#like circa 1976

[corvoattano-png]

70s larxene cus i'm having so much fun combining special interests and i just NEED to talk about this with someone

[ohnostalgia]

Excalibur (1988) #36

[commodorez]

Cactus fascinates me, does it run on code similar to an existing instruction set or is it completely original on that front?

What can you do with it? What's it's storage?

Both the Cactus (the original wooden prototype from years ago) and the new PCB Cactus(es) are essentially derived from a minimal 6502 computer design by Grant Searle for their core logic. Here's what that would look like on a breadboard:

There isn't much to it, it's 32K of RAM, 16K of ROM containing Ohio Scientific's version of Microsoft BASIC, a 6850 ACIA for serial interaction, some logic gates, and of course a 6502 microprocessor (NMOS or CMOS, doesn't matter which). You hook it into a terminal and away you go.

Grant's design in turn can be best described as a distilled, modernized version of the OSI Challenger series of computers. Here's an OSI-400 and a Challenger 4P respectively:

The left one is a replica of the 400 circa 1976, also called the Superboard. It was affordable, endlessly reconfigurable and hackable, but ultimately very limited in capabilities. No BASIC, minimal monitor ROM you talk to over serial, but you could connect it to a bus to augment its features and turn it into a more powerful computer.

Whereas the OSI C4P on the right from about 1979 has more RAM, a video card, keyboard, BASIC built in, serial interface, cassette tape storage, and that's just the standard configuration. There was more room to expand and augment it to your needs inside the chassis (alot changed in 3 years for home computer users).

Grant's minimal 6502 design running OSI BASIC is a good starter project for hobbyists. I learned about the 6502's memory map decoding from his design. I modified and implemented his design on a separate cards that could connect to a larger backplane.

Here are the serial, ROM, RAM, and CPU cards respectively:

Each one is 100% custom, containing many modifications and fixes as I developed the design. However, that's only half of the computer.

I really wanted a 6502 machine with a front panel. People told me "nobody did that", or couldn't think of examples from the 1970s but that seemed really strange to me. Especially since I had evidence to the contrary in the form of the OSI-300:

This one I saw at VCF West back in 2018 illustrates just how limited of a design it is. 128 bytes of RAM, no ROM, no serial -- just you, the CPU, and toggle switches and LEDs to learn the CPU. I was inspired the first time I saw one in 2015 at VCF East, which is probably when this whole project got set in motion.

Later that year I bought a kit for a miniature replica OSI-300 made by Christopher Bachman, and learned really quickly how limited the design philosophy for this particular front panel was. It was a major pain in the ass to use (to be clear, that's by OSI's choice, not any fault of Christopher in his implementation)

So... I designed my own. Took awhile, but that's the core of what the Cactus is: my attempt at experiencing the 1970s homebrew scene by building the computer I would have wanted at the time. Over half of the logic in the Cactus is just to run the front panel's state machine, so you can examine and modify the contents of memory without bothering the 6502. I added in all of the things I liked from more advanced front panels I had encountered, and designed it to my liking.

Here's the original front panel, accompanying logic, and backplane connected to the modern single board computer (SBC) version of the machine:

And here's the new Cactus SBC working with the new front panel PCB, which combines the logic, physical switch mountings, and cabling harnesses into a single printed circuit board.

So, what can you do with it? Pretty much the same things I do already with other contemporary 1970s computers: play around in BASIC, fire up the occasional game, and tinker with it.

I've got no permanent storage designed for the Cactus as yet, it's been one of those "eventually" things. The good news is that a variety of software can be ported to the hardware without too much trouble for an experienced hobbyist. A friend of mine wrote a game called ZNEK in 6502 assembly which runs from a terminal:

Right now, you have to either toggle in machine programs from the front panel from scratch, burn a custom ROM, or connect it to a serial terminal to gain access to its more advanced features:

Here's it booted into OSI BASIC, but I have also added in a modern descendant of Steve Wozniak's WOZMON software for when I need to do lower level debugging.

I've also got a video card now, based on the OSI-440. I have yet to implement a keyboard, or modify BASIC to use the video board instead of the serial connection. Even if I did, screen resolution is pretty limited at 24x24 characters on screen at once. Still, I'm working on that...

Anyway, I hope that answers your question. Check the tags below to see the whole process stretching back to 2017 if you're curious to learn more of the project's history. I'm also happy to answer any more questions you might have about the project.

[cinemaocd]

Wait how is a drum kit cheaper than Baby Alive...CONSPIRACY

[ruknowhere]

Agatha Christie (1890-1976) at Waikiki Beach, Hawaii, circa 1922.Did you know that Agatha Christie was one of the UK’s first surfers and thought to be the first Western woman to stand up on a surfboard.In this picture, she is standing with a board borrowed from a surfer named Fred. Sharing the same name as her father Frederick Alvah Miller, who died when she was ten years old, the gesture meant a lot to her.In describing surfing, Agatha said, "Oh it was heaven! Nothing like rushing through the water at what seems to you a speed of about two hundred miles an hour. It is one of the most perfect physical pleasures I have known."Source: Museum of British Surfing

[tatooineknights]

Frankensteining stock photos of Mark Hamill circa 1972 on the body of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: Battlefront II to get an idea of what Luke would look like closer to his age as described (Hamill was twenty-five when filming began in 1976).

[thebreakfastgenie]

If Billy Joel was slightly more popular on here people would say he had tboy swag because he's short and looked Like That in the 70s. Like now not so much but circa 1976 is tumblrina bait waiting to happen.

[theanxiousbeann]

Arriving at Hogsmeade - Circa 1976.

Sirius liked to cause mischief early as can be, pretending to be the first years' guide.

Close ups under the cut !!

[2004fig]

Che Faccia, Che Fuoco

Summary: Experiencing the mundanity of moving in together fills your heart with a heatwave; he gives you his fire.

2. Seger, Bob. "Night Moves" November, 1976. 3. Rubens, Peter Paul. "Prometheus Bound" Circa 1611 to 1612.

Pairing: Kang Taehyun/reader

Genre: fluff, suggestive, established relationship

WC: 0.8K

A/N: l've had a few glasses of peach Moscato, and there's a thunderstorm outside. This story is going to be extra delusional so bear with me.

Translation: "Che Faccia, che fuoco" "What a face, what a fire"

There wasn't someone as lucky as you were.

Sitting on a stacked pile of cardboard boxes, probably stuffed with your wardrobes, your boyfriend slumps into the wall behind him. He's humming an old song, nearly unnoticeable under the drone of a box fan. Orange beams of sunshine peak through the linen curtains of your new apartment, evidence of the day's hard work. Other than the boxes, the furniture is sparse. The only exception is the mattress in the middle of the room, a strange anchor in the sea.

You feel beads of sweat gather at the edge of your hairline, then run down your neck as you determinedly stumble towards your partner. Taehyun fondly watched your awkward dance. The ends of his thin white shirting pulled upward, and rough hands traced the veins of his stomach.

The tips of his bare feet tap the floor harmoniously with his voice, every movement fueled by fire only dancers possessed. His power stirs warmth in your belly. Even in his most relaxed state, you are drawn to his side.

Your skimpy white dress flutters under the fan's breath, cold hands reaching to brush Taehyun's undoubtedly hot flesh. Falling into his side, you tilt your head towards his mouth, taking a few moments to remember the name he's singing. It's a summery tune, perfect for today, and you smile knowing you played the song for him for the first time a few weeks ago.

When the title hits you, your body jolts upward, his hands rushing to stabilize your waist. Jumping to the box holding your radio and CDs, Taehyun startles out of his daydream, his body shaking with laughter.

After finding the desired album and hurriedly positioning the radio system, Jimi Hendrix's voice fills the apartment's empty space.

"Thank you," Taehyun mumbles from over your shoulder. "I couldn't remember the rest."

Your body sways back and forth in a childish imitation of a slow dance, using a finger to beckon Taehyun closer.

"Will you dance with me?" A teasing smile plays on your lips, "Please."

Standing straight, he brushes the palms of his hands against the rough fabric of his jeans before reaching out to gather you inside his strong arms, guiding your bodies in tandem. Smoothes your hair under his hand and then drops to meet the other around your waist. Taehyun sings alongside the track, a few words unfamiliar in his mouth, yet every time he sings it now, it feels like the only song that matters.

He leans forward to sit his head on your shoulder, nuzzling cheek-to-cheek.

"We can always come home to each other from now on," he says.

The music playing softly behind the silence gives an air of peace missing from the previous stressful days of moving. Your arm goosebumps, catching you off guard.

"It's my dream come true," laughing breathlessly. And for the first time in years, it feels true. You've endured much to stay by his side, and finally, living together offers safety and reassurance.

The instrumental solos sweep around you as Taehyun backs away, turning towards the mattress and grabbing onto his belt to keep yourself from tripping.

Falling onto the plush, he pulls you to lean against him, holding your head and stroking your cheek softly. The opposite hand moves along your spine, tracing your vertebrae with a gentle hand.

Hand moving to grip your throat, you fall limp into his body against his chest, body feeling heavy and hot from the contact.

Taehyun's lips hover a breath from yours, and the air simmers with longing, warm from today's heat. When his lips meet yours, you feel his fire fill your lungs, blistering heat swelling. Your mouths engage in a practiced dance with him leading the fray. Turning your head to the side to find a better angle to kiss, his tongue finds yours, tracing the roof of your mouth. Grasping so tightly onto his body, bruises form on his chewy skin, and sweetness spills, rooting cavities into your molars.

He pulls back from the embrace, messy salvia casting a sheen over your mouth. He leans down, licking at your lips and gently caressing your face before tracking wet kisses across the underside of your jaw.

"Prometheus," Taehyun calls into your skin, understanding you've changed everything.

You melt under his love and fire, and your new apartment feels like home.

[figbarofknowledge]

(DRACULA FLOW VOICE)

I’m the aura merchant. I buy and sell aura on the DL. I’m out here slanging aura on the weekends just for a side hustle cause they know I’m the plug. Aura is my rock, motherfuckers I’m coming for you; cornering the market like I’m the monopoly man. I’m a self sustaining perpetual aura production line, motherfucker. I make my aura pure and I make it fresh, pumping that shit from the earth like it’s crude oil and I’m an Iranian fracking machine circa 1976 bitch. You think you have aura cause you grew up in gold star liberal Chicago? Bitch I am the aura nomad. I’m on that mudra shit opening up my heart chakra. Knock bro out with an aura blast to the kneecaps. I made this shit on the family aura farm extracting aura from the soil like it was turnips and we was Ukrainian.

[d-171]

Amid misconception that HW's favorite child was Dubya or Jeb, I'd like to set the record straight that it was neither of them.

At the beginning of his book is an index of various people mentioned within, including his children:

While it's easy to assume, from this text, that HW at least prefers Jeb over Dubya (describing Jeb as "one of the leaders in our country on education-related issues", whilst Dubya just gets biographical info) he gives the most praise to Dorothy, calling her "one of the brightest Points of Light in our family," as well as saying she is "particularly close to her dad."

And in a letter he sent to Dorothy:

The letter regards his first daughter, Robin, who passed away. He lists several ways in which she differed from his sons—ways in which he preferred her.

In a 1971 photoshoot, just Dorothy can be seen at home, without any of HW's other children:

...and in a 1976 Christmas card, where all of his other children are included separately, Dorothy and HW stand together...:

...as well as her visiting her father while he was director of the CIA (circa 1976-1977), which I can't find pictures of any of the other kids doing:

Then again in 1980, Dorothy wore Reagan/Bush campaign shirts, in contrast to her siblings:

She appears in several more pictures than her siblings do, with Dubya rarely appearing in 1-1 pictures with his father (usually being delegated to rallies). It would be unfair to speculate whether his favorite was Robin or Dorothy (and likely, he wouldn't be able to answer that either), but regardless, it's easy to conclude, very simply, that HW liked daughters more than sons!

[lutethebodies]

Going into 2025 like

Spending the final hour of 2024 in a cozy warm bed, re-reading (for the first time in like 15 years) “Jimmy Carter and the Great Leap of Faith” by Hunter S. Thompson as it appeared in Rolling Stone circa 1976, and trying to decide if I should muck up my 2025 passion project schedule with either 1) new audio recordings of me reading my unhinged HST-ripoff pieces from 2009-2010 (written to cool down from bashing out my one and only novel) or 2) a Minthara x Cannor fanfic (which would be my first ever) so boringly normie that it would destroy any hope of me ever being taken seriously as a creative person by anyone anywhere ever again. Happy new year, nerds. Thanks for your patience with an oblivious and out of touch middle-aged man playing with his original characters and your favorite BG3 dolls.

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan, March 4, 1976

In a miraculous turn of events, I'll be heading out west to see Neil Young & Crazy Horse in a couple weeks. To say I'm excited is what you'd call a major understatement. What deep cuts will they play? Will Neil debut Greendale II: Sun Green Strikes Back in its entirety? Will Billy Talbot make it to the end of "Like A Hurricane"?! Who can say. But it's going to be good.

To get fired up, let's listen to some Crazy Horse this week. We'll kick things off with what is perhaps my favorite tour — Japan '76! I've written plenty about this era; there's something about the Horse's energy and purity during these shows that just grabs me every time. The audience tapes sound cool as hell, too; those polite Japanese crowds (though Neil has to ask them to hold off on clapping along until the electric set), Neil's unreal guitar work (vicious harmonics everywhere!) bouncing around the big open spaces, the intense thud of the rhythm section.

Over on the Dollar Bin, my brother details how we were introduced to Neil in Osaka via a shady cassette bootleg sometime circa 1993. I can remember listening to it over and over again — blown away by the fact that he was playing "Country Home" back in those days (and "Too Far Gone"!), blown away by the guitars, blown away by the moment when everything cut out and a Mexican radio station cut in for 10 seconds. I was blown away by Talbot's bass playing, too. I was just getting into playing music myself, and I listened Billy's caveman style and thought: "Maybe I could try to do that?" Thirty-plus years later I'm still trying.

What I've got for you here today is not in fact that Osaka tape — it's from the first of three shows that Neil and the Horse played at this venue. But even though it doesn't have the debut performance of "Let It Shine," it's a slightly better recording — and it has an absolutely stunning "Cortez The Killer" closing things out. Dance across the water with me, amigos!

[chronivore]

Agatha Christie (1890-1976) at Waikiki Beach, Hawaii, circa 1922.Did you know that Agatha Christie was one of the UK’s first surfers and thought to be the first Western woman to stand up on a surfboard.In this picture, she is standing with a board borrowed from a surfer named Fred. Sharing the same name as her father Frederick Alvah Miller, who died when she was ten years old, the gesture meant a lot to her.In describing surfing, Agatha said, "Oh it was heaven! Nothing like rushing through the water at what seems to you a speed of about two hundred miles an hour. It is one of the most perfect physical pleasures I have known."Source: Museum of British Surfing

[pen-and-umbra]

Something weird I noticed abt FS. May be a blunder, may be something else…Since angeal was born after the jenova experiments started and his mother passed on the mutated cells to him, he couldn't have been 16 in 1992. Being 16 gives his birthdate at circa 1976, which predates jenova discovery. Then he proceeds to ask if seph thinks he’s older…

Oh, fantastic catch; I didn't give it much thought myself. It might swing either direction.

On the one hand, it could just be shoddy writing by the developers. The compilation is extensive, with far too many details to keep track of; certain errors and retcons are unavoidable. Alternatively, it could be a playful reference by the developers to the fans, like an inside joke. When Crisis Core first debuted, many fans commented on Angeal's appearance, claiming that he seemed older than the rest of the trio. So developers might refer to this character's reception.

On the other hand, they may be attempting to make the Jenova project older and more complex. IIRC, the novel Traces of Two Pasts — the Aerith section — mentions the presence of robed "Sephiroth" clones before the Nibelheim incident. It follows that R&D started these experiments years predating Sephiroth's downfall. Angeal may appear older because Jenova's discovery and experiments were retconned to occur earlier this time around too. Or ShinRA simply doctored the documents related to his birth for secrecy/obfuscation reasons.

Personally, I believe it's either the devs being sloppy or a reference to how CC fans reacted to Angeal's appearance. People said he looked in his forties, lol.

[fear-is-truth]

since you like horror movies, i thought it'd be fun to share a few of my favorites with you. i really enjoyed these and i think you'd like to give em a watch. lemme know what you thought if you ever do watch any of them<33 the texas chain saw massacre (1974), rosemary's baby, don't look now (1973), suspiria (1977), deep red, repulsion, psycho (1960), the tenant (1976), a clockwork orange (it's not "horror" but it can make your skin crawl), carrie (1976), the seventh victim (1943), and eraserhead ♡ - 🎀

ahhhh one of my favourite type of asks !!! okay so i’ve watched the texas chainsaw massacre, carrie (1976 & 2013 + the novel ) , eraserhead (the baby looked like an airpod lmao), a clockwork orange (in retrospect, evan peters looks kinda like malcom mcdowell circa 70’s) thank you so much for the movie recs, ima watch suspira this week and maybe psycho if i finish my art assignment lol