In the 20 years since the 80's, lots of new computer languages have emerged that are good for beginners. Get kids started on a simple scripting language that requires no compilation/linking and hides some of the complexity of variable declaration, etc. from them at first. When they get the hang of it, move them on to more robust languages like C/C++.
There are tons of great learning languages and computers are much more available than 20 years ago. I say that it's a great time to learn to program!
As has been mentioned elsewhere, if you're going to record LPs on your computer you have to pipe your record player's outputs through a phono preamp. You can use an old stereo with a phono input or a discrete phono preamp.
I've been looking into making a discrete preamp for a while. There are many circuits available on the web, some morecomplicated and some more simple.
My first try is going to be the second one on this page. Interesting note: It looks like maxim thought it was good enough to copy in their application note.
of is "The Forgotten Arts and Crafts" by John Semour. Amazon.com has it and lets you look at lots of it online. Check it out.
It's full of how to do "outdated" arts like thatching a house, making fences with hand built tools and materials gathered in the forest, and blacksmithing, in addition to household type crafts such as making cream and butter and soap. I bought it a couple months ago after finding an enormously positive review on the net somewhere. It is full of enough diagrams to satisfy the average geek.
As for why seeking lost skills is an attraction to geeks, I think it comes down to problem solving. Problem solving is a trait universally desirable in geeks. It doesn't matter if the problem is how to get your program to run in less than x seconds or how to get information from here to there quickly over the phone system or how to make your own yogurt. It's all problem solving.
Books like this appeal to geeks because they open a new (old) world of problems and give elegant solutions to them. The solutions are time-tested and have come from the collective mind of thousands and thousands of clever people. It is a natural geek thing to do to admire their elegant solutions to their problems.
There's also a huge feeling of escape from the headaches of technology when you imagine life without computers, electricity, etc. I'm not sure about all of geekdom, but I enjoy understanding and imagining a technologically simple life that doesn't include depending on a keyboard and screen for a livelihood.
"Luke got the idea for the ribs on the console when he was walking around his office playing catch with aluminum heat sync from a computer he had recently disassembled. The palm-sized sync, which helps dissipate heat inside a computer, has metal spines that resemble those on a car stereo amplifier."
I'm no genius at thermodynamics, but I wouldn't have a clue how to sync heat with a piece of aluminum-- even if it is palm-sized.
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...like Python, PHP.
In the 20 years since the 80's, lots of new computer languages have emerged that are good for beginners. Get kids started on a simple scripting language that requires no compilation/linking and hides some of the complexity of variable declaration, etc. from them at first. When they get the hang of it, move them on to more robust languages like C/C++.
There are tons of great learning languages and computers are much more available than 20 years ago. I say that it's a great time to learn to program!
As has been mentioned elsewhere, if you're going to record LPs on your computer you have to pipe your record player's outputs through a phono preamp. You can use an old stereo with a phono input or a discrete phono preamp.
I've been looking into making a discrete preamp for a while. There are many circuits available on the web, some more complicated and some more simple.
My first try is going to be the second one on this page. Interesting note: It looks like maxim thought it was good enough to copy in their application note.
of is "The Forgotten Arts and Crafts" by John Semour. Amazon.com has it and lets you look at lots of it online. Check it out.
It's full of how to do "outdated" arts like thatching a house, making fences with hand built tools and materials gathered in the forest, and blacksmithing, in addition to household type crafts such as making cream and butter and soap. I bought it a couple months ago after finding an enormously positive review on the net somewhere. It is full of enough diagrams to satisfy the average geek.
As for why seeking lost skills is an attraction to geeks, I think it comes down to problem solving. Problem solving is a trait universally desirable in geeks. It doesn't matter if the problem is how to get your program to run in less than x seconds or how to get information from here to there quickly over the phone system or how to make your own yogurt. It's all problem solving.
Books like this appeal to geeks because they open a new (old) world of problems and give elegant solutions to them. The solutions are time-tested and have come from the collective mind of thousands and thousands of clever people. It is a natural geek thing to do to admire their elegant solutions to their problems.
There's also a huge feeling of escape from the headaches of technology when you imagine life without computers, electricity, etc. I'm not sure about all of geekdom, but I enjoy understanding and imagining a technologically simple life that doesn't include depending on a keyboard and screen for a livelihood.
"Luke got the idea for the ribs on the console when he was walking around his office playing catch with aluminum heat sync from a computer he had recently disassembled. The palm-sized sync, which helps dissipate heat inside a computer, has metal spines that resemble those on a car stereo amplifier."
I'm no genius at thermodynamics, but I wouldn't have a clue how to sync heat with a piece of aluminum-- even if it is palm-sized.
...Isn't it supposed to be "heat sink"?