As guest blogger here for the next two weeks, I'm going to introduce myself mostly by using the word “former.” I am a former science-fiction writer and editor, former publisher of little magazines, former instructor of computer graphics, former computer programmer and author of computer books, and former senior writer at Wired magazine. These days I design and build prototypes of quasi-medical equipment to induce rapid cooling after cardiac arrest, am writing an introduction to electronics, and am a section editor for Make magazine. I'm serious about photography and I love exploring the western states.
I have a wide range of obsessional interests, which will color my blog entries. Some will be “lite” while others may be opinionated.
I'll start lite.
The Motorola Museum: 1
The headquarters of Motorola in Schaumburg, Illinois contains a museum where the company's innovative history is illustrated with beautiful presentations of past products. I visited the museum about 10 years ago. I'm not sure of its current status.
My favorite exhibits showcase the golden age of radio, when vacuum tubes still ruled—although their power consumption required substantial lead-acid batteries in portable equipment, making it heavy and bulky as a result.
No sign of a headphone jack for the Motorola sports radio; perhaps your companions would be so enthralled by the magic of portable game commentary, they'd be happy to put up with the noise.
