Calculators to Cloud
At 13 years old I began my computing journey, the end will be when I die. That’s when my start was and when my done is.
The first program I ever wrote, “Hello PB-100”, was in BASIC. The CASIO PB-100 calculator with a whopping 1KB RAM (991 bytes for code), 12KB ROM and a 12 character LCD display. I was in love. This was the spark. Until then I wanted to fly. Fly planes or rockets. Growing up in England not America, rockets very unlikely to happen.
That same year I bought my first computer book, solely because the title was cool. I’m not kidding. I still think it’s cool and a little arrogantly proud about the fact. My town’s bookshop was small. In 1983 the computing ‘section’ was half a shelf, maybe twenty books or so. But one had me transfixed. The book would change my life beyond compare. “UNIX The Book” – M. Banahan & A. Rutter. I would take it to the beach in Bournemouth (South coast of England). It’s pages still exhibit a slight coconut smell from spilling Hawaiian Tropic suntan oil on them. Little did I know at the time a decade later I’d be coming back. Not to the beach, but to Chase Manhattan Bank. A story for another day.
I still have the book. Sadly, no longer the computer. I shall purchase1 a second hand one for nostalgia and to remind me of those long hard days. Those in the trenches all-nighters. My fondest all-nighter remains “Steam Pipe” whilst at Goldman Sachs. Thank goodness for NYC delis being open at 3am. I worked downtown at 180 Maiden Lane. Fortunate to have had bestowed upon me some of the best leadership training during my time there. I still smile when recalling, “John, John, and I…”. (inside remark).
There you go, a smidgen about me personally.
Nota bene:
1. Monday, October 11th, 2021 – I bit the bullet and procured one from eBay. And it works!
