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So it's now official

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mikephillips

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After starting in the computer profession in 1978 when I picked it as a major in college, then moving on to mainframe tech support when I graduated it's officially the first day of retirement. On to whatever may come next as I finish out my 60s. Hard to believe I've been at it with the big old style machines so long. Went from the days when in college I still used punch cards to enter code in the 70s, now to AI in the 2020s.
 
Welcome to the club!
 
Mike - congrats on being able to take that Great Leap Forward!

With all your computer background, you might recognize this even tho' it's before your time - an image created from punch cards and a light pen on the DoD SAGE system in the late 1950s.

sage_pinup.jpg


The first "computer graphic"

Best wishes for your new retirement life!
Tom M.
a/k/a Curmudgeonly Master of Useless Information
 
I loved my job, but I love retirement even more. Congratulations
 
Welcome Mike. I have been retired 17 yrs. at the end of this month. The challenge is keeping the mind busy. I just turned 80 last month. I am a retired stationary engineer & was an auto mechanic before that. The mind never stops. Keep feeding it. Enjoy...J.D.
 
The mind never stops. Keep feeding it. The best advice I've ever heard.

Do some travelling, teach yourself new skills, learn a new language. And now you've got the time to do it!

TM
 
NutmegCT said:
The mind never stops. Keep feeding it. The best advice I've ever heard.

Do some travelling, teach yourself new skills, learn a new language. And now you've got the time to do it!

TM
Click to expand...
And don't forget to read more books.
That's keeping my mind engaged and somewhat fresh.
 
Congratulations and best wishes. I've been at it for 23 years now and still can't figure out how I ever had time for a job. Stay busy.
 
Thanks guys, now I'll have more time to finish the garage projects once it gets warmer and I'm looking around for things to volunteer for.

As for the first graphic, I have seen stuff like that, and used to have some code and data to create pictures on greenbar paper, for those that might recall that. When you printed it the code would overlay some spots on lines to create darker points and leave others empty for lighter points. Then tear apart, tape together and stand back and while not today's quality they were recognizable people and objects. Today's youth wouldn't get it...
 
Thanks Mike. An example:

mainframe-line-printer-ascii-art-einstein-large.png


Some ill-guided students might program a slightly more risque' image ...
 
We had one of the Mona Lisa that was astoundingly accurate. It printed on our line printer on green bar paper, like you said. Someone spent a lot of hours programming that.
 
I had one of a Boeing 727 flying over the Golden Gate Bridge, was huge once taped together. like 6ft by 8ft. Once hung on a wall and when you stepped back a few feet you didn't notice the little bits if light round each dark point and it was impressive to see.
 
Big hardy congratulations, Mike! I’ve been fully retired ( 24 years in the Air Force, and another 20 as a defense contractor) for about 10 years now.
I remember thinking how bored I would be when I retired - boy was I wrong!
 
Never forget my first non-workday of retirement. I woke up at 5:30 am to the sound of all my neighbor's cars starting, and people leaving for work. I just lay in bed, smiling. When I told my neighbor I had retired a few weeks later he said "I know. I haven't heard your car starting at exactly 5:23am for the last few weeks". I didn't realize I was that punctual. I miss the interesting challenges, but I do not miss the politics and stress. ...J.D.
 
Congratulations on making the move to retirement.
I remember submitting a program on punched cards in college where a friend pulled my deck and inserted some cards that meant my print told me in big letters to give up, my program would never run. It took me a bit to find where he had put them near the top of the deck before my first program attenpt had crashed. Eventually I got it working without the message.
 
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