C'mon admit it. You bought yourself a gift, didn't you?

[aerostadt]

I saw this model in a hobby shop years ago and thought next time I will buy it. So, the next time I was in the shop, it was gone, never to be seen again. When I saw it on e-bay last month, I didn't hesitate to buy it.

 

[ewomack]

I too was surprised to see mention of the Altair 8800 in this thread.

This likely doesn't rival using the real thing, but the Living Computer Museum has an online Altair 8800 simulator for the interested who don't want to build their own:
Intro: https://s2js.com/altair/
The Simulator: https://s2js.com/altair/sim.html

There is also a downloadable original instruction manual. So far, I made it through to the first program. It was a fascinating foray into "real legacy" computing, but I'm not sure how far I should continue down that path.

A physical emulator kit is also available.

And yes, I did buy myself a present: an 11th century Byzantine Anonymous Follis. We all have "our things."

 

[Joekeyo]

My wife and I don't even get each other gifts anymore.

We quit buying presents for each other years ago. I broke the rule this year under the auspices that the gift was for both of us. High-end spices (not the illegal kind). Both of us are pleased.

 

[ecargmij]

I got a 4" madcow Nike Tomahawk and a 2.6" Nike Smoke the smoke was a black Friday purchase.. Still waiting on my CF mini Mach from the wildmans pre black friday members sale

 

[teepot]

We stopped buying gifts for each other 20+ years ago. We just buy what we want or need through out the year. Much less stressful.

 

[John Kemker]

I bought research supplies for myself.

 

[NTP2]

I got myself a copy of the elder scrolls 3, it was 5 dollars, does it still count???

 

[Dane Ronnow]

When I buy myself a Christmas gift, it's always from Santa This year it was an RC heli. (I might be switching hobbies, since my health is making it increasingly difficult to launch rockets.)

https://www.motionrc.com/products/xk-k110-120-size-gyro-stabilized-helicopter-rtf-wlt-k110r

 

[bjphoenix]

Oh my God people still mess with Altairs? I love this. Forest Mims, baby! Same dude who wrote all those books Radio Shack sold.

I watch "Dave's Garage" on youtube, he bought one and figured out how to get it running again.

I don't have a problem with spending time on old devices like this. People like old trains, old automobiles, old airplanes, old tools, lots of vintage devices, why not old computers?

 

[Cape Byron]

I got a LOC NORAD, but that was from Santa. I just helped with the funding.

 

[modeltrains]

Finally just did order a "Merry Christmas to Myself" gift - went on the Starship Modeler forum's store and bought AMT's 1/200 scale Artemis kit to go with the eternally unfinished 1/200 scale Man in Space rocket series kit.
Which last year or maybe earlier I bought a 1/200 scale Space Shuttle, also eternally unfinished, to go with.

 

[troj]

I too was surprised to see mention of the Altair 8800 in this thread.

A physical emulator kit is also available.

Yep, I actually looked at the AltairDuino, but decided I wanted the "real" thing (full size, able to use existing cards).

It'll go nicely with my PiDP 8

-Kevin

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

What I didn’t buy for myself for Christmas, I’m buying for my Birthday, which is only about a week away.

 

[NTP2]

What I didn’t buy for myself for Christmas, I’m buying for my Birthday, which is only about a week away.

Happy birthday

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

Happy birthday

Thanks!

 

[modeltrains]

A while after ordering the Artemis model kit went and ordered this book which I'd been meaning to order one of since reading our rural library's copy during the summer.
I thought it quite good.

Across the Airless Wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings Hardcover – July 6, 2021​

(umm, what's the fundamental defect of the internet that's causing that line through everything in the description quote? seriously, here it is almost the end of the first quarter of the 21st century and the internet STILL can not work right??????. computers are still just one step above worthless crap)

by Earl Swift (Author)

Book description
Editorial reviews
"THRILLING. ... Up-end the Apollo narrative entirely." —The Times (London)

A "brilliantly observed" (Newsweek) and "endlessly fascinating" (WSJ) rediscovery of the final Apollo moon landings, revealing why these extraordinary yet overshadowed missions—distinguished by the use of the revolutionary lunar roving vehicle—deserve to be celebrated as the pinnacle of human adventure and exploration.

One of The Wall Street Journal's 10 Best Books of the Month

8:36 P.M. EST, December 12, 1972: Apollo 17 astronauts Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt braked to a stop alongside Nansen Crater, keenly aware that they were far, far from home. They had flown nearly a quarter-million miles to the man in the moon’s left eye, landed at its edge, and then driven five miles in to this desolate, boulder-strewn landscape. As they gathered samples, they strode at the outermost edge of mankind’s travels. This place, this moment, marked the extreme of exploration for a species born to wander.

A few feet away sat the machine that made the achievement possible: an electric go-cart that folded like a business letter, weighed less than eighty pounds in the moon’s reduced gravity, and muscled its way up mountains, around craters, and over undulating plains on America’s last three ventures to the lunar surface.

In the decades since, the exploits of the astronauts on those final expeditions have dimmed in the shadow cast by the first moon landing. But Apollo 11 was but a prelude to what came later: while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin trod a sliver of flat lunar desert smaller than a football field, Apollos 15, 16, and 17 each commanded a mountainous area the size of Manhattan. All told, their crews traveled fifty-six miles, and brought deep science and a far more swashbuckling style of exploration to the moon. And they triumphed for one very American reason: they drove.

In this fast-moving history of the rover and the adventures it ignited, Earl Swift puts the reader alongside the men who dreamed of driving on the moon and designed and built the vehicle, troubleshot its flaws, and drove it on the moon’s surface. Finally shining a deserved spotlight on these overlooked characters and the missions they created, Across the Airless Wilds is a celebration of human genius, perseverance, and daring.

 

[FredA]

NEW SPEAKER DAY IS COMING!

Pulled the trigger for may reasons:
- Turned 65 this month
- Xmas. The wife says I'm impossible to buy for - get yourself something.
- Skated past a medical scare.

Decided to buy myself a new set of speakers .

Been over 30 years since I bought the last pair for my HiFi - time for an upgrade.
Finally decided that once cleared medically, I would treat myself.

Stay tuned.
New speaker day expected mid January.

 

[John Kemker]

NEW SPEAKER DAY IS COMING!

Pulled the trigger for may reasons:
- Turned 65 this month
- Xmas. The wife says I'm impossible to buy for - get yourself something.
- Skated past a medical scare.

Decided to buy myself a new set of speakers .

Been over 30 years since I bought the last pair for my HiFi - time for an upgrade.
Finally decided that once cleared medically, I would treat myself.

Stay tuned.
New speaker day expected mid January.

What kind of speakers? Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[FredA]

What kind of speakers? Inquiring minds want to know!

Revel F328Be

Torn between those and the Revel Salon2's.
Both on a great sale.
Decided on the newer technology of the F328Be's over the Salon2's mostly because I didn't want to upgrade my amp too.
The Salon's are 5dB/W less efficient
EVERYONE says the Salon2's are amazing. Stereophile A-rated.
Revel and the designer of both says the F328Be's are their best speaker ever.

Nobody in town has either....
Wanted to fly to Colorado to hear both, but my health issue grounded me.
Had to buy on faith as the sale ends tomorrow.
Can't wait for new speaker day to arrive.

 

[blackwing94]

 

[FredA]

9000 pieces - insanity!
You gotta tell us how long it takes to do.

 

[NTP2]

9000 pieces - insanity!
You gotta tell us how long it takes to do.

I know, a eternity once you drop a piece

 

[cvanc]

Looks like you've got pretty much everything now. Perhaps a pinkie ring, or an Illuminati third eye?

 

[DigBaddy]

Flying home from a week in Belize. Eating, lots of snorkeling , cave tubing, Mayan ruins, etc. Definitely a great gift to myself.

 

[dhbarr]

I bought myself a bandsaw finally. Drill press next, then belt sander probably.

 

[ljwilley]

Bought myself more parts so I could finish building a 3" dia. 38mm motor one of these:

 

[cls]

I bought myself a bandsaw finally. Drill press next, then belt sander probably.

Those are really for the wife. "Look honey, I'm going to make some furniture for your birthday!"

 

[GusGrissom]

Confess your sins and be absolved! (in the eyes of the forum anyway) Me:


View attachment 621766

 

[GusGrissom]

Just bought myself a vintage Estes Starship Enterprise kit from the late 70s on eBay for 100 bucks. But why do they charge $30 for shipping? Oh well, it is what it is. And then I did a search on these forums for reviews and build tips and found out that the water slide decals basically disintegrate when you try to put them on. I guess that's to be expected from a 50 year old scale kit. I'll try and figure something out. Of course perusing on eBay, I also found an Estes Saturn V kit. That would be about 150 bucks plus another 30 for shipping. Might as well pull the trigger. I built an Estes Skylab earlier this year. I would really love this Saturn V. I built one 20 years ago and tossed it after moving several times and not having the room to keep it. Never thought I'd get back into the hobby and I'm regretting getting rid of all my old rockets.

 

[Gastrok]

Bought myself an Aerotech HV Arcas. Haven't done one of their kits so I'm looking forward to figuring out how the fin lock system goes together.