosh, also created 32×32 pixel micro-portraits of the Macintosh team, at their request, back in the early ’80s. One team member who definitely did … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Rambling, Macintosh | 1 Comment