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Matthew Sparby

@cloudscout.com

2K followers 320 following 560 posts

VintageComputing/RetroComputing enthusiast. Foster parent. Dog rescuer. Lived in California, Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin & Bengaluru. Now back in Minnesota. He/Him/Mr. Sparby if you're nasty. ATDT Shirts: http://spar.by/atdt https://youtube.com/cloudscout

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Matthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · Jul 26

Look, you hired me for my ability to see things from a different perspective and find new solutions to your organization's problems. So maybe you should be more open-minded, respect my experience and consider the possibility that it's actually YOU who's been pronouncing your name wrong.

Matthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · 1d

I haven't played it yet. I need to recap my CD32 first. Hopefully sometime this weekend.

Matthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · 1d

I enjoy racing games but I have never really followed professional racing. That's why I'm amused by the only non-burned game I have for my CD32... Nigel Mansell's World Championship. To me, he's just a wax dummy abused by Jeremy Clarkson, et al.

#VintageComputing #RetroComputing #RetroGaming #Amiga

CD jewel case for the Amiga CD32 game "Nigel Mansell's World Championship".

Screenshot from an episode of The Grand Tour showing Jeremy Clarkson in the driver's seat of a car and a wax dummy of Nigel Mansell in the passenger seat.

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Matthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · 1d

That's exactly what I remember it being targeted at back in the 80s. I tried it back then but ended up returning it to the store. Eventually got a 1351 mouse instead.

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Matthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · 5d

I have the entire series on Laserdisc!

Matthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · 5d

Here's a picture I took 6 years ago when I got this machine.

Inside of a Macintosh IIsi with severe damage caused by a leaking battery.

Matthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · 5d

My SMD soldering skills are lacking so I decided to practice on this horribly battery-bombed Macintosh IIsi. The caps came off pretty easily but then I wanted to see if I could remove the destroyed VLSI chip. Not as many missing pads as I expected.

#VintageComputing #RetroComputing

A badly damaged Macintosh IIsi motherboard showing the place where the VLSI chip goes before and after cleanup work.

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Reposted by Matthew Sparby

Todd Gill - Retro Frog @retrofrog.bsky.social · 6d

Price drop. $300 shipped

Todd Gill - Retro Frog @retrofrog.bsky.social · 24d

I have up for sale a TF1260 accelerator for the #Amiga 1200. Has a full fat Rev 1 68060 running at 50Mhz with 128MB ram.

Running the latest firmware on the board. Recently upgraded to a Pistorm, so this is for sale.

$400 shipped and insured inside the US.

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Matthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · 6d

Fantastic price. I wish I hadn't already grossly exceeded my vintage computing budget for the year. Ugh.

Matthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · 7d

Ahh, those quality mid-90s SMD caps...

#VintageComputing #RetroComputing #Amiga

A look into the opening of an Amiga 1200 floppy drive showing apparent electrolyte leakage from an SMD capacitor.

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Matthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · 7d

And cable elevators! The music is ruined, RUINED I say, if you don't use cable elevators!

Matthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · 11d

@whatkatedoes.bsky.social just saw the cruise video. One of my favorite ships. Got married on its twin, Freedom of the Seas. Hope you had a great time!

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Matthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · 11d

"This is ponderous, man. Really ponderous."

www.bbc.com/news/article...

#DoYouSeeWhatImSaying #2nu

Customers sue over 'embarrassing' squeaky On Cloud shoes

Athletic shoe company On is facing a lawsuit from customers who claim that its sneakers produce annoying squeaks.

www.bbc.com

Matthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · 14d

White text on a blue background that says, "The world would be a better place if all the leaders of all the great nations would spend a little more time sitting on the potty."

Matthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · 14d

It's been 5.5 hours now and the status still says, "Technician on the way."

Apparently they're on their way from Fargo... on foot.

Matthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · 14d

Xfinity service has been down for 3.5 hours. They estimate another 4+ hours before it's fixed. Looking forward to December when the new fiber provider lights up their service to my house.

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Matthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · 15d

Dear Andy,

The misspelled reference to a frozen pizza commercial you entered while playing an ostensibly educational Apple II game back in the 1980s is now famous in vintage computing circles. It also forms the core of my annual New Year Greeting.

Thank you for your service.

Love, Sparby

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Matthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · 15d

I'm reminded of this gem from the pirated copy of Oregon Trail that's been shared online for decades...

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Matthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · 15d

I recall a similar joke about a Lutheran rescued from a desert island who explains that one building is his church and the other is the church he used to go to.

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Reposted by Matthew Sparby

Popcornbender Spatch @spatch.bsky.social · 17d

[stepping out of library stacks with record in hand, squinting at name on request slip] uh, I don't know who needs to hear this, but

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Matthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · 17d

I used to be the one my friends would call when they needed somebody else's phone number.

bleary @bleary.off-the-records.com · 17d

If anyone needs me I will be in the museum, lying down next to the bog bodies.

Did people really memorize phone numbers before cell phones, or is that just a movie thing?
2? Questions
I was watching some old shows from the 90s and noticed people would just dial numbers from memory - like they'd call their friends or family without looking anything up.
Made me wonder if that was actually normal back then? Did people genuinely have all their important numbers memorized, or did most folks keep a little address book or written list nearby?

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Matthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · 19d

Mabel and Sophie had a great time down on the farm today.

#dogs

Two black dogs sitting next to a pumpkin patch.

Matthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · 23d

Very cool! You have been far more successful than I have when it comes to actually completing (and documenting) your individual machines. I have a ridiculous backlog of projects like these.

Matthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · 24d

Button battery hasn't leaked. I've already ordered a cap kit. The seller told me that the floppy drive isn't working and I know there's a common cap issue that causes floppy failures.

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Matthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · 24d

Woo-hoo! I finally found an Amiga 1200 for a reasonable price... and from a local seller! And it has a GVP A1230 Turbo+ 68030 accelerator in it. Bring on that sweet AGA action.

#VintageComputing #RetroComputing

An Amiga 1200 computer in its box along with a pair of Epyx 500XJ joysticks.

Inside of an Amiga 1200 computer showing a GVP A1230 Turbo+ accelerator installed.

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Matthew Sparby @cloudscout.com · 25d

Valeris, know anything about a radiation surge?