Hello, and welcome to my personal blog. Here you’ll discover posts about my hobbies – from tinkering with vintage computers to riding bikes, along with other things I’d like to discuss.
I’m originally from Boonville, Missouri – a small town about 20 miles west of Columbia, Missouri. I’m a graduate of the University of Central Missouri, where I studied digital media production with an emphasis in digital journalism.
My Hobbies
I have a few hobbies – most of which are displayed to some degree on my personal website and this blog.
Computer and Computing History
My interest in computers can be traced all the way back to when I was an elementary school student in the middle of nowhere. I can remember playing around with MS Paint in Windows 3.11 on the Gateway 2000 x486 machine before I started Kindergarten, and playing with the Super Nintendo in my free time.
Ever since, my love for computers has only grown. In high school, my focus shifted toward learning about the history of computing – going from the mainframe era of the 1950s to the personal computing boom of the 1980s and 1990s. Specifically, I’ve been interested in learning about the history of Apple Computer and IBM and the roles they played in the computer industry.
In spring 2020, my dream of owning a vintage computer turned into reality after purchasing a 1991 Macintosh Classic. Since, I’ve acquired another machine – a 1988 Macintosh SE. (I’m actually using that 1988 Macintosh SE to write this!)
In addition to tinkering with computers, I’m also an avid player of Minecraft. Ever since starting in fall 2017, I’ve put countless hours into creating various worlds in Creative mode. One world I’ve been working on since December 2017 has grown exponentially in size, currently featuring over 12 built-from-scratch villages with countless buildings. Unlike other Minecraft creators, I don’t use world editing tools such as WorldEdit.
Technology History
In addition to computers, technology history of the 20th century – especially relating to telecommunications – has piqued my interest.
One of my more popular posts relates to the AT&T Long Lines network – a microwave relay network used to carry long-distance telephone calls, television/radio signals, and more from the 1950s to the 1980s. I’ve photographed a few AT&T Long Lines microwave relay sites in my area. I’ve also had an interest in the Bell System and telephony history.
Kewanee Boilers
One of my stranger interests lie in Kewanee Boilers. The Kewanee Boiler Corporation was a manufacturer of fire-tube boilers from 1891 to 2002. Their boilers have been found in schools, hospitals, government buildings, factories, and other buildings all over the United States and the world.
I first discovered Kewanee Boilers when doing laundry in our high school’s boiler room for the boys’ basketball team, which I managed.
I also have an interest in HVAC systems – from residential systems to boilers and chillers.
Cycling
In addition to my other hobbies and interests, I also like to get some exercise in by riding my bike. I currently own two bikes: my current “daily” rider, a 2016 Giant Sedona; and a 1987 Free Spirit “Pinnacle” road bike.
At home, I have two dogs: Gidget and Daisy. Gidget is a Chihuahua I “adopted” in June 2020 as a puppy, and Daisy is a 13-year-old pug (as of writing this in December 2020) that my parents bought when I was 7 years old.
About This Site
An older, static HTML portion of my personal website was first uploaded in July 2016. That portion of my personal website, which has largely been removed to save server space (but archived on the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine!), was hand-coded using Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 running on my ThinkPad T420. The original pages mainly focused on IBM’s history, as I was going through a “phase” where I was really in to IBM’s history and their early involvement in the personal computing market.
Shortly after, on July 13, 2016, I setup the WordPress section of my site. Originally, the WordPress section was meant to be only a blog to complement the static HTML portion of my site. However, over time, I focused on the WordPress portion and stopped updating the static HTML pages. Since, the roles have reversed – the WordPress section of my site became the main portion.
My goal for this website has been to talk about my hobbies and interests and provide occasional updates on projects and other events in my life. I’ve also had a goal to keep politics off my personal website – often referring to it as a politics-free zone.
This website ©2016-2023 Garrett Fuller. Third-party assets are property of their respective owners.
Comments
You may be wondering: how can I post comments on blog posts? Unfortunately, due to a high amount of spam comments, I had to disable comments entirely. However, I always enjoy emails from readers – whether it be praise, suggestions, constructive criticism, or anything else that’s related. The only thing I ask is for emails to be related to my hobbies and free of spam, and emails to be respectful and friendly. (After all, I’m human, too!)
In January 2021, I created a Twitter account dedicated to this blog/website and my personal interests. Be sure to follow me today @gfuller_blog on Twitter to receive exclusive content, teasers for upcoming posts, notifications for new posts, and site/personal updates. You can also reply to my Tweets and Tweet “at” me.
Links
- Professional Website
- Archived Personal Website (Internet Archive – Wayback Machine)
- Blog Twitter (@gfuller_blog)
This page last updated: May 23, 2023.
The content for this page was originally written on the 1988 Macintosh SE using Microsoft Word 4.0. This page originally published January 1, 2018.